The Building Blox Of Success

With disruptive online software provider, Bitblox, enjoying a breakout year in 2024, we caught up with CEO, Brandt Page, to get his thoughts on why the company’s unique range of crypto-based betting games have proved so popular with players and where this exciting vertical is heading next.

Looking back on the past year, what have been the major milestones for Bitblox and are there any products/partnerships/developments you’re particularly excited about going forward?

“The biggest milestone for Bitblox last year was definitely getting our Isle of Man Gambling Supervision Commission license issued in April, as that was what paved the way for our first set of deals going live over the summer. Looking ahead to next year, we’ve got a number of new releases planned and the one I’m most excited about is BitSlap. I think that the way the gameplay works coupled with the introduction of fun characters will really help us capitalise on any short-term marketing opportunities in regard to current events – for example, if we look back to last year, we could have had a version of BitSlap that pitted Trump and Harris characters against each other in the run-up to the US election, which would have attracted a huge audience at that time!”

Having launched an entirely new vertical in the industry, what would you say the initial reaction to your unique brand of crypto-based betting has been among operators/players?

“I’d say there’s been an incredibly positive reaction to our products from operators and players; and the unique combination of skill-based games (SBGs) and games of chance that Bitblox titles provide really is a key part of that. Most players like having the potential of being able to win over time, so providing an alternative to traditional RNG-powered slots and crash games has allowed us to cater to this desire while also pioneering something that’s totally unique within the industry. On top of that, our content is engaging players in operators’ casino areas that wouldn’t normally be there – we’re getting users who typically only wager on sports come and find our titles because the mechanics are similar to placing a sports bet, so that’s also been a very positive thing for us.”

How have you adapted your products to customer feedback over your first 12 months of operation and were games like Up or Down? Turbo created in response to specific demand?

“If there’s one thing we’ve learned, it’s shorten, shorten, shorten! When we first started exhibiting what is effectively now Up or Down? two years ago, it was a 10-minute game where you’d predict the movements of the Bitcoin market and earn points based on those predictions. We then scaled this concept down to a 60-second game in response to customer feedback – which is what Up or Down? is today – and sped it up further in the 20-second version, Up or Down? Turbo. As the latter has been such a huge hit for us, what we’re now doing is looking at ways that we can make the original game more engaging, adding things like a cash out option that’s available the second the betting round goes live so that there’s always something happening for the entire 60 seconds.”

Did you expect Bitblox titles to show such strong engagement numbers among both casino players and sports bettors and how has this performance informed product development?

“I wouldn’t say I expected it, but I certainly hoped it would be the case! Being a sports betting person myself, I’ve been interested in the markets since I was young and knew Bitblox titles would appeal to players who felt likewise, but by creating a product that lives in a casino environment and looks and feels like a casino game while simultaneously incorporating the functionality of a sports bet, we’ve created something that’s really interesting to a number of different audiences. In terms of whether this cross-market appeal has informed product development, I think we were already there when we founded Bitblox. The whole ethos was to combine SBGs with games of chance so we could create something new in the space and I think we’ve managed to do just that.”

Given Bitblox titles are a mix of skill-based games (SBGs) and games of chance, do you think their popularity has given us an insight into how player tastes and preferences are evolving?

“We haven’t really delved into player demographics all that deeply just yet. It may just be that there’s a younger generation who have grown up with crypto and are trying our games because they seem more relevant to their own experience, but equally it could be that they want to play something that offers them a genuine chance of winning over time. Of course, that’s not meant as a dig towards slots or other RNG-based games, because we all know they offer fantastic entertainment – and being entertained is the primary reason most people play. What I’m saying is I think Bitblox has landed in a sort of “Goldilocks” zone with our games where everything is just right – they deliver the entertainment casino players want and the reality sports bettors are after.”

Can you give us a sneak peek at what’s in store for Bitblox in 2025? Are there any new products on your current roadmap and how do you plan to expand into new global markets?

“2025 for Bitblox is going to be all about growth – growth in relation to distribution and getting our content out to more aggregators and operators and growth in relation to developing our product and game base. We already have at least three unique additions that we’re working hard to deliver in the first half of next year and there’s also a multitude of re-skins and tweaks to our existing products that we’ve got planned, so I’m very excited about what’s to come. I think we can get to a point where Bitblox is releasing something new every month and we’ve had people say that once we reach that level of content, we’d justify having our own tab on their platform. My goal is to be sat here next year seeing ‘crypto-based games’ as a category on various operators’ homepages!”