Q&A: Pitch ICE winner Gamevy on its path to market

Last month games developer Gamevy fended-off competition from 19 other start-ups to scoop the inaugural Pitch ICE award at the ICE Totally Gaming exhibition in London.

Gamevy claimed the award after securing 32% of the public vote for its Bornlucky Gameshows mobile and tablet app, which enables players to star in their own gameshow.

The prize sees Gamevy gain entry to the GamCrowd Incubator service, designed to help start-ups secure investment, fill skills and expertise gaps, and provide introductions to operators in the industry for testing and distribution.

eGaming Review caught up with Gamevy co-founder and chairman Paul Dolman-Darrall (pictured) to discuss the award and the challenges facing new start-ups in an increasingly regulated global market.

eGaming Review (eGR): Can you tell me a little about the Bornlucky Gameshows product and why you think the product won the Pitch ICE award?

Paul Dolman-Darrall (PDD): It is incredibly tough for start-ups to get noticed at major international trade shows so we jumped at the chance to enter Pitch ICE. Winning Pitch ICE has given us great exposure and has already generated a number of new business leads and opportunities on the back of it.

As ideas go, Bornlucky Gameshows is really simple – online gameshows in which you get to be the star, rather than watch passively on TV. Players can win big cash jackpots – and have fun even if they don’t. Our games combine classic gameshow skills with a healthy dose of luck and high quality TV-style entertainment. And, yet, at the same time, it is truly innovative. Gameshows are incredibly popular but people cannot play anything like a real one. You either get no prizes (second screen), no skill (existing offerings), or the brand is just licensed to slots.

eGR: What kind of demographic and market is this aimed at?

PDD: Gameshows are popular across age groups and genders, closer to lottery than any other form of gambling. Our first two games – The Heist and Gears of Fortune – are aimed at a younger male audience but we will have titles covering every gameshow genre and demographic.

We provide a fun and entertaining experience for five to 10 minutes. Players have many time demands but are often left with a few minutes each day – waiting for a train, coffee breaks at work, sitting on the sofa after dinner, lying in bed before turning out the light – in which they’re bored and want entertainment. We are after those five minutes, offering the chance to combine drama, skill and chance to win real money. So we are aimed at casual gamblers.

eGR: Is it a B2B product or will this be launched as a standalone brand?

PDD: Initially we plan to build our own-brand Bornlucky Gameshows in the UK but are also in discussions – and would welcome more – about potentially launching it exclusively with another operator in the first instance, possibly in more than one market and on multiple platforms.

eGR: How long has it taken you to get to this stage and what has proven to be the biggest obstacle(s)?

PDD: It’s been two years since the birth of the idea and about nine months of solid work on Bornlucky Gameshows. The number of obstacles in just getting to market as an operator is astonishing: regulation, banking, technology, payments, funding, to name a few. Let alone the fact you then have to find an innovative angle into the market. All of this without a single customer. Acquisition is obviously the next obstacle.

It might be tempting to answer regulation, since that has been a solid nine-month process with a significant number of associated hurdles, but time is probably the biggest obstacle. We believe our idea has real potential, in terms of market reach and product developing, but all start-ups must focus on releasing that minimal viable product as quickly as possible.

eGR: Do you feel the increase in regulation of online gaming helped or hindered new start-ups?

PDD: In our particular case, complex regulation around television and gambling has created an opportunity for us to bring an innovative product to market and actually prevented companies like television production houses from competing effectively. However, overall regulation massively hinders start-ups prior to launching and offers a barrier to entry that protects the incumbents.

eGR: What’s next for Gamevy following the award? What are the company’s priorities?

PDD: Going live. We want people to be entertained by stealing money from the vault in The Heist, cracking the Buzzword to release the wining balls, and collecting the symbols and cashing in the Gears of Fortune. Next is to make our products as fun as they can be. Everything can be made better and creating entertaining games is always our primary aim. And paying a million pounds out as a prize.