Forbidden City’s Group CEO, John Cooney, sat down with iGaming Expert to provide greater detail around the Swiss luxury brand’s digital casino debut.
Speaking to iGaming Expert’s Editor, Joe Streeter, Cooney revealed that the inspiration for Forbidden City’s pivot was feedback from customers who are involved in the crypto and iGaming industry.
The luxury that Forbidden City has built its brand around, according to Cooney, will also be more than evident in its casino offering.
Cooney said: “We’re leveraging all of the strengths that we built over time, and we’re allowing the operating entity who is going to operate the casino in Asia and other select markets to be able to offer things to clients that nobody else can do in terms of the way that we’re able to do it and how clients can physically touch the brand, not just live it virtually.”
This manifests in the form of a loyalty programme, Forbidden City Society, that allows players of the Forbidden City brand to earn rewards such as shopping experiences or hotel stays.
By entering the iGaming space, Cooney detailed, Forbidden City is seeking to unlock a new group of clientele and provide a new type of experience for players.
He explained: “[With traditional casinos] you get some free spins and bonuses, cashback, but nothing that I think really adds to your life and lifestyle.
“As a lifestyle brand, we really want to bring that into the world of iGaming. These people are sitting in their homes or they’re on their mobile phone, and they’re gambling. But they do actually have real lives, and they want to have real experiences. I think that as a lifestyle brand, we can bring that to them.”
To begin, the Forbidden City brand will focus heavily on the Asian market. In particular, Cooney revealed, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Hong Kong and Macau.
With that inevitably comes a myriad of different regulatory frameworks that the brand will be forced to navigate. However, this is something that the company is more than prepared to do.
“It’s very important for us to be really clear with ourselves, our partners and with regulators to say, this is how we’re doing it, and hopefully they’ll be willing to listen before jumping to conclusions,” Cooney concluded.
