Interviews
“The industry needs a matchmaker that can identify each company’s potential”: Exclusive interview with Betbazar CEO
Alexandr Iaroshenko, CEO of the industry’s matchmaker, Betbazar, discusses the importance of choosing the right partner, as well as the key trends shaping supply and demand in the industry right now. Hint – Esports is set to do particularly well!
To introduce Betbazar to our readers, can you tell us a bit about yourself and what you do?
The idea for Betbazar came to me after working with BetGenius for eight years, I gained a great deal of insight into the needs of the modern sports betting company.
Quite often, the real challenge for suppliers is to understand feedback from the operator and it was our vision to be a company that can solve those issues by connecting the right operators and the right suppliers together. The industry needs a matchmaker that can identify each company’s potential and connect them to their mutual benefit. Our aim is to be a go-to expert on what suppliers are on the market, what products are available and what can be found beyond the face value.
Our supplier partners have everything operators need to hand. We span engagement, odds feeds, KYC processes and platforms with a view to expanding on this, all with unmatched efficiency from our vast understanding of the sector. The potential for synergy with this business model is limitless.
How does Betbazar fit into the overall gaming ecosystem? What can you bring to the table for suppliers and operators as a ‘matchmaker’?
We dig deep into what a company offers and identify its pain points. We figure out where it could be stronger and present a solution that is actually relevant for them. When a business has been working with the same product for a number of years it can be easy to get complacent and not try different approaches that could work better. There is so much noise in the industry with everyone offering solutions, but more often than not these aren’t the right fit for your company and its challenges. We cut through the noise and hand over the correct partner for a specific solution. You can never underestimate the power of having an outside consultant’s view on how to improve your processes.
When we first got started, it actually surprised us to learn that this isn’t just a problem for small companies, but for big ones too. It is easy for a business of any size to fall into this kind of rut. Our success, especially in the last year has inspired a strong sense of trust from our partners. This has been essential for growing our business and has allowed us to forge reliable long-lasting business relationships between operators and suppliers.
Take us through the Betbazar process – how does the process work and how can you help generate true operational success for your partners?
Our process has a two-pronged approach, with the first being situational. If we take last year as an example, when COVID hit there was a definite need for an eagle eye of the industry and we were prepared to offer this. We helped companies to adapt and scale quickly and get back to innovating rather than being stagnant during that period. What became clear was that amid so much uncertainty, there was a great deal of opportunity given the quality of the research and data that we had to hand. As a result, Betbazar grew 400% during this period.
The second approach is geographical. We analyse regions and locations based on what’s needed in those specific locations. We have had a lot of success in CIS and Europe, but we’ve also identified markets that are of strong interest including LatAm and the US. As well as that, we’re keeping an eye on Asia and looking forward to seeing more regulation there.
We then assemble a portfolio of products that work for each region and liaise with our international network of experts who help identify challenges and advise on rollout. All the while, we are in constant contact with our clients to finetune the offering so we’re able to propose a real silver bullet solution.
Given the last 12 month’s events – how essential do you see it to have companies like yours that can truly match interested parties together?
When the pandemic started, operators needed solutions fast. We had our understanding and perception of how sports punters would react to the lack of sport. With this in mind, we immediately identified products that could work and solve those issues, including Esports.
We knew Esports would be a great performer with high-velocity action that could keep the excitement going and filling the sports gap. Many clients were toying around with the idea of Esports for years but not really getting anywhere. We saw the Esports phenomenon coming and when our clients decided that was the route they wanted to go down, we were able to set them up with Esports solutions immediately. We made sure that revenue kept coming in and this challenging time became a very lucrative one for our clients.
While I obviously can’t say too much about exact operations, it is fair to say that we were key to the rise in Esports over last year. So much so, it’s one of the reasons we enjoyed a record-breaking 400% annual growth and why so many of our clients see us as a true guiding light now.
What are you seeing in terms of trends and demand for products? With the industry evolving so rapidly at this time, what’s key for supply and adoption?
Well, given what we have seen in the last year, I think that Esports is here to stay. In fact, I think it will be key in many corners of the industry. There is plenty of room for development and growth.
As we are committed to diversifying our products, Esports will certainly play a big role in that development as we branch out. We are also assembling a new armoury of products that power engagement and retention – and which I believe will offer a serious boost to any operator looking to capitalise on this summer’s action.
