Anton Backman, Play Ventures, on free-to-play in gambling: ‘Players are buying

In an interview with European Gaming, Anton Backman, general partner at Play Ventures, explains why a games fund backed UK operator Midnite, which parts of the free-to-play playbook carry over to real-money gaming, what Aviator’s popularity says about entertainment and RTP, and where he would draw the line on engagement mechanics. 

Key findings

• On the new audience: ‘The emerging gambling audience grew up on mobile and social games, so they’d bring different expectations.’
• On the social layer: ‘A slot is a completely isolated experience, while F2P social casinos cracked shared rooms and chat long ago.’
• On Aviator: ‘It feels much more like a multiplayer game than a slot, and it’s perfect for streamers.’
• On regulatory arbitrage: ‘The arbitrage window is narrowing, and advantage has to come from somewhere else.’
• On retention: ‘Retention is mainly driven by bonuses rather than the product itself, so when the bonus stops, the player often does too.’
• On the next winners: ‘I expect the winners to look more like game companies than bookmakers.’

Why a games fund backed Midnite

European Gaming: Play Ventures built its record in mobile games. What did you see in online betting and casino that made it worth backing from a games fund, and what did the Midnite investment look like at the point you made it?

Anton Backman: Our interest in online betting and casino games started around 2020, when founders from our mobile free-to-play network began looking at real money. At that time, it was mainly skill games like solitaire, bingo, and match-three. 

As a game fund, it’s the demographics that stood out to us. The emerging gambling audience grew up on mobile and social games, so they have different expectations, and companies that understood that would have the upper hand.

On Midnite, we invest very early and are very founder-led. They [Midnite co-founders Nick Wright and Daniel Qu] were two US guys building for the UK, taking an outsider view on how to build a challenger brand. There were early engagement metrics that looked promising through a mobile gaming lens, but a lot of our underwriting was our shared mental model. 

What the free-to-play playbook carries over to real money

EG: Which parts of the free-to-play playbook carry over to sports betting and casino, and which ones break down when real money is at stake?

Anton Backman: One major thing that carries over from F2P is the social layer, which is also the most underdeveloped from my perspective. 

A slot is a completely isolated experience, while F2P social casinos cracked shared rooms and chat long ago. What really drives monetisation there is that you’re in a virtual room with other players, there’s a chat feature, and you can see what others are winning. Same core gameplay, same IP, just no real money outcomes.

Where it breaks down is the game economy. In F2P, you’re constantly tuning difficulty, rewards, and drop rates to keep players engaged and spending. In real-money gaming, you can’t do that, because the maths is certified and the RTP is published, so the core outcome is fixed. 

‘That means everything F2P teams normally do with live tuning has to move into the metagame, the content and the social layer instead.’

Entertainment as the driver of play: Aviator as a case study 

EG: Aviator has become one of the most played titles in several markets. What does its success tell operators and studios about how players weigh entertainment against RTP?

Anton Backman: Aviator and other instant games usually have a higher RTP than most online slots, but I don’t think that’s what drives their popularity. 

From my perspective, it’s the entertainment value. Everyone is in the same round at the same time; you see other players cash out in real time, there’s a chat, and the tension builds together. 

‘It feels much more like a multiplayer game than a slot, and it’s perfect for streamers. I think that’s the most important shift in gambling product design in a long time, and it comes directly from mobile F2P, where entertainment is the only thing players are paying for.’

The operators that understand players are buying an experience, not just odds, will be the ones that win.

Prediction markets, sweepstakes, and DFS pick’em

EG: Prediction markets, sweepstakes, and DFS pick’em are drawing a lot of capital and attention. Which of the three do you see as a lasting product category, and which is mostly riding regulatory gaps or hype?

Anton Backman: Many of these products are sportsbook-like, capitalising on the same motivations through regulatory arbitrage. 

Kalshi and Polymarket have a real fighting chance to spawn a new generation of products, though traction has mainly been in sports. 

Sweepstakes showed the strong demand for casino-style games and paved the way for skill games and card-ripping platforms. 

The arbitrage window is narrowing, and advantage has to come from somewhere else.

Product design and retention compared with consumer apps

EG: What do European operators and product teams still get wrong about product design and retention compared with the best consumer apps?

Anton Backman: From my perspective, the biggest gap is that the product is still mostly a catalogue. You open a casino and get a grid of thousands of slots from the same few suppliers, with very little that’s personal to you. 

Retention is mainly driven by bonuses rather than the product itself, so when the bonus stops, the player often does too. 

And it’s still a very isolated experience. 

‘The best consumer apps keep people coming back through habit, progression, and friends, and that’s where most operators are still far behind.’

I think that products leveraging social features and deep personalisation will define the next generation of platforms.

Free-to-play mechanics and responsible gambling

EG: Engagement loops, streaks, and fast game cycles are the tools that made free-to-play successful, and they are also what regulators across Europe are now restricting. Is there a real conflict between the free-to-play approach and responsible gambling, and where would you draw the line?

Anton Backman: An entertainment-first model could be healthier by design. 

If players come for the social experience and metagame rather than to chase a loss, that’s a more sustainable reason to spend time on a platform.

The next winners in European betting and casino 

EG: Looking ahead three to five years, what kind of company do you expect to win in European betting and casino, and what are you looking for in the next founders you back?

Anton Backman: I expect the winners to look more like game companies than bookmakers. 

• They’ll own their content instead of renting the same catalogue as everyone else
• They’ll have a community that brings players in through a combination of brand and performance marketing
• Their retention will hold up when the bonuses stop
• They’ll also treat compliance as part of the product, with affordability and safer gambling tools built into the experience rather than bolted on after the regulator calls.

‘The founders I want to back come from consumer or games, see regulation as a design constraint rather than an obstacle, and are obsessive about why a player would come back tomorrow for reasons other than winning.’

About Play Ventures

Play Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm founded in 2018 by games entrepreneurs Harri Manninen and Henric Suuronen. It invests globally in game studios, games-inspired consumer products, and related technology and services, and has offices in Singapore and Finland. Its portfolio includes UK sportsbook and casino operator Midnite, whose $35 million Series C round in January 2026 Play Ventures joined as an existing investor.

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