Juraj Torok: “We add approximately 300 free games to our database each month”

Juraj is a Casino Games Specialist at Casino Guru. His responsibilities include regularly adding new games to the database while ensuring that the existing ones function properly, as well as developing innovative ways to improve the Casino Guru's free games section.

In this interview, Juraj addresses the importance of free games on the Casino Guru website, how his workload evolved over time, and what sets Casino Guru's Free Tournaments apart.

How does the new "Game of the Week" feature work? How did Juraj get into the gambling industry? And does Casino Guru have the largest database of free games on the Internet? Read on to find out!

Q: Juraj, how did your journey at Casino Guru begin? And how did you end up managing the Casino Guru’s database of free casino games?

I was introduced to Casino Guru by a friend who once worked on the company's visuals. Since I studiedgraphic design as well, Iwas able to help a friend outwith his workload, more specifically, I was creating logos for casinos and gaming suppliers on Casino Guru website.

Later, I received a call from Casino Guru offering mean opportunity to manage the site's free casino games section, which was starting to grow andneeded proper management. Now, free games are one of the primary projectsof Casino Guru.

Q: What exactly does your job entail?

At the beginning, my work consisted pretty much solely of adding games to the database. We aimed to include as many free games as possible in our offer, so the process was rather straightforward. My main responsibility was to identify the most well-liked free games and make them accessible to players on the Casino Guru website.

However, there are several tens to hundreds of thousands of these games out there, and building a system for adding them was essential. So, I did that. I made a list of game providers and their released games, and I went one by one.

Once we had quantity, we needed quality, since having a huge database of free games without added value is simply not enough. That's why we started focusing on improving our free casino games. As a result, I became a product manager, so to speak, and our database became my product.

Now I work on bringing more traffic to our games, enriching our website with various features, communicating with providers, and many other things.

Q: What did switching focus from quantity to quality actually mean? Could you give us some examples?

It meant taking a closer look at our database, which was much larger by then but still had very basic formatting. In the past, games were added to our database with a few basic parameters listed, like the RTP of the game. They had only a simple, straightforward design, and that was it.

These days, if someone visits our website, they will notice that every game has an original logo that was made to match our visual identity. At the same time, we provide much more information about the games.

In addition to RTP, we have data on the minimum and maximum amount of money that can be bet on a given game, as well as the number of paylines, reels, theme of the game, and other details.

We also shoot preview videos for the games, so that when a player moves their mouse over a game, they see a trailer for that particular game.

So, when we publish the game now, it has a much higher value, more work has gone into it, and it is handled very professionally. We are constantly striving to improve the quality of our free games; we are not interested in filling the database endlessly.

Q: What benefits do these free games bringto Casino Guru? I mean, in addition to generating traffic.

I believe it is beneficial for Casino Guru to have these free games sections for many reasons. Our philosophy that promotes responsible gaming includes advising players to try free games first and then, based on what they discover, decide whether they want to play this game with their money or not.

Trying our free games in the demo version is a very responsible way to go around picking casino games. Users can find out what kind of features this game has, whether it is something they are familiar with or not, its RTP and volatility, whether they like the visuals and sounds, and so on. And if they are satisfied, they may visit an online casino and play with their own money.

Of course, not every player wants to play these games at online casinos. Some people enjoy playing casino games for free without risking their finances, and they treat these games as a form of entertainment. It is a very popular choice since all of these games are identical to those found in online casinos, but losing or winning real money is impossible.

Q: With new casino games being released frequently, how do you keep up with the newest additions, and how do you decide which games to add to the database?

This is quite simple. If you've been in the industry long enough, not only do you naturally have an overview of what's going on, but you're also in contact with providers. I meet them at conferences, we communicate together, and they keep me in loop.

Since we already have a large database and the older games are covered, it's easier to keep track of the new ones. I also do my own research, of course, but usually new games get to me through various other sources.

Additionally, we try to add all games in demo mode to the database, so we don't necessarily choose which ones to keep, and which ones don’t.

Q: Would you say that Casino Guru has the largest database of free games on the internet?

I definitely wouldn't say that; we don't have all of the free games available on the market, but we're working on it. We add approximately 300 free games to our database each month, which is a solid number, but there are competing sites that focus just on providing demo games to play.

In comparison, Casino Guru has multiple projects, goals, efforts, and business plans, as discussed in other Insider interviews with my colleagues, whether Šimon, Daniel, Ivona, or Matej. We can’t compare ourselves to companies that employ many, many people for the job I do on my own.

Nonetheless, I believe we belong among the most successful in this segment, possibly even in the top three of the free casino game databases, particularly in terms of the total number of games and number of functional games.

I say functional because these demo versions are frequently crashing, so maintenance is crucial. We need to keep the games in check, and we are very efficient in that regard.

Q: So, do you also provide assistance to the players if there are any issues with those games?