Looking to the future – our vision is to cover the full sports betting ecosystem, applying different platforms to our offering and payments, in particular, will be integral to that expansion. Start-ups and industry disruptors are one area we find especially interesting. Helping these businesses to scale their product and taking their vision to the market is an exciting prospect for us.
How much is the changing regulatory environment across Europe going to affect how operators procure and integrate third-party products?
Esports is still in its infancy so we’re expecting to see enhanced regulations around that area and looking out for ways that we can upgrade. Regulators are still only starting to understand how it works from a betting perspective. There is yet to be a great deal of evolution in this market and our products will help our partners navigate restrictions will engaging players.
Ukraine is a good example of how Esports has already evolved, as it was recognised as an official sport. This development with federated teams allows us to approach whole new areas where we can offer solutions – and I’m very excited by the scope that can be achieved.
Another challenge we are investing plenty of energy into at the moment is that live-betting is being restricted in France and Spain with punters being unable to bet on the next 15 minutes of live-action. We’re working hard to put together a list of engaging products that circumvent that given how profitable high-velocity and instantaneous betting are becoming – while also ensuring we stay regulation-friendly.
Last but not least, what products do you see being in hot demand this summer and beyond by your operator partners? What should our readers be keeping an eye on?
From what I can see, the market has passed the COVID challenge. We’re now past the reaction stage and now it’s time to find new ways to engage and excite customers this summer.
My advice would be to look for suppliers that can make you agile, more engaging and faster. Our supplier Betegy is a good example of this. They’re able to deploy AI to completely automate global marketing campaigns, which saves the likes of Parimatch days in operational time. Such actions can truly revolutionise a company’s operations and make them a market leader.
KYC is another area that is important to invest in. No customer wants to wait days before they get their winnings. The end customer will only ever be satisfied with instant payment in this case so we’re working hard to ensure payments can be processed in 15 mins at the latest. This will always help companies to prosper.
Fast Track, the leading SaaS technology company and CRM provider in the iGaming industry, has unveiled the second instalment of its Inside Out video series.
Titled “Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked” the interview features CEO and Co-founder Simon Lidzén in a candid, behind-the-scenes discussion about the company’s growth, challenges, and vision for the future.
In the 30-minute video, Simon reflects on Fast Track’s nearly ten-year journey: “Success to me is about setting goals and achieving them. This year has been intense, but incredibly rewarding. From scaling Fast Track to launching groundbreaking products like Rewards, we’re just getting started.”
The conversation explores the launch of Rewards, Fast Track’s promotional ecosystem that integrates CRM with gamification to deliver engaging and personalised player experiences. Simon also discusses the company’s rapid global expansion and the challenges of scaling leadership within a fast-growing organisation. Looking ahead to 2025, he highlights Fast Track’s focus on leveraging AI to redefine CRM and customer engagement.
Simon’s reflections also touch on the company’s culture: “Fast Track is built on relentless innovation and a team that thrives on solving challenges. Seeing how much we’ve grown and how far we’ve come makes this journey so exciting.”
For those unfamiliar with Fast Track, the company is a high-growth SaaS leader, known for pioneering the use of AI to deliver personalised experiences to customers. Its software empowers companies to automate marketing and operational workflows, enabling teams to focus on strategy and innovation. Fast Track is reshaping CRM for iGaming, setting a new standard for customer engagement.
Watch the interview here: https://2ly.link/23JyZ
The post Fast Track CEO Shares Honest Reflections in New Interview: Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
As we enter 2025, what unique opportunities do you see for WA.Technology in the LatAm iGaming market?
The iGaming market in Latin America is experiencing rapid transformation, and this dynamic shift presents considerable opportunities for companies with the right strategy and adaptability.
We are witnessing a shift from informal, semi-professional operations to a growing demand for a formal, structured, and professional gaming industry that can meet the higher expectations emerging from both regulators and consumers.
At WA.Technology, we are perfectly positioned to leverage our extensive local knowledge to achieve just that. Our team has been working across the region for years, from Mexico to Brazil, Colombia, and beyond, which gives us a unique edge in navigating the regulatory complexities and unique behavioural dynamics of this evolving landscape.
This authentic regional understanding not only allows us to stay ahead of market trends but also empowers us to innovate in a way that aligns with global best practices while being sensitive to local cultures, customs, and regulations. As the LatAm gaming market continues to mature, we are ready to support operators in a more structured, regulated, and growth-oriented environment.
How does WA.Technology plan to maintain its progress across the region in 2025?
