How Playstudios Combines Vegas Casinos, Gaming & Player Rewards | mickey sonino

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Ten years ago, social casino games exploded as free-to-play social casino games, where you could buy virtual chips but couldn't cash out the winnings. But Playstudios emerged in 2011 with a different business model, where players earned loyalty points in social casino games that could be redeemed for actual rewards from various hotel, entertainment and leisure brands.

Social mobile gaming has done so well that the company has grown to 10 studios and 750 people. CEO Andrew Pascal was able to take the Las Vegas company public at a valuation of $1.1 billion in early 2021. Since then, the company's value has plummeted during the recession, but it's still valued at $502 million.

In this sense, the company has fared much better than many other social casino gaming companies. And Playstudios operates 13 games, including Tetris, and continues to add marks (121 at last count) to its rewards program for its 12 million monthly active users. Partners include MGM Resorts International, Wolfgang Puck, Norwegian Cruise Line, Resorts World and many more. The company acquired WonderBlocks to launch a blockchain-based loyalty platform dubbed PlayBlocks in partnership with Forte. Playstudios investors include Activision Blizzard and MGM Resorts International.

Pascal recently hired seasoned Playtika executive Mickey Sonnino as COO. And I interviewed her recently. Here is an edited transcript of our interview.

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GamesBeat: Congratulations on the new position. How did this happen?

Mickey Sonnino: Before that, I worked for Playtika for about seven and a half years. I left the company and took the time to breathe. I don't know if you know Playtika well, but seven and a half years there was very intense. I started thinking about what I was looking for myself. Katie contacted me from the United States regarding this role. Andrew was in Israel at the time. We have met a few times. I met the team. I was intrigued and decided to join the company.

GamesBeat: Are you going to have to move to Las Vegas for Playstudios?

Sonnino: No, actually I'm based in Tel Aviv. To give you a little more context, Playstudios runs free games. We have a secret sauce which is one of the reasons I joined is that it has a loyalty program called PlayAwards. It allows players playing the games to redeem real-world rewards. No other social gaming company has this. Playstudios is the pioneer of the category of award-winning games. This adds a layer of fidelity to games. Players who play the games earn loyalty points, and upon completion, they can visit a store and redeem those points for actual rewards.

This program has changed the trajectory of how a game's lifecycle operates in terms of retaining and improving games through the loyalty program. Moreover, it creates a unique experience for the players. It's playing the games you love with the rewards you want. It gives the company the ability to attract, retain,...