Virtual Gaming Worlds, a leading sweepstakes casino operator with three stalwart brands in Chumba, LuckyLand Slots and Global Poker, has announced their opening of a new position: Head of Live Casino.
The position has already been filled by Graciella Anthony, who’d previously spearheaded the Live and Table Games department at Entain.
The move is intended to give VGW a leg up in the live dealer segment within the sweepstakes casino space.
As it stands, VGW is a latecomer in this regard, while its competitors have been attracting and holding onto new players by offering live casino games.
Graciella Anthony has proven her salt’s worth while at Entain. Under her watch the company launched the ultra-popular live game shows The Chase, Bigger Banker and Well Well Well, while maintaining the success of dozens of other live betting products.
The burning question for US casino enthusiasts is whether Virtual Gaming Worlds’ leading brands will get their respective Live Casino Game lobbies or there’ll be a new sweepstakes casino riding on this popular iGaming segment?
VGW Appoints New Head of Live Casino
VGW is one of the earliest companies in sweepstakes casino gaming and its brands are still outperforming competitors on aggregate, but status is never guaranteed. The pressure to innovate is on VGW.
That being said, there is no surprise that the company has hired one of the best executives in the live casino game.
Graciella Anthony has been part of iGaming since 2012. She’s held positions at bwin, Lottoland and Entain. She was Casino Manager of GVC Group and Entain’s Head of Live Casino for two years. From there, she stepped up to the position of Global Head of Live and Table Games.
Graciella Anthony is bringing unparalleled experience to VGW based on all of her previous experience, but most importantly, that acquired at Entain. The company owns and operates huge brands, like BetMGM, Borgata Bingo, Ladbrokes, Coral, Eurobet, SuperSport and others.
Likely Scenarios for VGW Live Casino Integrations
Any one of VGW’s brands can benefit from the addition of live casino games, but will the company take a more nuanced approach? The three leading brands we’ve emphasized above are specific in their appearance and identity.
Global Poker appears as the first candidate to get a live casino game upgrade. Live poker, hold’em and blackjack enjoy huge popularity at online casinos, but is the live variant going to steal the thunder from its social poker tournaments?
LuckyLand Slots offers around 120 games but the platform is best-known for its slots and jackpots. After all, players who frequent the site are aware that there is only one table game, so the association simply isn’t there.
Chumba Casino appears best-fitted to get a new live dealer section because of that platform’s versatility. Last time we checked there were five virtual table games in addition to over 180 slot games. That being said, Chumba’s subscribed players will be more inclined to try the live dealer option.
Another probability is that Graciella Anthony is going to give US real-money online casinos another tough social competitor by starting a new sweepstakes casino brand dedicated to live games. This would be the first casino of its kind and likely bolster VGW’s position in the social casino space.
Sweepstakes Casinos Currently Hosting Live Dealer Games
As noted before, Virtual Gaming Worlds has to play catch-up with a number of competitors that are doing everything else right. What’s more, some of the social casino brands below are offering more than VGW’s curated circa-150 slots, in addition to jackpots, bingo, Slingo, scratch cards, arcade and crash games and other games of chance.
Presently, table game aficionados can engage in live gaming from the following casinos:
Live Casino Studios with Social Casino Partnerships
A few notable social casinos offer exclusive live games and there’ll be another imminent addition with VGW.
McLuck casino has ongoing partnerships with ICONIC21 and Playtech. In addition to Stake Live, Stake.us also offers games from ICONIC21. High 5 has a total of six games, all from the same (unlisted) provider which may as well be an in-house brand. The Money Factory is all ICONIC21.
By hiring Graciella Anthony for its Live Casino department, VGW is obtaining access to the world’s most popular live games of chance. This makes the launching of a live dealer studio a likely prospect for a company that needs to get even with the casinos above.
Author: Jon Ridehalgh
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