You recently launched your latest brand Quickcasino.se in Sweden and Don.ro brand in Romania. Reflecting on 2023, what are your most significant achievements - and what are your aims in thos markets?
Both markets are important for us. As you know, Sweden is a key regulated market in Europe where the industry also has a strong history, so we’re delighted that QuickCasino.se is live and it will complement our Betinia brand along with the recently redesigned CampoBet.se website and app. Romania, meanwhile, is a highly competitive and attractive market where we believe we can grow strongly with Don.ro and other brands that we have in the pipeline.
Our aim in both countries is to grow our market share and we will do this by leveraging our Motivational Engineering Gaming Application (MEGA), the gamification technology that has been powering our growth since 2016. For Soft2Bet, 2023 was complemented by substantial growth. While achievements such as expanding our regulatory and licensing footprint are important for our corporate development, they must be backed up by strong commercial growth. I’m glad to confirm we combined the two very successfully in 2023.
In 2024, how will AI and financial technology become further integrated into online gaming?
Artificial intelligence and fintech are already integrated as key components of our operations and their roles will become even more important in 2024. AI, as we have seen with other industries such as music and film streaming (i.e. with Spotify or Netflix), helps with personalisation and customisation of offers through our CRM and bonusing tools.
Being able to offer players frictionless payments and a full range of fintech options is key for the iGaming industry as it enables deposits, withdrawals and transfers efficiently and quickly. Any friction or slow processing is the biggest barrier to player signups.
For Soft2Bet, we are also looking to bring gamification to fintech with the objective of increasing the engagement levels of fintech customers, so they interact with the apps via customer rewards and achievements, leaderboards and social features.
This year, you have gained gaming licences in several countries across Europe, such as Italy, Greece and Romania. What are your plans for expansion in 2024?
Regulatory expansion has always been part of our roadmap and we’re very happy to note the progress we have made on those plans. Those three countries are key regulated markets, and our corporate development strategy has been a combination of commercial growth and expanding our regulatory footprint. Therefore, it is extremely satisfying to see that we have been successful in combining these two objectives.
For the forthcoming year, we plan to continue growing in those markets as well as in Sweden and Denmark, where our Betinia brand is performing very strongly. In addition, we have major plans in new jurisdictions such as Ontario and New Jersey, where we are currently going through the licensing process. Launching in North America will be another milestone for us and our highly gamified MEGA products will continue to play a key role in our commercial growth.
Your pursuit of regulated markets suggests you are committed to responsible online gaming. How will further regulations impact your rapid expansion in the year ahead?
Responsible gambling has been part of Soft2Bet’s DNA for many years ,so we look forward to working in regulated markets and further expanding our regulated footprint in the coming months. In addition, we believe our MEGA gamification platform is ideally suited to these environments as it delivers commercial growth through player engagement; and combines this with responsible gambling and player safety.
What trends do you think will drive online gaming in 2024?
Gamification and responsible gambling will continue to be major influences on the industry, while AI and how to make best use of the technology will continue to dominate discussions. Product development is such an important aspect of my work, and means I am constantly improving and optimising all aspects of user experience/interface for our players.
