Slotegrator, which specialises in online gaming software, believes that mobile messengers are the future of the gambling industry - a belief at the heart of the technology behind its Telegram Casino.
WhatsApp, Viber, Telegram, Skype, iMessage, ISQ, Line, Hangouts and Facebook Messenger are some of the most widespread messengers used nowadays.
By the beginning of 2017, they had outstripped the majority of social networks in terms of numbers of active users - and their popularity only keeps growing.
Initially introduced in the beginning of 2016, chat bots are relatively simple programs designed to function as assistants or conversation partners. They are capable of translating, broadcasting, training, information searching, asking and answering questions, playing and entertaining, shopping and integrating into other services and platforms.
Simplicity of use and convenience are their main advantages. Being an integral part of a messenger, chat bots do not require additional downloading and installation, and do not take up additional memory space on a smartphone.
In August 2013, Telegram - the first messenger to release chat bots - was presented as a free cross-platform messenger, enabling users to exchange messages, files and content of formats. The main target of Telegram’s developers was to win a certain share of that market. The main advantages of Telegram, compared to the rest of existing applications, are: anonymity, absence of advertising, high file and message transmission rates – and chat bots.
According to Slotegrator’s Vadim Potapenko, Telegram has become a type of virtual reality used by people at their workstations, as well as for communication and entertainment.
Slotegrator has tested various messengers to determine effectiveness in launching online casino bots. Potapenko: “Users’ messages are protected by enciphering and chat bots cannot be controlled or tracked by anyone. This complex factor is the cornerstone of the successful release of an online project these days."
Many countries have bans on gambling with online casino traffic prohibited. For the citizens of such regions, Telegram casino bots remain the only means of getting the access to gambling in other territories, where i-gaming is not banned.
By launching a game on Telegram, users activate a chat bot that connects to a platform of an online casino website. By typing certain commands in a form of text messages, or by using particular buttons of the interface reflected on the screen of the smartphone, gamblers gain access to all the functions present on the gambling website itself. He/she has the possibility to deposit, place bets, withdraw winnings, etc. Chat bots in this case play the role of simulators of slot machines or roulettes. The game is usually carried out in a chat mode or through a visualised interface.
Potapenko: “Our online casino chat bots are unique products that still don’t have analogues on the current market. We are going to be the first company specialising in provision of such solutions. This will be fully covered in my presentation at the Georgia Gaming Congress which takes place in Tbilisi, Georgia, on March 1.
“This product enables our partners to operate on any market and stay assured that their valuable data, as well as personal information of their gamblers, is effectively secured. Moreover, chat bots enable online casinos to attract gamblers from the areas with poor Internet coverage or owners of mobile devices with insufficient technical characteristics. It is a very important matter, as the majority of contemporary online casino websites are considerably demanding to technical characteristics of devices.
“These and the rest of matters are going to be the main topics covered in my presentation at the upcoming congress.”
Regulatory challenges undoubtedly lay ahead for products like these but there is no denying that Slotegrator has developed some eye-catching software.
