‘Local Licensing is the Main Request Now, Gray Operations Will Go Away’ - Head of Sales at Slotegrator Vadym Potapenko

12.01.2021

What challenges of the gambling business can Slotegrator handle? Will the quarantine affect company's activities? What will be in demand on the gambling market and what will become irrelevant? How to launch a project in the gambling industry?

These and other questions were highlighted in an interview for Ukrainian Gaming Week 2021 by Vadym Potapenko, Head of Sales at Slotegrator.

The specialist shared his opinion on the current trends in the gambling industry, explained how to launch a project on the market, analyzed the demand for local licenses and listed Slotegrator's offers that can help both beginners and experienced operators.

Read more about what solutions the company will present at UGW 2021 in the interview below.

The interviewer: Ukrainian Gaming Week (UGW)

The respondent: Vadym Potapenko (V.P.)

UGW: Tell us about Slotegrator company operations. What services does it provide and what markets it is targeted on?

V.P.: Our company has been on the market for more than eight years, and we provide completely different solutions to everyone. Starting from those looking to open an online casino. We offer them complete solutions: we assist them in creating of the platform, the integration of games. In the same way, we help with licensing in different jurisdictions, payment solutions, game integration into existing projects, when operators have their own platforms. Therefore, in general, we can find any solution for most market players.

Answering the question about which markets the company is targeting, considering that we have a large and wide range of services, generally we can find solutions for any region, may it be Latin America, Africa, Europe, or CIS countries. And then, we’ll adjust to the client's request.

UGW: What tasks can representatives of the gambling industry solve with the help of the products and services offered by the company?

V.P.: If we are talking about the client that already has an online casino that works and operates, then in this case we can solve the following issues: obtaining a license, assistance in connecting payment systems and of course the most basic is an extension of the set of game providers on an existing project.

Then we can help them with connecting a support and, for example, if they want to open a second or third project or intend to try another platform – great, we can provide them with a completely ready-made solution along with the platform and with everything they need. Plus, we will develop a design, the entire structure of the project and a bonus policy at their requests.

UGW: How did the quarantine restrictions imposed due to the COVID-19 pandemic affect Slotegrator's activities?

V.P.: Considering the fact that all our activities are related to clients that work online, it has very little effect. Because more and more people stay at home, our clients continue with the same marketing.

Of course, there are certain aspects about the quarantine and the impossibility, for example, of meeting in person with the employees. But we are still working and got even more requests on some points during this time: the owners of land-based casinos wanted to open an online casino, because they noticed that there could be such problems ...

UGW: In your opinion, which segment of the gambling market is currently the most promising – online or offline? Why?

V.P.: In a pandemic, of course, online will be promising and most in demand.

In my opinion, in any case, the situation with the pandemic will be resolved and we will return to the normal state. Some of the things will not return, I think that the masks will remain for a long time and so on. However, the land-based business, if we are talking about classic casinos, will still be strong and will have an impact.

Therefore, I would say that if you have the means, then of course you need to work both offline and online, to be famous, to be everywhere. But online will of course be a priority for now.

UGW: What trends were observed on the gambling market in 2020, and what, on the contrary, was losing its relevance?

V.P.: Of course, the most popular topic now is a gambling license on the territory of Ukraine and, in general, local licensing. Therefore, this is probably the top 1 for all questions and requests.

As for gray operations, they will fade away.

UGW: Suppose an entrepreneur decided to open a gambling business on a new market. What steps would you recommend as a start for organizing gambling activities?

V.P.: In any case, there are two main factors: money, investments in fact and experience.

If we say that the operator has experience, but no funds, then it will be a very difficult path. But generally, the operator will of course have an understanding of what and how to do, where to get the players.

The second point – if you have money, but no experience. There is such a possibility that you may just lose money and spend too much on marketing, or something else. But it will cost more – a person will pay for the very experience that he did not receive a long time ago.

Therefore, the only advice is either to recruit some kind of experienced team, or some of your own people must work, if they understand how to build a business and attract players, what the main points will be during operations, regarding payments, response speed, communication with the players and providing quality services.

UGW: What solutions will you present at Ukrainian Gaming Week 2021?

V.P.: The most basic ones, of course, will concern the local license in Ukraine. This includes assistance in licensing projects under a Ukrainian license. The second point is assistance in obtaining land based equipment, again under local legislation. For now, I would highlight the third, the main point that was not there before – this is a monitoring system for land-based casinos.

But, in addition, we will present the existing solutions that we had: assistance in creating an online casino and integrating games. Because in any case, there will be those operators who enter the market with their existing platform, but without content. And here we can also help ...

A large-scale industry event – Ukrainian Gaming Week 2021 will be held on February 24-25, gathering leading game developers, operators, distributors and manufacturers of gambling equipment.

Join the event to get advice on Slotegrator services and meet company representatives in person.

The list of all exhibitors is available here >>>