Bethard ramps up casino focus with proprietary recommendation engine

Bethard has launched a new online casino lobby designed to look and feel like Netflix with strong video elements and a games-recommendation engine.

The new lobby was rolled out in the UK and Sweden late last week and focuses on displaying a small number of quality options rather than a wide portfolio.

The lobby was built in-house on Bethard’s proprietary Together Gaming platform.

“We think of online casino as a leisure activity, so a customer will either watch something on Netflix or play a game for an hour,” said Bethard casino manager Bjornar Heggernes.

“So we want to make the experience similar to those other industries with personalisation, recommendation engines and the general look and feel.”

The Bethard homepage also now redirects to bethard.com/casino in the UK, with Heggernes saying the brand saw more opportunities for growth in the vertical because it owned its own technology, unlike sportsbook.

“We are still a sportsbook brand but the casino is just as important when it comes to figures,” Heggernes said. “We think we have potential to grow more in casino as we can put things directly onto the site.”

Bethard.com is now redirecting to its casino page

“The player feedback has been very positive so far”, Heggernes added. “It’s very intuitive, and they love it because it’s very different from the other lobbies around. We’re focusing on quality of selected games rather than a huge quantity.”

The product is reminiscent of 888’s Orbit platform which also took inspiration from Netflix.

Bethard head of product Adam Vella added: “We believe showing relevant content is key by not only allowing our players to play their favourite games but also highlighting games based on their previous game history.

“With the current market being extremely competitive you need to stand out and give the players something extra. Bethard always tries to be one step ahead of the competition and to come up with new and innovative ideas.”