Our approach to sustained growth in Latin America is driven by the expertise of our team, who bring years of experience from across the region. The team at WA.Technology has collectively worked across a variety of LatAm gaming markets, gaining firsthand knowledge of local regulations and consumer preferences. This wealth of experience enables us to navigate the ever-changing landscape with agility and precision.
As the region continues to evolve, we will continue to integrate global best practices while remaining flexible enough to address the unique needs of each local market. Our strategy at WA.Technology largely focuses on building close relationships with various local stakeholders, refining our offerings based on real-time feedback and ensuring our presence continues to make a long-lasting difference in the region.
We are committed to driving long-term growth, building strong partnerships and providing the best possible value to our clients across Latin America.
For operators looking to enter Latin America in 2025, what are some of the key trends/nuances they need to be aware of? And how is WA.Technology helping them to navigate these?
Entering the Latin American market in 2025 presents a variety of opportunities for growth. However, operators looking to make the most of what this region has to offer must carefully consider local regulations, consumer behaviour, and cultural differences in each country. After all, LatAm is not one homogenous region – each country has its own unique dynamics at play.
Regulatory frameworks continue to evolve rapidly, with each individual regulator in the region setting its own rules, meaning that operators must be highly adaptable and well-prepared for any future legislative changes. But regulations aren’t the only challenge.
Understanding local consumer habits, preferences, and cultural nuances is equally critical to building a successful operation. For example, the products players enjoy in Brazil are likely to be completely different to those favoured by Mexican bettors.
At WA.Technology, we help operators navigate these complexities by offering solutions that are fully compliant with local laws and tailored to meet the diverse needs of Latin American consumers.
We don’t see ourselves as just a technology provider; we want to be a trusted partner, supporting operators in their journey to understand the regulatory environment and local market dynamics, ensuring they’re well-positioned for long-term success.
With Brazil now live, how does WA.Technology plan to gain an edge in what is likely to be a highly competitive market?
Brazil is undoubtedly the flagship market in Latin America, and we’ve been preparing for this moment for some time. With a market of such size and potential, competition is bound to be hard. However, we are confident that our extensive local presence and tailored approach will give us a distinct edge unmatched by any other provider on the market.
We’ve made significant investments in Brazil, building a team that is highly knowledgeable about the local market and deeply embedded in the regulatory landscape. I am proud to say our team has worked extremely hard to ensure we were ready in time for the new regulations in Brazil and that we are in a position now to grow even further in this market as a result. With dedicated local offices, a strong team of regulatory experts and seasoned professionals with operational expertise, we are well-equipped to navigate the complexities of Brazil’s rapidly growing iGaming market.
Our extensive knowledge of the local market and commitment to delivering innovative, market-specific solutions allows us to provide licensed operators with the tools they need to succeed in this competitive space.
How will your approach to Brazil differ from that of the wider LatAm market?
While Brazil is undeniably one of the largest and most significant markets in Latin America, our approach to the region as a whole is both comprehensive and tailored to the unique characteristics of each country.
We recognise that Latin America is a highly diverse and dynamic market where each country presents distinct opportunities, challenges, and regulatory landscapes.
At WA.Technology, we adopt a market-specific strategy across our entire business, ensuring that we provide localised solutions that meet the unique needs of each country while maintaining a strong, responsive presence in all key markets.
Our team brings extensive experience from working in countries such as Argentina, Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, and Mexico. In fact, we recently expanded our footprint by opening offices in Mexico City, which allows us to stay closely connected to local developments and offer even more tailored support to our partners in this market.
Mexico is particularly important to us in terms of future growth, and we view it as a key focus for WA.Technology alongside Brazil. Our integrated, flexible approach ensures we can remain agile across the entire region, responding effectively to each market’s specific demands while maintaining a cohesive regional strategy.
What are your goals for expanding WA.Technology’s footprint in LatAm over the next 12 months? And how do you plan to achieve these?
Looking ahead to the rest of 2025, our key goals for expanding WA.Technology’s footprint in Latin America is rooted in two fundamental pillars: extensive market knowledge and strong local presence.
As the region evolves at a rapid pace, staying ahead of market shifts requires constant attention. Our strategy is to maintain a physical presence in every major market, fostering relationships with local stakeholders, regulators, and operators. By doing this, we are able to anticipate changes in the wider market and position ourselves as a proactive, solutions-driven partner, ensuring that our partners can retain their competitive edge.
We aim to further solidify our relationships with key players across the region and remain highly engaged in local markets, adapting our solutions in real-time to meet emerging needs.
