In an online casino industry saturated with choice and availability, authenticity and familiarity are key to giving your audience what they want.

That’s a key conclusion of Laura Petrauska, head of casino at Canadian online gaming and betting company BET99. Ahead of speaking at the upcoming SBC Summit in Lisbon, Petrauska recently chatted with CasinoBeats about how operators and suppliers can continue to connect with their customers and offer a well-balanced product slate.

“I think the word balance here is key,” she said. “How do you offer sustainable entertainment in today’s competitive online gambling space? From an operator perspective, we provide a wide variety of casino content, allowing players to find the right content for their individual preferences. From high-volatility slots and slots with bonus buy features to medium variance games, crash games and live dealer casino games, our game selection caters to a modern-day player.”

Petrauska predicted that player preferences will continue to remain authentic to the current trends of the gaming industry, such as slots and live dealer games that offer high volatility and large winning multipliers.

Helping customers to avoid feeling disconcerted by the amount of choice is also an important consideration. Petrauska highlighted that players tend to lean heavily on familiarity when looking for games.

“With so many options in slot offerings, players may oftentimes feel overwhelmed. That’s why many players stick to slots they are familiar with, with classics like Book of Dead, Starburst and Gates of Olympus taking the lead. Additionally, it’s no secret that crash games have become quite popular and I foresee this trend to grow even further.”

“The market is saturated with slots that offer gameplay that’s way too simplistic.”

But, again, balance is key.

While familiarity and ease of use are important, Petrauska says that she sees an online casino market full of games that can lean towards being too simplistic.

“As someone who’s seen the gaming industry evolve throughout the last decade, I’m always excited to see what new concepts and innovations game studios can offer with their games. There’s a tight line where too complex features can take away a game’s true appeal… That said, in my opinion, the market is saturated with slots that offer gameplay that’s way too simplistic, which doesn’t leave too much excitement for players.

“As an operator, we’re looking for the right balance in our offering – slots with engaging features while not having overly complicated mechanics.”

As for what may continue to transform the slots and live dealer industry in the coming years, Petrauska says it’s hard to look far beyond AI, which she believes has “uncapped” potential.

“When it comes to iGaming, AI can be an incredible resource if used correctly,” she added, citing uses such as virtual customer assistants to reduce waiting times in live chats and AI-generated casino lobbies to help tailor content based on individual preferences as two big areas of focus.

“When it comes to iGaming, AI can be an incredible resource if used correctly.”

“I believe AI will continue to play an important role in automating data-driven tasks to help casino operators with daily operations while allowing them to focus their human resources in other areas. However, in my opinion, a casino product – whether we’re talking about slots, table games or even live casino games – is a product of art, and I hope that it won’t ever be replaced by AI.”

Finally, on the home front, Petrauska told SlotBeats that BET99, which recently added Nolimit City and Ezugi games to its Ontario portfolio, has eyes on expanding into Alberta when Wild Rose Country becomes the next Canadian province to introduce regulated online gambling.

Laura Petrauska will be speaking at SBC Summit in Lisbon on the Wednesday panel titled Slot Trends: Designing for the Future Player.

Operators and affiliates looking to attend SBC Summit can apply for free passes to the event. If you are an operator, you can apply for a free pass here, if you are an affiliate, you can apply for a free pass here.

Everyone else can secure their spot at the upcoming SBC Summit with a special offer granting access to all three core days of the event, including the exhibition floor, conference content, and evening networking parties, all for the discounted price of just €300.