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.
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Conferences in Europe
Speaking the Player’s Language: Promatic Group’s Take on Game Localization in CEE
The Prague Gaming & TECH Summit 2025 brought together some of the brightest minds in the iGaming and tech industries – and the conversation didn’t stop when the curtains closed. As this year’s General Sponsor through its Promatic Games brand, Promatic Group made a powerful impact on-stage and behind the scenes. In a dynamic keynote presentation titled “Localizing Slot Games: Does the Central European Player Need Localized Content?”, Maciej Makuszewski, iGaming Director, and Luka Oblak, Head of Product Design, explored how cultural nuances shape player engagement and game performance across regional markets.
Now, post-event, we caught up with Maciej Makuszewski to delve deeper into the topic of localization, player behavior, and what makes content truly resonate in Central and Eastern Europe.
Maciej, your keynote at the Summit offered compelling insights into how culture and language affect game engagement. What do you believe is the biggest misconception about localization in the iGaming industry today?
It is that it is enough to hire a translator of a game to deliver localized content. This is not the end of the road – on the contrary – this is just the beginning. This may sound like saying the sun rises in the east, but I still would say there can be a lot more attention paid to giving games a local touch.
But coming back to translations, nowadays, even at this basic level, we can observe so many pitfalls and mistakes that could have been avoided if people really had the player at the core of their strategy. I guess we are past this time in history of globalization that unified products and content simply entered new markets with no tailoring whatsoever and there was demand for them, because there hadn’t been much of a choice of anything else. We’d like to see companies try harder when they enter new markets. I hope we will become one that actually gets the hyperlocalization just right.
You and Luka presented some standout cases on localized content. Could you share one example that truly surprised your team – either by outperforming expectations or revealing a cultural insight you hadn’t anticipated?
I guess that would be the transformation of a simple fruit game launched as Red Hot Jackpot in Poland, into a rich animations theme game it became in Nigeria. The nigerian version of Red Hot Jackpot is called Naija Wheels and it is the exact the same math model and game logic as Red Hot Jackpot, but what makes it appealing to the local customers of slot halls in Nigeria is its hyperlocal theme. Naija Wheels is a funny story of things you see in Lagos traffic. So instead of a Cherry symbol you have a symbol of a police officer. Instead of a plum symbol, you have an okada driver from Lagos etc.
Very different game themes, same logics, same business effects – the game is a great performing slot in Poland and a superb hit in Nigeria.
In your view, what are the non-negotiables when designing localized slot content for Central and Eastern European markets? Are there elements developers often overlook?
There are so many local markets in the CEE that it is really hard to unify this. But in a nutshell – we know in our region, highly volatile fruit themed games are very popular. Having said that, it is not a surfire way to success. You may want to localize the content even further through cultural and humor references.
The ROI of local-branded slots is often debated. Based on Promatic Group’s experience, when does it make strategic and commercial sense to invest in hyper-local content – and when is it better to focus on broader appeal?
It all depends why you do this and how you measure the ROI. If you measure a single game ROI this might be a trap. It will very much depend on the math model and features of the particular game. Apart from revenue stream, there are also costs to be considered. If we’re talking about a “game reskin” then certification will be something you can optimize and so on. There are numerous ways to tackle this issue. Sometimes you can come up with a hyper local game and just launch it somewhere else to test if it works, which will boost your revenue stream and the total ROI. All in all we are very happy with our local approach and we intend to stick to it.
Let’s talk about the future. With shifting player expectations and tech advancements like AI personalization, how do you see the localization strategy evolving over the next 2–3 years at Promatic Group?
I would expect this hyperlocalization becomes a commodity in the industry. This will also require a lot of human factor so that it is done the right way. AI will speed things up, but I believe that the human touch will be key. We already have amazing tools, but using them the right way is what will make a great difference.
