
Episode #268
Michael Pedersen: Emerging verticals, the new map for iGaming operators
️ NEXT.io Podcast #26 8 with Michael Pedersen, CEO of Swivel Gaming In this episode of the NEXT.io Podcast, Michael Pedersen — CEO of Swivel Gaming and one of the most experienced operators in the emerging verticals space — maps out the four products quietly reshaping the iGaming industry: sweepstakes, card rips, prediction markets and ADW. Swivel has been building in this space for five years. Michael took over as CEO in March and relaunched the business around exactly these verticals. In this conversation he goes through each one in depth: what it is, where the opportunity is, and where it falls short. ⏰ Timestamps: 00:00 - Intro 00:36 - Sponsors 03:41 - Welcoming Michael Pedersen 03:50 - Why Swivel doubled down on emerging verticals 06:26 - How many emerging verticals actually exist? 08:19 - Legal opinions vs. regulators 11:08 - Sweepstakes:dying or still growing? 16:15 - The sweepstakes player vs. the iGaming player 20:04 - Can sweepstakes work outside the US? 23:22 - Card rips: what is it and why is it blowing up? 31:55 - How complex is card rips for operators? 39:26 - Prediction markets: the iGaming operator perspective 44:39 - The ProphetX partnership explained 52:27 - ADW explained: a slot machine powered by a real horse race 56:08 - The challenges with ADW margins 01:00:15 - Are there more emerging verticals on the horizon? 01:06:12 - Emerging verticals are like social media platforms 01:07:37 - "iGaming now feels old school" 01:08:17 - Where will Swivel be in three years? SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/409DefE06IKPhZzhDIDpH3?si=dcdf9b8d400e479a Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/es/podcast/next-io-podcast/id1515442333?l=en-GB CONNECT WITH NEXT.IO ✩ Website: https://next.io/ This episode of NEXT.io is brought to you by: Pragmatic Solutions – Leading iGaming platform technology https://pragmatic.solutions/ Pragmatic Play – Industry-leading content provider https://www.pragmaticplay.com/en/ Sponsored by: Hard Rock Games: https://www.hardrockgames.com/ Creedroomz: https://www.creedroomz.com/






