Natalia Shkarbanova: “Putting players in the driving seat is ramping our slots up a gear”

Where features and promo tools are concerned, Playson is renowned for its engaging, trend-led offerings which repeatedly top the charts. Its latest feature, Hold for Spins, is no different, promising to give players more control over their gaming experience.

In conversation with Natalia Shkarbanova, Product Owner at Playson, we look at how this latest feature holds the key to engaging a new generation of players.

Q: Playson’s Hold for Spins has been touted as a tool that boosts player trust by giving them more control over their gaming session. Why is this important and how will it increase player confidence?

In a new era of gaming, players seek quick wins in a short period, but their safety remains essential. With Hold for Spins, Playson gives online and mobile players the autonomy to control their gaming sessions, meaning they can choose how many spins they want to take place by simply holding the button to spin and releasing when they wish to stop. It is essential that player safety is a priority, not just to meet regulatory obligations, but ensuring they are confident enough to come back and play with us again.

Unlike autoplay, which asks players to pre-set the number of spins, loss limits and single win limits before hitting spin and watching the game unfold, Hold for Spins places the power in the players’ hands and gives them more control over their game, so they know they can play to a level they are comfortable with.

Q: More than ever, people are seeking quicker thrills and faster rewards, choosing to play on mobile phones in between other daily tasks. You have previously dubbed this demographic the ‘Netflix generation of players’. What appeal will Hold for Spins have for them?

We know players are enjoying briefer gaming sessions as they have increasingly shorter attention spans and seek bursts of pleasure quickly. The Turbo Spin, which can be a part of Hold for Spins function, is perfectly developed to engage those with this preference.

With two game speed modes, Quick Spin and Turbo Spin, players using Hold for Spins can accelerate the game at any time. Once the function is enabled, tapping or clicking the Spin button instantly switches on the faster game mode. For Quick Spin, players who click the button once will see the reels spinning faster and then stopping simultaneously when compared to the regular spin mode, as some of the game animations are more rapid and over a shorter timeframe. Players using Turbo Spin are given the most optimised game speed, extremely fast, then presented with only a grid of symbols at the end of each spin. Turbo Spin skips minor animations, except for bonus modes, capturing rapid RNG responses. This makes it a lot speedier to reach the game’s rewards.

Q: Many jurisdictions have regulations around the speed of gameplay in slots. While offering a faster-paced game, how does Playson remain compliant?

While the game gives the sense of rapid spins and a faster route to rewards, the tool is compliant with a fair number of regulations. Hold for Spins, with Quick Spin and Turbo Spin modes, can be activated in 10 markets including Switzerland. The function allows players to stop when they win, or at the end of each spin if they wish, without any pre-set amount of spins to complete. In this regard, the Hold for Spins feature is considered safe for players to immerse themselves in.

Q: How can players enjoy Playson’s Hold for Spins and what have early results shown about your audience’s engagement with the tool?

Hold for Spins is now live across Playson’s latest releases and data has revealed it has a higher average sum of bets, as players enjoy returning more frequently for sessions that fit around their day-to-day lives. Players also feel a greater sense of control over the game and its functions, therefore the average bet in Turbo Spin tends to be 7% higher, as they are able to properly keep track of their spending and establish greater trust.

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