The post Speaking the Player’s Language: Promatic Group’s Take on Game Localization in CEE appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Compliance Updates
Navigating Legal Frontiers: Nordic Legal’s Vision for the Finnish Gambling Market
The Prague Gaming & TECH Summit 2025 brought together top experts across the iGaming and tech landscape, and Nordic Legal stood out as the event’s Scandinavian Legal Expertise Sponsor. A renowned legal advisory firm in the Nordic region, Nordic Legal continues to shape the future of gambling legislation and compliance in Europe.
In this post-event interview, we caught up with Pekka Ilmivalta, Head of the Finnish Office at Nordic Legal, to dive deeper into the firm’s insights on the upcoming Finnish gambling reform, the legal challenges it poses, and the opportunities it presents for operators preparing to enter the market.
Finland is preparing to launch its regulated gambling sector in January 2026. As an expert with over 20 years of experience in the gambling industry, how do you view its draft legislation and the current state of the Finnish gambling market?
Finns are used to gambling online, and the size of the market is close to 2 billion euros in GGR. As the market share of the national monopoly operator, Veikkaus, has declined to around 50 percent, nearly half of the gambling spending already takes place outside the Finnish regulation. Therefore, the gambling legislation reform is really needed.
The Government Proposal now being dealt with in the Finnish Parliament is generally a comprehensive and a good package. As the political parties are quite unanimous about the need for the reform, I expect the parliamentary discussion to concentrate on the balance between responsibility measures and the features making the market interesting enough for the operators to enter the regulated market. Especially marketing, use of affiliates and bonusing will, and should, be discussed.
I believe that the Parliament will approve the new legislation early next autumn and that the B2C license application process will be able to begin already in January next year.
The Finnish legislative review council has raised concerns about potential increases in gambling harms under the new regulatory framework. What measures do you believe are necessary to mitigate these risks, and how could Finland balance market liberalization with responsible gambling practices?
Personally, I think that gambling harms must be taken seriously. However, as almost half of the Finnish gambling now happens outside the regulated market, I am convinced that succeeding in channelization is a crucial starting point to really mitigate gambling harms. Therefore, attractiveness of the market and measures against the black market are extremely important. Furthermore, self-exclusion and responsible gambling tools are, of course, needed for the players. Generally, I believe that AI assisted monitoring could and will have an important role in preventing harmful gambling in the future. To really work, responsible gambling tools need to be both pragmatic and relevant for each individual player.
Considering Finland’s upcoming gambling reform, what legal and operational challenges should gambling operators be prepared for, particularly regarding compliance and player protection? Which key trends do you see shaping the market’s future?
As it seems now that affiliates and welcome bonuses will be banned, operators will have to find other means to build their brand and acquire customers. Even though traditional marketing and sponsoring are widely acceptable, I would expect to see innovative solutions to stand out from the probable marketing avalanche during the first months after the market opening. Perhaps new kinds of sponsorships or retail activities? Or even enhanced player protection measures to gain a competitive edge?
Overall, I would advise operators to start their market entry preparations early enough. The licensing procedure could take several (6 to 9) months. Also, adjusting to the local technical and player protection requirements might not happen overnight.
What insights could help Finland create a balanced and effective gambling market?
I believe that the new legislation will provide a good enough framework for a functional gambling market. However, based on experiences from Sweden and Denmark, I would point out two practical aspects crucial to making the new legislation effective: First, there needs to be collaboration between licensed operators and the new regulator. Dialogue and a mutual will to find solutions should be the common mindset. Secondly, the regulator hopefully has enough resources (tools, persons and persistence) to interfere with the black-market operations, which will evidently still exist also after the reform.
Nordic Legal has extensive experience advising European governments on regulatory best practices. How can your firm assist operators looking to enter the Finnish market and navigate the evolving legal landscape?
With our deep knowledge of Finnish legislation, extensive experience from regulatory developments in other jurisdictions, and strong industry relationships, we are well-positioned to support operators and B2B suppliers entering the Finnish market. We can offer comprehensive guidance not only on compliance and licensing, but also on navigating strategic challenges, ensuring our clients are well-prepared for a dynamic and shifting legal landscape. Our proactive approach enables us to identify regulatory changes early and help clients stay ahead of industry developments.
