Wesley Ellul: From Entertainment to Tech and Beyond

_{Wesley Ellul looks into the crystal ball and the future of the gambling industry. (Image: Alan Evans/Casinos.com)}

Wesley Ellul is an actor from Toronto, Ontario, who has branched out into tech, blockchain, social gaming, and entertainment consultancy. He is also an emerging events speaker, experienced founder, and digital marketer. 

He is skilled in search engine optimisation (SEO), e-commerce consultancy, and event management. Wesley holds a bachelor's degree in communication and media studies from L-Università ta' Malta.

Casinos.com asked Wesley to tell us a little about his journey into the industry and where he is today.

Wesley said, "I'm a tech builder but I've been working in the entertainment industry since 1998. Around 2017, I launched a platform called Quizando, which was focused on monetising people’s skills through games.

“About a year and a half ago, I realised we had a solution that could help build engagement and increase conversions, not just on casino websites, but for any brand, by creating community directly on the site through prize-incentivised games that use skill rather than chance.”

How Engage.mt Works

We asked how Wesley’s model works for companies. Do they have to buy in or subscribe?

“It depends on the model,” he said. “With a lot of online casinos we're working with, the casino uses this as a service to increase player time on their platform.

“Say the drop-off time for the average player is around 9 p.m. They’ll host a live video game show on their platform, which users can play for free to win additional spins or tokens. 

“It’s a 30-minute show that shifts their mindset from luck to skill. They're playing against hundreds or thousands of other players at that time.”

Finding Inspiration

Wesley is building a community, aiming to help brands engage with their audiences directly on their platforms. We asked him where he finds his inspiration. With so many platforms, from Friends Reunited to Facebook to X, we wanted to know where someone fresh out of university should look to get started.

“So, they get started by seeing a problem,” Wesley said. “In my case, this idea came at another casino conference where everyone was talking about player retention: How do we keep players on our platform? How do we keep them coming back?

“Many people were talking about gamification. I’ve been in gamification for seven years, and I thought—wait—you gamify it by creating live events that build community. Most gamification is very solo.”

No one can truly predict the future, but some can make compelling forecasts. Given the industry’s challenges and reputation, we asked Wesley how he sees the gambling industry evolving—and whether he supports strict regulations aimed at protecting individuals from problem gambling.

“OK, so this is going to be the hottest take you’ll hear so far,” he began. “The AI revolution is upon us. We’re going to see a major economic shift in the next five to seven years, likely leading to universal basic income.

“When that happens, we’ll use a digital, programmable currency with consumer protections built in—even at the monetary level.

“As an individual, you might only be able to spend, say, 10% of your income on gambling. Is that bad news for high rollers? Yes and no. It opens up access for everyone to play.”

The Good News and the Bad

Wesley is an optimist but also a realist. He shared his thoughts on coming changes that may not please everyone.

“The bad news is we’re going to see a merging of content and gambling into one space,” he said. “You’ll see the Disneys and ESPNs of the world integrating these services directly onto their sites. You won’t be going to some other site to play games.

“Everything will converge into one place. We’ll see a bigger audience, including people who’ve never played before. It will be safer, more regulated, and use single-currency amounts.

“For brands, the dynamic will shift. We’ll see mergers between big entertainment companies—like Disney and Comcast—and gaming platforms. For smaller brands, the focus needs to be on the games. Content will be king in this scenario.”

Wesley concluded, “Operators—if you’re in the smaller space, I would start transitioning more into the game space. That’s probably going to be the bigger play.”