Q&A: LeoVegas CEO Johan Styren on UK ambitions

eGR: You recently announced collaborations with UK newspapers The Mirror and Sun newspapers. How will this work?

Johan Styren (JS): Both of these collaborations will be close partnerships where we aim to take advantage of all the channels offered by these media houses including mobile, web, tablet and print. The partnerships include a range of advertising and content integration on the partner sites.

eGR: What other marketing will you be doing in the UK?

JS: Affiliate marketing is an area where we have already started to see some great results. Although we don’t have a big presence in the UK market just yet, affiliates are excited about the brand and most importantly the product and the feedback we have received so far is both positive and encouraging.

We hope everyone is just as excited as we are, we have a lot more planned for the year ahead. We will be running with a range of direct response activity including PPC on Google and Facebook supported with display advertising. TV is also something we are looking at to support our on going web and mobile campaigns.

eGR: Why the focus on affiliates and what demographic are you targeting?

JS: The affiliate business is always key to running a successful online/mobile gaming brand. Affiliates bring a lot of experience and knowledge to the business as well as value through their players. LeoVegas appeals to a broad range of customers, both male and female ranging from 18 to 60, the media helps us communicate LeoVegas to our full demographic.

eGR: The UK market is very crowded with operators often promoting the same range of games and similar bonuses, how will you differentiate?

JS: LeoVegas entered the market as a mobile casino business first and foremost and this is our point of difference. When we think about our product we think about the mobile customer and we tailor our business accordingly. we aren’t a web business with a mobile front end, we are mobile to our roots. This has been key for us in our journey to become the best mobile casino on the market and we now have a market leading mobile product coupled with a great web presence.

eGR: Who do you see as your main competition in the UK mobile casino market?

JS: I think Paddy Power has done a great job in mobile sportsbook but since we are 100% casino-focused I prefer to see them as an interesting case of comparison rather than direct competitors.

eGR: Do you have plans to target other European markets?

JS: We are constantly looking at opportunities and making use of the fact that we are fast to react. I don’t want to communicate any specific markets at this point but LeoVegas will certainly increase its presence in more European markets.