We were lucky enough to arrange an interview with Arcangelo Lonoce, Head of Business Development at Habanero, an award-winning provider that has more than 100 slots under its belt. Arcangelo shared some exclusive details for our readers, which we are sure you'll find exciting!
If you want to know more about Habanero's plans of expanding to more markets, as well as what new games they have in store for you, keep reading our interview!
Hi, Arcangelo! Thank you for taking the time to answer our questions. Before we begin, could you introduce yourself and Habanero to our readers?
"Great to meet you! My name is Arcangelo Lonoce, and I am head of Business Development for all things Habanero, with a particular focus on our European operations.
As mentioned, I head up all things business development for one of the best slots and table games providers in the industry. I’m delighted to be working here at Habanero; we’re really loved by players across Europe, Latin America and other global markets and we aim to embody our ethos in everything that we do, which is what makes us such a fantastic team.
Habanero won the Best Provider 2021 Award at the SlotsWise Gaming Awards. Why do you think you deserve this award?
"Thank you! We work extremely hard to deliver the best possible games and solutions to our operators, and we don’t just stop there. We really do our best to offer fantastic games, solutions, and business intelligence in terms of resilience, reliability, and scalability.
Such an approach really is our ethos; we aim to produce exactly what our operator partners need and to offer the very best in terms of customer support out there. All our systems have been built in the most scalable way possible to ensure that we can deliver and adapt to any changes - not only to build on our own expansion strategy but also to deliver solutions quickly and help our clients stay on top of their roadmaps."
Are there any specific features or mechanics (such as Megaways or Infinity Reels) that you’ve been impressed by and will you include them in your future slots?
"We’re ardent fans of innovation and developing entertaining products, which influenced our decision to make everything that we produce bespoke, original, and in-house. While we won’t ever close the door on such features or mechanics, we’d only integrate such things if they were to fit with our requirements. After all, a game can only be great if it has the right mathematics and immersive gameplay behind it. As well know, it always starts and ends with the maths – and that’s one of the things we do best at Habanero."
At SlotsWise, our players love the Mystic Fortune Deluxe slot. What inspired you to create this game? Was it challenging to combine the gameplay with the huge payout potential?
"Thank you again! As I’ve said, for us it’s all about the mathematics behind the slots, which coincidentally is one of the main things that impressed me when I was looking to make a move to Habanero a few years ago. When I joined back in 2017, one of the reasons why I was so inspired to join the team was in its ability to deliver fantastic gameplay with such a high payout, and a truly premium level of foundations to build the games upon.
The proof is in the pudding, our titles feature strong, innovative mathematics, lush graphics, and truly immersive storylines. All of this, merged with a state-of-the-art soundtrack and a very intuitive UI, enables us to provide bespoke adventures to our players that show them the best of what we offer.
Santa’s Village is a great example of this, and despite being a seasonal title, it’s one of the few out there that is truly popular all year round. For us, such fruit-based games are a real winning formula for, we have a way of making such traditional models appealing to players from all walks of life, and we believe the wonderful world of Habanero can be enjoyed by any iGaming fan out there."
You have quite an extensive portfolio with over 100 slots. If you were to choose a favourite, what would it be and why?
"I do apologise for sounding like a broken record, but Santa’s Village would have to be my favourite as it is one of the first slots that was released around when I joined Habanero!
The game really blew me away in terms of what it showed me we could create; it is fantastically immersive with great graphics, pitch-perfect sounds, and top mechanics. The game also offers 3 bonus rounds and a great storyline featuring Santa, meaning it has all the key elements that make a game great. It’s by far one of our most consistently performing games throughout the year and has become a staple of our offering over time."
You have a strong presence across European and Latin American markets. Do you have plans on expanding your business to more markets?
"We’re looking closely at the US as it’s a new market filled with fantastic potential and players that really appreciate quality gameplay. I think Habanero games will perform particularly well in the US as our games stay true to land-based heritage, and while we’re only online in terms of supply, I believe we offer something that land-based US players can really appreciate."
Are there any particular competitors you’ve been impressed by in the past year?
"We’ve noticed that the journey of BF Games throughout 2021 has been very impressive, with the developer growing considerably over the past 12 months. Nolimit City is another provider that we’ve been impressed by, most notably with some of its fantastically original content that has gained well-deserved attention from the wider industry."
Could you give us a sneak peek of what’s coming next from Habanero?
"We’re currently working on something really special, and our team couldn’t be more excited about it. Sadly, as much as I wish I could share something exciting about the product, you’ll just have to invite me back for another interview later this year, at which point I’ll be able to tell you all about it!"
Thank you, Arcangelo, for taking the time to chat with us. We're excited to see the new releases you have planned for the upcoming months, and will definitely arrange another interview to ask you more!
In the meantime, make sure to visit Habanero and try their top-notch slot titles!