By Tim Poole
Mariusz Pudzianowski has bench pressed 290kg (640lb), deadlifted 415 kg and squatted 380kg. But the Polish icon was still taken aback by the size of ICE London 2019. At the event, Gambling Insider caught up with the Promatic ambassador, while also speaking with the supplier’s Managing Director Bogdan Stanczak.
Q & A: Mariusz Pudzianowski, Promatic ambassador, MMA fighter and five-time World’s Strongest Man
How long have you worked with Promatic and how is the partnership going so far?
We started last year and I’m sure it will last a few more years. At this stage, it’s working out very well and we’ll see how this develops in future.
What are your impressions of ICE?
It’s something new for me, experiencing it for the first time. It’s a big event.
How does it feel to be the face of your own slots game?
I have never had a chance to do this so it’s difficult to get used to!
Do you gamble much or play slots games yourself?
(At this point, Pudzianowski produces an honest laugh) I play but only a tiny bit, just for pleasure. I would rather it stay like that. I would rather not lose too much!
What are your future plans with Promatic and in mixed martial arts?
I will soon be fighting the Olympic champion in MMA and, for the next three years, I will definitely continue working with Promatic. After that, we’ll see how successful the partnership has been and look to continue.
Q & A: Bogdan Stanczak, Managing Director, Promatic
Tell us about Promatic’s plans for 2019 and beyond.
We act as a B2B provider, originating in the retail business and now offering a truly synergised omni-channel product. We think, if you’re running your own brick-and-mortar casino, it’s obvious you need to get a grasp of both land-based and online.
We have great content recognisable not only in Poland but also in places like Africa. We’ve been hearing requests for online for a long time. That’s why we’ve created our new Promatic games and games like the Pudzianator. We have some very nice surprises we want to show to the world in 2019. We know our strengths and we want to choose the right partners. It’s quality over quantity. We want partners we can get a strong, long-lasting relationship with.
It looks good in the books when you say „I signed client number 12 this month.” But we want value in our business. We are not a new company; we know how to build a business. My experience is in an online background so that’s what I’ve brought to Promatic.
What are your hopes specifically for the Pudzianator game?
It’s our first branded game. It shows what we are able to do. People in Poland and neighbouring countries know Mariusz Pudzianowski. He’s the only man to win the World’s Strongest Man title five times. He’s a special person. We are a Polish company and are proud that he’s Polish. We want to show the gaming industry we’ve actually created a game that isn’t only to do with gambling but also fun.
He’s a very well-known person, a strong athlete and a great human being. We have a number of voiceovers from him during gameplay so there’s a bit of a human touch to the game. It’s just the very beginning; it shows our capabilities and we are not going to stop there. It’s not a one-off – we have other plans. We want to stand out a little bit from the crowd. Sure, we are one of many developers – but we believe we have something extra.
Will you be working on any more branded content?
Let me tell you just one thing: what we did with the Pudzianator was just the beginning. I can’t reveal too much now but we’ll be releasing more details in the summer.