In the first of our interview series we speak to Kim Larsen, Creative Director and Co-founder of Casumo. They’re one of our highest rated mobile casino operators and he explains the culture within the company, where he sees the future of casino gaming and what sets Casumo mobile casino apart in a competitive marketplace.

We want our players to know a bit more about Casumo – they only get to see what happens from the casino perspective – what’s the culture like behind the scenes and what’s the vision for Casumo?

Casumo was founded on modern values and I guess that really reflects our organisation and culture in general. We believe in hiring the most talented people out there and because we do so, we get rid of many layers of management. We believe everyone is of equal value; be it be developers, designers, marketing folks, ambassadors or accountants.

Nobody will point at somebody and tell them what to do, which I think is a fundamentally different from many other companies. Every Friday we have something called Friday Fika, which means that the whole company have cake, beer & music.

Every other Wednesday we have something called Kickstart. It’s an open meeting, which anyone can join and means that the whole company gets to decide what we should work on. Have something you want to do? Argue for it in the Kickstart and we’ll discuss together if we work on it for the next two weeks.

Other from that we have free fruit, a fridge full of sodas and other beverages and ever so important coffee, of any kind. We’re a family here that works, laughs, and generally have a nice time together. We value that culture more than any company I’ve been in, and that was a conscious decision from the very beginning.

What are your thoughts on the current mobile casino landscape?

On one hand we see that the growth for mobile is huge. On the other hand though, we see that the mobile casino product is not really living up to it’s full potential right now. It could be so much more immersive and fun, this is something we care about deeply. Because of that we’re working hard to make the mobile casino a really great experience.

Where do you think Casumo fit in to the mobile casino landscape?

I think that Casumo will be the one casino that will take mobile to a new level of fun. We believe in creating experiences that make you smile. Hopefully we’ll deliver an even better experience in the future too, the things we’re working on are really cool.

How big a part of your current plans does your mobile casino play – are you starting to see a shift towards mobile gaming by players?

Well, we have a strong focus on our product. We don’t like to think of these as two different products, but as one product on two different devices. So, in that sense, mobile gets as much attention as the desktop version of our product. But as I mentioned earlier, we think that the experience on mobile could be so much more immersive and so there’s a natural focus on improving that, and it will be the objective for some time to come.

What are your ambitions for Casumo in the short and long term? What can new and current players expect to see?

We have some exciting things for players coming out this year, and I think that you’ll see an overall improvement of many areas. One thing we really love doing is our casino challenges, which is unheard of in this business. Stay tuned!

How do you aim on keeping Casumo at the forefront of mobile gaming?

Innovation. To be in the forefront you need to constantly question what others consider to be fact. That’s essentially what innovation is about and approaching things in that way is how we approach each day. It’s in our DNA.

Predict the future for us –  where will mobile casino gaming be in 5 years time?

We have a good idea how we think a casino product will look 5 years from now, but that’s not something I can share with you right now. There’s a lot to improve, let’s leave it at that.

Innovation is a huge buzzword in the industry at the moment, so many casinos claim to be fresh and innovative; how do Casumo set themselves apart from their casino and mobile casino competitors?

I wouldn’t say innovation is a buzzword, but I would say that some companies treat innovation it like it is. True innovation doesn’t happen overnight. It’s a process you have to invest time and effort in and it has to be a part of your core DNA to achieve that.

We aim to bring players the best gaming experience there is and every single day we ask how we can do things better. Innovation has nothing to do with perceived image, innovation is when you start to question the fundamentals of something.

In sports betting, much like other entertainment markets, personalisation is becoming a major retention tool for operators. Can you envisage that this will become more prevalent in the casino industry too? Personalised player offers and promotions based on player data for example?

Definitely. We are already working a lot with artificial intelligence to serve game recommendations and to show relevant information to each player. As a player you’re going to notice how this affects almost every corner of our product because it makes it better.

Are there any games that you’re excited about seeing come to mobile or is there a game that you particularly enjoy?

I like the new Spiñata Grande game on mobile, love that you can play it in portrait mode. Try it!

In three words, sum it up for us, why should Mobile Casino Expert players choose Casumo?

We design smiles because you win more at Casumo. Sorry, three words wasn’t enough.

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