Videoslots primed for July launch of Mr Vegas casino brand
CEO Alexander Stevendahl insists there is no resemblance to Mr Green or LeoVegas after chasing the domain name for almost five years
Videoslots CEO Alexander Stevendahl has thrown a cat among the pigeons after teasing the launch of the operator’s new B2C casino brand Mr Vegas.
Stevendahl’s post on LinkedIn sparked a lively discussion on the network, with 196 likes and 37 comments after some users were quick to point out the logo reminded them of rival firms Mr Green and LeoVegas.
Mr Green’s head of SEO even described the product as “a shameless rip off of two well-recognised brands”.
Videoslots’ Mr Vegas logo
However, speaking exclusively to EGR, Stevendahl said: “My view is that I don’t see any resemblance at all. A lion is a lion and lots of brands use them.
“We are also using a green colour, but that is just a coincidence,” he added.
Stevendahl revealed he had chased the Mr Vegas domain name for half a decade, but the American who owned the URL had no intention to sell and would not consider offers.
Stevendahl emailed an increased offer to the domain holder every year for five years, but the acquisition was only made possible when the original owner gifted the domain name to his brother.
The brother accepted Stevendahl’s bid and Videoslots then secured a trademark for the brand.
“When we finally got the trademark for Mr Vegas, we were very happy as it is a powerful name,” said Stevendahl. “The trademark didn’t have any objections, so it was quite a short process.”
Videoslots had been working on a redesign for its self-titled flagship brand for the best part of two years in an attempt to modernise the traditional interface.
But following the launch of Mr Vegas, Stevendahl has opted to leave Videoslots as is, while the revamped, modernised platform will instead be used on the Mr Vegas brand when it goes live next month.
“We redesigned the Videoslots website because it is quite old as it looks right now, but it has performed well and I had to keep telling myself there is no need to fix something that is not broken,” Stevendahl told EGR.
“It might look old and classic, but it works, and the players are happy with it. Mr Vegas, though, will be more modern and will also have a social feel.”
Mr Vegas will first launch in Malta on the operator’s Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) licence, with plans to expand into Sweden and the UK once any initial teething problems are ironed out.
Stevendahl also provided an update on the operator’s soon-to-be launched proprietary sportsbook.
Videoslots remains committed to the vertical and a ‘lite’ version of the gamified sports betting product will be integrated to the Videoslots website in Q3 2020.
Videoslots has already secured an MGA sports betting licence and is awaiting similar approval from the Swedish Gambling Authority (SGA).