Our focus on continuous engagement ensures that we’re always in tune with the evolving landscape, positioning WA.Technology to lead the way in driving innovation and delivering value in Latin America.
The post Patricio Molloy: WA.Technology is ready to raise the bar for LatAm in 2025 appeared first on Gaming and Gambling Industry in the Americas.
Tom Walton, Director at technology consultancy, Burendo, shares how operators can achieve sustainable profitability with learnings from other sectors
Operators who are merging and acquiring other businesses, launching new products or even integrating third-party technologies, can find themselves navigating complex internal processes. It is a complex large-scale challenge. Where M&As are commonplace, brand consolidation can be critical when securing sustainable profitability while planning for higher returns in the future. Within the emerging LatAm and US markets, acquisition remains a key focus. A common issue, regardless of geography, is the challenges presented by outdated or fragmented platforms and systems, a major obstacle in the growth trajectory.
In many cases, fundamental changes in how the organisation functions: its people, processes and technology holds the key to better value, higher profits, operational efficiency and reduced risk. By addressing these complexities with proven experience, technology consultants can support operators to be successful in their strategic initiatives.
Agility in competitive markets
To remain competitive in an ever-changing market, operators must move fast and with agility to refine their offering. A constant eye on retention, acquisition and regulatory changes is paramount to avoid financial impact. Despite this risk, research conducted by Accenture in 2022 found that 95% of B2B and B2C C-level executives believe their customers are changing faster than they can change their business, indicating most operators risk falling behind. This poses the question of how this can be supported.
The value of technology consultancies is in enabling businesses to extract greater value from existing resources through a confident understanding of what good looks like. Bringing external ideas gathered through experience, exemplary resources from process to people, can demonstrate what good looks like. More importantly, it shortens the timeline to achieving real goals in the organisation. Being under resourced or lacking the skills needed across these challenges makes it difficult to gain an overarching perspective particularly within a siloed approach.
At Burendo, we leverage more than 40 years of cross-sector experience. We are not only working with some of the biggest operators in betting and gaming, but partner with other highly regulated industries including finance and healthcare. We have helped operators across many initiatives helping them to realise cost savings or increased revenue in a matter of weeks. We pride ourselves in ensuring we leave a lasting positive impact on the culture, enabling our partners to be empowered to carry on our work.
The retention battle
Many operators are too busy with day-to-day tasks or overwhelmed with where to start when it comes to transformation and building a cutting-edge user experience. An example of the gap between capacity and demand is the rising popularity of in-play betting. During live sports, the speed in which players can find and place their bet is critical. Here, streamlined processes that allow for quick innovation will correlate with customer satisfaction, resulting in higher retention rates.
A fresh perspective for lasting change
A successful approach to optimisation requires taking the challenge and viewing it from an experienced and innovative angle. Our partners truly benefit from best practice and valuable lessons derived from other sectors. Through experience we have found that these challenges are not exclusive to betting & gaming and so the ability to apply these learnings drive success.
Managing complex systems and large volumes of data is a common obstacle. By applying these cross-sector principles through working with technology consultants, operators can gain valuable insight into re-engineering platforms and the skills needed, to meet both current and future demands.
Building exceptional, scalable and adaptable architectures ensures that businesses can continue to grow and evolve as the industry changes. This forward-thinking approach positions operators ahead of the curve, meaning they are poised for success in the years to come and have the agility to address any challenges or opportunities that arise.
Creating lasting change requires more than just solving immediate problems. Our goal for our clients is to maintain high levels of efficiency long after an initial transformation is complete. By empowering teams to implement and sustain improvements, operators can maintain continuous growth and unlock growth worth tens of millions of pounds, far outweighing their cost of delivery.
The focus must now shift to building stronger, more Agile organisations that can adapt to changing market conditions. Sustainable efficiency enables operators to optimise time-to-market, improve platform performance, and manage resources more effectively, creating a foundation for long-term growth.
About Burendo
Founded in 2018 and with offices in Leeds and London, Burendo is an award-winning, consultancy delivering stand-out products and services through technology. We partner with organisations to accelerate organisational value delivery and transform customer experiences.
We are pragmatic thinkers and doers who understand the operational world of organisations and customer demands. We work as a partner to give our clients the latest ideas, tools and techniques to deliver effective results that build long-term value.
For more information, you can visit the Burendo website: www.burendo.com
If you have any questions, please contact Kate Smith, Senior Digital Marketing Executive by email: [email protected]
The post Consolidating brands efficiently to achieve high growth appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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