Lucky Lu

What is Lucky Lu?

In June, one of the operators, TOTO online BV, was reported for violating the ban on featuring role models in advertising materials.

This was not the first time TOTO has been in trouble with KSA. The platform was fined in 2022 for a similar endeavour – gambling advertisements that were seemingly aimed at young people.   

Kathryn covers bitesize breaking news with a primary focus on EMEA and US legislation. A proud North Walian, fluent Welsh speaker and lifelong Wrexham FC fan – long before Hollywood came calling.

What is Lucky Lu?

While thousands of new casino games reach the market every year – with research suggesting the number of releases is growing by around 10% each quarter – volume does not necessarily equate to variety. Developing something genuinely different means taking a risk, while the industry’s familiar practice of reskinning existing games, or adapting mechanics and concepts that have already proved successful, offers a much safer commercial proposition.

For James Curwen, chief executive at Yggdrasil, the tension between the industry’s need for fresh content and the commercial realities of producing it goes to the heart of the challenge.

“The industry has a content problem,” he says. “There are thousands of games being released and too many of them are variations of something that already exists.

What is Lucky Lu?

This can be difficult, however, as Atucha explains some larger platforms entering LatAm will only work with tier 1 operators, rather than helping smaller companies develop. “It’s challenging because first, whatever you would consider a tier 3 or a tier 2 or even a startup in an emerging market like Latin America can eventually become a tier 1 operator,” Atucha suggests.

“We’ve got lots of cases, EstrelaBet being one of them. They started from nothing and they grew a lot. And probably platform suppliers will have ignored them and regret that later on. You’ve got lots of cases like that.”

Atucha suggests global scale is only an advantage for international operators when it is executed with a local perspective. Having been in the Peruvian market since 2008, Betsson boasts considerably more local experience than a newer international entrant. “We have seen it all,” Rossi says.