Joan Sanahuja, CEO of MGA Games: "Product, constant innovation and excellence in service are and will continue to be the pillars of our company"

Jacqueline Mecinas.- The general feeling is that MGA GAMES is unrivalled when it comes to creativity, production capacity, surprise… with MGA GAMES positioned as market leaders for online gaming. What is it that defines your style and sets you apart?

Joan Sanahuja.- We started twenty years ago with a very clear idea: to innovate the online gaming sector. We have always taken advantage of the tools of technology and apply innovation to each of our projects.

In terms of tools, I think the most interesting is the fact that we have learned to listen to the user; to receive a lot of feedback, to know what would be the distribution environments for certain channels, breaking into the mobile world, how it has evolved.

The fact that we develop products that are 100% mobile with sequential uploading, triple views, etc., has given us the edge. It has given us an advantage over other companies who also develop content for the Spanish sector.


JM.- How many agreements have been closed so far this year?

JS.- This year there have been more than 15 agreements closed with both national and international operators, and our games are already live with all of them. We intend to exceed this figure next year and, in fact, our sales team has been working, for months now, on the closing of new agreements that will be finalised in 2021.


JM.-How many people work at MGA Games? Is it important to promote and subsidise the industry for talent, creativity, and technology?

JS.- Currently, at MGA Games, we are a team of 50 people, comprising programmers, designers, a sales team, and management, among others. From day one, we have always paid great attention to emerging talent, and we are proud to say that we are creating a school. In fact, many interns want to come and work with us to train, and we are delighted to help empower and promote young designers in this sector.


JM.- What is the current climate for online gambling in Latin America? What role will MGA Games play in its development?

JS.- It has been many years since we decided to set up in Latin America when we started with the launch of a social casino project in that market. Today is an exciting time for Latin America, with many opportunities for expansion and growth, thanks to the progressive regulation for online gambling in different countries. At MGA Games, we will continue with our expansion throughout Latin America. After being established in regulated countries like Colombia, and waiting to launch in Argentina and Panama, we are now also working on having the product available in other jurisdictions.

Regarding our contribution to online gaming in Latin America, I would say that it consists of offering innovative and quality products based on a localisation strategy. We can offer a differentiated product that is adapted to the client of each country. And we will continue to provide this differential value so successfully achieved here in Spain, through the localisation of products, and the providing of an alternative to the Anglo-Saxon content providers who deliver the same product in Mexico as they do in Spain or England. We understand very well that we must provide added value.

JM.- It seems that the MGA GAMES Spanish Celebrities series is unstoppable, and now also in the international market. How many more surprises do you have in store for us?

JS.- The result obtained from products with intellectual property is really high. And in 2021 we will continue consolidating a trend based on the 'Act Local, Think Global’ strategy and the localisation of the product. In fact, 100% of all the products that we will launch during 2021 will have the image of a well-known personality.

Whats more we will be exporting the Spanish Celebrities formula to the rest of the world starting in Portugal, with the ‘Portuguese Celebrities Series’, where we have already closed some operating agreements that will help us to establish market leadership in this country as well. Futre, Diana Chaves or Fanny Rodrigues are going to be the first celebrity characters to be featured in our ‘Portuguese Celebrities Series.’
In total we will launch internationally 7 new products with intellectual property. And in Spain, 13 new productions, all of them featuring a well-known brand, such as TOI, which will be the first game that we will commercialise in the Slots3 line in 2021 and that will surely delight players.

To coincide with our 20th anniversary, we will be launching our 100th production. And just as it should be, our 100th product will be a sequel to our game Chiquito de la Calzada ... Chiquito II will be available in September 2021.


JM.- Aside from this series, in 2021 what surprises does the ‘Spanish Celebrities Casino Slots’ have in store for us by way of a new twist to the MGA Games 5-reel product? What is MGA GAMES’ production level at the moment?

JS.- Of the 13 new products for 2021 in Spain, 7 will be 5-reel productions within the ‘Spanish Celebrities Casino Slots’ series. It's going to be a series with totally renewed and improved features; improved audio, better math, and more mini-games with which we are sure to surprise both the user and the operator.

As the first game in our new 5-reel series ‘Spanish Celebrities Casino Slots,’ we will be collaborating with the wonderful Yola Berrocal, winner of the latest Mediaset Spain reality show La Casa Fuerte, together with Leticia Sabater, another one of our Spanish celebrities,

We are very proud of the 5-reel product that will be on offer to the market this year. We are sure it will make a big impact.


JM.- Which games are you especially proud of? What experience with players sets MGA GAMES apart from other providers?

JS.- I am extremely proud of all our games. I always say that my feelings are the same as they were on the first day we started the company. Feelings of doubt, impatience, and excitement coupled with the desire to create the best game possible. But of course, I have a special affection for those very first games developed, because they represent great sentiment and memories.

And if there is something today that I am especially proud of, it's our new Casino product, La Ruleta Grand Crupier which we will also launch in 2021. We have been working for many months to offer a different, special, innovative roulette product designed for the operator, and I am convinced that it will be a revolution.


JM.- Without the path forged by MGA GAMES would the online gaming industry in Spain be the same? Has the same experience been established in Latin America ?

JS.- Online gaming is the sum of all of those who create it, and MGA Games can only talk about our own contribution. For us, it was something quite simple and natural. We did a very quick and simple analysis of the sector in Spain, which of course we already knew very well. We were aware that in Spain people played a very localised, very traditional type of product. We cannot ignore that 20 years ago there were approximately 250,000 3-reel slot machines, which players were very used to playing. And what we wanted was to transfer them to the digital environment.

Then we realised that within this product localisation strategy would be the fact that also joining forces with brands or famous celebrities of the country where these types of games were going to be exploited contributed something new and different, something that the competition surely was not carrying out at that time and we, within our localisation strategy, because we thought it could be interesting realised that the user response was very positive.

At this point, what we did was to extrapolate the success of product localisation to Latin America, where we followed the same approach. And then we added the use of intellectual property and integration of a famous character or brand, so that the user can also be identified or more comfortable or more recognisable.


JM.´-Summery of 2020 and WHAT IS YOUR WISH FOR 2021?

JS.- In 2020, the pandemic has disrupted all plans and has put the economy and the sector in a difficult position. Not only are we facing a crucial moment for the online gambling sector in Spain, but we are also facing regulatory changes with restrictions and difficulties for normal day-to-day operations. So it has been highly inspiring to see how we all continue to adapt to this new normal, striving to keep our industry healthy and at the highest possible level.

In 2021 MGA Games will celebrate its 20th anniversary. For us, it has a very deeply personal and professional significance. We have been developing innovative products for 20 years, and next year we will celebrate this moment with lots of new and exciting developments. We want to celebrate this special year with all of you, so I can assure you that great surprises await us all!

My main wish for 2021 is that we are all in good health. To continue working on what we are passionate about and do so while always maintaining our company pillars: product, constant innovation, and service excellence. These are the three pillars that we always pursue.