Blurring the lines: how Wildz Group is merging casino, sports and streaming into a unified player experience

Wildz Group was developed with a simple philosophy – to offer the very best in igaming action, raising player expectations about what’s possible with an online casino brand. The group’s brands feature intuitive, player-first products incorporating cutting-edge innovation; a one-stop spot for gambling entertainment. Wildz is now a highly regarded online gaming operator, driving its success with a portfolio of leading brands.

EGR: Wildz has built a strong reputation in the casino space. What inspired the move to incorporate sports betting and streaming into the platform?

Jani Koskinen (JK): Wildz Group set our business plan in motion with Wildz Online Casino, so this flagship brand has been fundamental to our success. Since we chose an integrated approach to introducing our first sportsbook, adopting our most-loved brand was a strategy designed to give our Wildz casino fanbase even more entertainment options. Likewise, adding our streaming framework provided the ultimate product offering to enhance what the player experiences.

EGR: How does Wildz approach product integration to ensure casino, sportsbook and streaming feel like a cohesive experience rather than separate verticals?

JK: While we have different teams contributing to the success of each vertical, our ultimate business goals are aligned, so each team is working with that perspective in mind: to ensure that our branding stays on track while our product offerings are always fresh, interesting and engaging. The overall branding, including our iconic Granny mascot, helps to blend each vertical seamlessly – the impression the player sees is of one cohesive site that offers a familiar feel across different igaming verticals.

EGR: Live content is becoming a bigger part of player engagement. How does Wildz use streaming to drive retention and acquisition?

JK: Our experts are constantly identifying opportunities for engaging content, whether that means taking ownership of a tournament as the premium sponsor or partnering with popular presenters. The objective is to maintain a focus on inspiring players to engage or place a wager on an event. As marketers, we’ve recognised that streaming must be linked to player engagement and retention, and therefore it is an integral part of contributing to our bottom line – revenue.

EGR: What technological infrastructure or partnerships have been key in making this hybrid model work at scale?

JK: We’ve collaborated with industry specialists Altenar in the development of our sportsbook offering, but that’s just the start. We’re constantly on the hunt for the next big thing, whether that’s a strategic partnership or an in-house solution that improves the customer experience. We know what customers want, so we offer access to the world’s most popular online casino games through partnerships with game developers and providers.

Behind the scenes, our technical architecture is designed to support seamless gameplay on desktop or mobile, while our payment teams work with in-demand payment providers so that players benefit from depositing and withdrawing according to their preferences.

EGR: How do player behaviours differ between casino-first users and those engaging more with sportsbook or live content? Are you seeing a crossover?

JK: There’s a definite crossover. Casino punters enjoy being able to wager on a sports match or tournament in between playing slots or live casino games. If they can access a wider variety of options within one site, then it’s motivation for them to stick with that site. There’s also the opportunity for first-time users to explore sports betting, or for sports bettors to try out slots, for example. Our automated, data-based customer journeys help us to provide customised offerings according to player preferences.

EGR: Can you share some data or insights on how offering all three services (casino, sports and streaming) impacts session times or average value per user?

JK: Our evolving success has seen us refining our marketing initiatives so that we are able to target specific opportunities and events, contributing to significant growth and engagement. The more targeted our approach, the more we note an active response from our audiences.

EGR: What challenges did you face when building a platform that caters to three distinct content formats, and how did you overcome them?

JK: Speed and integration are always challenges. No matter what we’re adding to our platforms, we know that players prioritise seamless playing experiences. It’s understandable that they want to log on, register, play, deposit and withdraw with little to no disruption. We take those needs seriously and design our products to meet them. This, along with partnering with excellent providers for games and payments, helps us to maintain extremely high site uptime. Project management ensures our various departments work in concert.

EGR: Is Wildz exploring gamification or cross-product incentives to encourage players to engage across verticals?

JK: Gamification already exists within our online casino sites, with players being able to level up for rewards, for example, but we’re constantly on the hunt for fresh ways to stay true to the Wildz motto ‘GET MORE’, combined with an ‘always live’ focus on entertainment in sports and streaming. A challenge is working within strict regulatory guidelines when it comes to marketing, but we always put players first and strive to offer them products, tournaments and events that keep them engaged. As for our platforms, the industry can expect to see some fantastic additions over time.

EGR: With regulators increasingly focused on player protection, how do you ensure responsible gambling remains central across a dynamic offering?

JK: Our compliance and responsible gaming (RG) teams work with cutting-edge software and data reporting technology that allows us to monitor and stay ahead of our players. We’re able to intervene according to best practice RG standards and provide player protections at all times, such as limit setting, access to RG support and more. Our experience across multiple regulatory frameworks has been that we always meet these stringent requirements.

EGR: Looking ahead, what’s next for Wildz in terms of expanding the entertainment ecosystem? Any new formats or verticals on the horizon?

JK: Without giving too much away, players can anticipate that we’ll be living up to our GET MORE statement. The igaming industry is so dynamic that we’ll always explore developing and incorporating the very latest technology. Watch this space!

Jani Koskinen is CMO at Wildz Group. Prior to that, he ran an advertising agency and later became brand director at Rizk.

He was part of the original team that created the Rootz (now rebranded as The Wildz Group) success story. Koskinen’s been central to developing the company’s brands and creating memorable online casino products (now a sportsbook offering) that have lasting appeal.