iGaming 2023: The Future of Product Optimisation

Despite recession and pandemic, the iGaming industry continues to thrive and growth opportunities remain ever-apparent. Whether it’s through emerging markets, blockchain technology, or general product innovation, operators have a variety of ways to access these new opportunities and demographics, with the aim of creating fresh, sustainable revenue streams for the future.

We caught up with Max Trafimovich, Chief Commercial Officer at award-winning SOFTSWISS, to get his perspective on iGaming’s state of play. And ask how SOFTSWISS has positioned itself to best exploit these exciting growth opportunities.

SOFTSWISS was recognised as “Workplace of the Year” at the SiGMA Europe Awards 2022. Why is your company such a great place to work? What impact does this have on the service or products, you’re able to offer your clients?

“A year ago, our C-level team sat down to think of one single sentence that would define and encapsulate our overall company goal for the next three years. We decided on: “Being the greatest employer in the countries of our presence.” 

“If we are “the greatest employer” then surely our people will be motivated to work with full dedication, and we will attract the best new talent; which, in turn, would be impossible if we didn’t have interesting, absolutely modern, market-leading products and well-balanced processes. 

“We offer generous benefits to employees. Besides the monetary and social perks provided by many medium-to-large IT companies, SOFTSWISS offers a relocation programme aiming to protect employees, and their families, from the crises in our region of origin. Moving to another country is not easy, so the company provides many kinds of support and various subsidies the whole way through.

“To sum it up, the recent award from SiGMA came as timely recognition of our effort so far. We feel we are on the right track.”

The pandemic made many traditional land-based casino players go online. Now that we are out of lockdown, and many facilities have reopened, how can online casinos best create the buzz a player would experience in a physical casino? How can new technology help operators deliver their best in-game experiences?

“The pandemic definitely boosted online services, and formed new habits and models of consumption. But, although there is overlap, online and offline gaming clients are different groups.

“Especially for younger generations, an ‘online casino’ is neither an alternative to nor a substitute for a physical one. It is not something subconsciously compared to a real casino floor or a slot hall. It is an Internet entertainment service, a mobile gaming experience and a way to spend free time online with excitement.

“So, it’s not a question of bringing back those who opt for brick-and-mortar venues. It’s about growing your online-savvy user base.”

Your company was the first iGaming company to work with cryptocurrencies, which set the stage for the expansion of SOFTSWISS. Do you think our industry is taking full advantage of cryptocurrency and the expansion opportunities it offers? What can be done to improve this?

“Almost a decade ago, SOFTSWISS was indeed the first B2B iGaming platform provider to embrace сrypto. Today we work, in one form or another, with virtually all the largest iGaming brands in the сrypto segment. 

“I would say that our industry is not using сrypto to its full potential. But things are improving. More interesting use cases have appeared recently, for example: iGaming dapps, tokenomics, NFTs. Despite the current “crypto winter”, technologically the industry will keep advancing for sure.

“We’ve found that the majority of the fastest-growing iGaming projects globally work with cryptocurrencies. It is an exciting correlation, and we will keep advocating for using crypto in the community.”

SOFTSWISS made great strides in LatAm with its sportsbook recognised as the “Rising Star in Sports Betting” at the SBC Awards Latinoamerica 2022. How did you optimise your product for the LatAm market? And what do you see as the key growth drivers in this sports betting sector?

“Optimisation is always a comprehensive process. When it comes to LatAm, our teams have been working on various things. We ensured our platforms are integrated with an array of payment providers to guarantee maximum payment acceptance rates. We have been crafting our Sportsbook to deliver good market coverage and offer engaging promo tools, including jackpot betting managed via our Jackpot Aggregator. 

“We are also integrating even more game studios with the LatAm focus to give the edge to the SOFTSWISS Game Aggregator, which itself will release a few crucial global features next year. On top of this, we can draw on our deep expertise in adapting our products to local licences and regulations. 

“This is a long road. But we believe that in the next three years we will further strengthen our position in LatAm. The region is important for us, as it enjoys a steady growth of total addressable market, fast-speed internet coverage, fintech adoption and crypto popularity.”

Editors’ Note:

Being prepared for the future is never a straightforward task, especially in the fast-evolving iGaming industry. 

But after conversing with Max it’s clear that future growth opportunities have been clearly identified by SOFTSWISS – and that they have effectively developed their products to take best advantage of this.

Whether it’s through the early adoption of Blockchain technology, pioneering iGaming crypto payments, to engage a whole new demographic, or creating localised products, SOFTSWISS have charted a successful pathway to penetrate the flourishing LatAm market. 

In keeping with their excellent products and services, SOFTSWISS have set the bar high. We at iGF look forward to seeing more of our industry following their winning example, and power the iGaming sector to reach its full potential.