Expekt Casino, the world’s most popular gaming destination for online wagers, began back in 1999 with the ideals that ultimately make every business successful. The original founders were Christian Haupt and Conny Gesar and both men had heavy backgrounds in finance and investment. Neither one of them had a clue how to actually form and operate a casino back then, but both had a solid work ethic, plenty of money, and a love for casino wagering. With raw determination and a goal to create an environment that customers could appreciate, they went to work and launched Expekt Casino.
The Humble Beginnings
The original plan was simple; create a website where people from all over Europe could come and place an occasional wager. Gesar and Haupt did not have warped dreams of grandeur or false hope in achieving the impossible, but they did think that they could bring everyday consumers a product that they could really embrace. That’s why the original Expekt website was simple in design with very easy navigation. yet the duo made sure that it was completely secure by installing software and firewalls that many of the major area banks depended on. More importantly, they knew that every successful business began with solid customer service and they made taking care of clients their number one priority.
Of course, back in 1999 there were plenty of other popular online casinos already. Their concept was nothing new or original and people throughout Europe already had a number of choices when it came to placing a bet on football or racing. The problem with these other websites was that the consumer was almost an afterthought in the betting process because it was very difficult to understand the odds or to figure out what bets were even available…a problem Gesar and Haupt quickly took care of.
The Invention of the Modern Sportsbook and Casino
Instead of having Expekt customers rely on newspapers or other websites to figure out what was going on in the sports world, the pair decided to create a sports betting service where customers could log in and watch the various matches in real time. They probably did not honestly realize what an undertaking was ahead of them at that point, and the process of obtaining licenses from the various sports leagues was a logistical nightmare. Then there was the television stations, media outlets, and all of the other casinos…of course none of them liked the idea that the business partners were trying to put together either.
For something this massive to take place, Haupt and Gesar quickly realized that they would need more income. That’s about the time that they launched their full service online casino, and to draw customers in they made sure that each of their games had the best odds around. Once word began to spread that a local company with the best odds on the net was launching a new casino that was fully staffed with knowledgable professionals, Expekt became almost an overnight success.
Expekt Poker
By 2003, Expekt Casino and Sportsbook was dominating the European market and the company profits were at an all-time high. They offered many unique services and features that other online casinos simply were not interested in, and now that Expekt had some momentum built within the market it was time to launch a new branch. Expekt Poker was released and it offered live tournament gaming as well as thousands of stakes tables at a variety of different levels.
At first the poker launch was mixed with skepticism from the European market. On one hand Expekt was already a household name that gamblers had grown to trust, but many players had already found poker rooms that they enjoyed so there was little reason to switch. It was about this time that Haupt and Gesar became serious about taking over the entire poker industry, and the moves they made angered just about every casino owner on the planet.
Their strategy was simple; make it so that no poker player could resist trying out their website. They already had among the best customer service around, so they coupled that with a loyalty incentive program that actually paid people to gamble inside their poker room. On top of that, the business owners also launched a cmapaign with massive deposit bonuses and hosted some of the biggest online poker tournaments for that time period.
Changing Gears
The poker room launch was so successful, in fact, that Expekt’s servers could not handle the daily traffic. A decision was made in 2005 to switch over to the Tian network, which ended up a disaster because the website was down for weeks. The serious gamers were angry, the competition was telling everyone that Expekt Poker was gone for good, and the new server was having numerous problems that were irritating to everyone. A second switch was made to the iPoker network about a year later but the damage had already been done.
A Change in Ownership
In March of 2009, Magnas Gaming bought out all operations of Expect Casino including the popular sportsbook and the poker website. This move took many gamblers by surprise and the website’s credibility was suddenly being questioned, but there was no way that Magnas Gaming would pay out €125, 000, 000 if they were not serious about keeping the website’s rich tradition in tact.
Shortly after the sale, Magnas Gaming launched a host of new and innovative casino games to give both new and current gamblers a much greater variety. Live dealer blackjack, roulette, and baccarat was the next additions to follow, and in a very short period of time consumers realized that their favorite casino was definitely headed in the right direction. In fact, the loyalty program was completely recreated to offer even better incentives to the players, with the same great customer service and odds that gamers had come ot love.
Currently Expekt Casino is one of the most popular gaming destinations on the internet with over 1.5 million subscribers. The reason this destination has succeeded while the industry as a whole has struggled goes back to it’s initial founding principles; they take care of the customer like no other casino ever has.
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