Yes, exactly. Our game section includes a tool that allows players to report any problems they encounter, and I am always there to help. We also have our own reports, and there are people on the Casino Guru team who also work with free casino games from time to time, and they contact me in case any game stops working.

Q: Players can also find game reviews for some popular games on the Casino Guru website. Do you also take care of those?

I only contribute slightly to the process of creating free game reviews; they are managed mainly by the Content Team. These reviews are written by our external writers, to whom I personally assign which games have the potential to become popular or at least often visited and searched for.

Reviews are then written for these games, each with their own set of characteristics and information, and they are also consistent with Casino Guru casino game strategy.
I check these reviews for factual errors, and our internal Content Team proofreads them.

Q: What are some of the most popular games on Casino Guru, and why do you think they attract so many players?

For a very long time, the Games of Olympus from Pragmatic Play have been the most played free game, pulling us up the rankings and drawing people in. However, it is important to say that this is a highly popular game worldwide. Furthermore, Sweet Bonanza, also developed by Pragmatic Play, is very popular.

Q: What are the Free Tournaments that Casino Guru organizes?

In our Free Tournaments we essentially give the players who participate a certain number of free spins to play free games after an agreement with the providers. They receive 200 spins for a weekly tournament and 500 spins for a monthly tournament.

Players then receive points for their winnings based on established winning criteria. Additionally, we have a chart that is automatically updated following each player's spin so that everyone can see their ranking in real time, something that players are likely familiar with from regular online casino tournaments.

When all the spins have been used, each player is left with a set number of points and a ranking in the chart. The best ones, the ones with the most points, are awarded real-money Amazon gift cards.

Although we were not the first ones to offer Free Tournaments, the thing that makes our approach unique is that the winners of Casino Guru Free Tournaments receive gift cards with real money. I consider it to be a significant added value, and we were the first to implement this idea.

Q: How do the players learn about this chance to participate in Free Tournaments?

First of all, players need to be of age and have an active account at Casino Guru in order to participate in our Free Tournaments. Additionally, we keep our players updated via our newsletter, which contains all of the interesting information about both new games and tournaments. And even though we make a great effort to avoid being bothersome, we might use pop-ups on our website occasionally as a reminder.

Q: What are the differences between Casino Guru's approach to free tournaments and the competitive websites?

Typically, the execution is quite similar to what we offer. However,the difference is in how our competition awards its winners. They usually send some odds and sods to the winners, or they give away online badgeslike profile icons.

In my opinion, Amazon gift cards that the player can use for whatever they want are waypreferable to, let’s say,a cap. The top ten players in our monthly tournament will split a total of €1,000, which is unparalleled.

Also, we are currently working on several updates that should make Free Tournaments even more interesting.

Q: Are there any new features that you're especially excited about?

One of the most exciting novelties we have introduced as of late is the Game of the Week. This tool promotes new games in our games section that are engaging, successful, and most importantly, fresh. Three games are added to the Game of the Week each week, giving users the chance to try out some cutting-edge, modern titles and learn something new.

In addition to having a great new design, our Game of the Week has a prominent placement on our website and is a major draw for both players and game developers as well.

Q: What are your plans for the future of Casino Guru’s game database? Are there any specific goals or innovations you’re working towards?

Our current focus is on improving the games that we suggest to players based on their past choices. Players see our whole game selection arranged like a Netflix panel, and they can choose new games to play based on our recommendations, among other things. So, we are currently straightening our algorithm to meet players preferences the best we can.

We also concentrate on enhancing the user experience on our website, particularly during the holidays and special time periods. This means that we want to makegames that are thematically related to, for example, Halloween or Christmas, more visible and easily accessible for players.

Q: In your opinion, what makes Casino Guru stand out from other free casino game platforms?

In addition to the fact that we have a large database of games, I believe that our biggest advantage is that we do our work to an overallhigh standard.

We regularly update the database, fix non-working games,have Free Tournaments in which players can win real prizes, have high-quality design, well-thought-out UX, everything works seamlessly even on mobile devices, and many other useful features.

I believe that our competitors frequently lack in one aspect or another, whereas our work is balanced and of high quality on all fronts.

Q: Lastly, tell me what you like about your job and what you like to do outside of it.

First and foremost, I like the people I work with. I believe we have a great team, from management to colleagues. I also appreciate that my hard work is never overlooked, and I get to participate in the visible successes that our company achieves.

My free time activities revolve primarily around caring for my dog, which is actually my second full-time job. I enjoy doing something physical after sitting in front of a computer all day, so I'm working on some house renovation projects, and I also enjoy swimming.

This interview is part of Casino Guru Insiders, a series of interviews during which experts from Casino Guru share their unique workflow, reveal insider information, and offer an exclusive overview of experience-packed know-how.

Image credit: Casino Guru News