The post Navigating Legal Frontiers: Nordic Legal’s Vision for the Finnish Gambling Market appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Online casinos are in a race to meet the growing demands of players, but many operators are being left behind. Slow payment systems, high transaction fees, and outdated software are limiting growth and hurting the player experience. But with the right tools, operators can break free from these limitations and create fluid, player-first experiences.
Bar Konson, Chief Business Development Officer at NuxGame, offers solutions that many operators have been waiting for. With NuxGame’s crypto-ready turnkey platform, operators can quickly solve common issues and roll out future-forward digital casinos that appeal to modern players. The crypto market is growing fast, with an expected $5 billion by 2030. Find out in this interview how making the most of crypto can take your casino to the next level and leave competitors behind.
The impact of crypto in iGaming is undeniable. Bar, do you believe Bitcoin is here to stay, or are we just seeing the beginning of a temporary trend?
The truth is, Bitcoin and crypto are here to stay, and it’s not just a “cool new thing” for players. They offer fast transactions, more security, and a level of transparency that players are increasingly looking for. The iGaming scene is modernizing, and those who aren’t adopting crypto solutions are definitely going to fall behind. You don’t want to watch everyone else pass you by.
So how does NuxGame support the crypto trend? What makes your platform stand out in this fast paced environment?
At NuxGame, we’re not simply handing over a crypto solution and calling it a day. We provide a fully integrated crypto casino software solution that supports multiple cryptocurrencies, but more importantly, we’re here for you every step of the way. Our customer service managers understand that each operator has unique priorities, so we work closely with you to make sure that everything works exactly the way you want it. The dashboard shows everything in real-time, while players get quicker transactions and a better overall game. And the best part is that you’re not left alone with the system integration. Our team is always ready to make your operations work exactly how you want.
I know you’ve got a lot of experience with turnkey solutions. What makes NuxGame’s turnkey casino solution a perfect fit for operators looking to add crypto into their business?
The whole idea behind a turnkey casino solution is to give operators everything they need to go live as soon as possible. When you add crypto, that means offering everything from crypto-friendly payment systems to blockchain-backed gaming for transparency and security. But the important part is that it’s not merely about putting a “crypto” label on your website and leaving it at that. We provide full integration with multi-coin support, crypto bonuses, and even real-time analytics. For operators, it’s the peace of mind that comes with knowing that upon making the switch, everything works — and it works fast. No waiting, no stress, just a revenue-boosting crypto experience. And you’ll be seeing profits in no time. Because you’ll get the tools to start engaging players immediately.
Bar, let’s talk about the notable transition from traditional casinos to online. Are operators who come from land-based casinos jumping on the crypto train? How are they adapting?
Absolutely! A lot of traditional operators are taking their first steps into the online scene and realizing crypto’s impact in it all. They already have local brand recognition, and now it’s time to take that trust and build it online. The great thing is, with crypto, they don’t have to worry about those annoying international payment delays or high fees. We help them adapt without the growing pains, offering localization for both payments and content. It’s basically taking what they already know and applying it to the online space: no need to rebuild everything. You’ve got your brand and audience — now let us help you go digital. It’s that easy.
One last thing: with all the changes happening in the iGaming space, especially with the crypto’s growing presence, what do you think operators should be focusing on in 2025?
2025 is all about speed and adaptability. Markets are moving at record pace, and operators who are stuck in the “perfect platform” mentality are going to miss the boat. Players expect fast, secure experiences, and with crypto, that’s what they get. But to keep up, operators need to launch fast, learn fast, and be ready to grow quickly. That means not over-complicating things: you don’t need to build from zero when you’ve got the right tools. With platforms like ours, operators can quickly adapt to trends, integrate new features, and focus on what really matters: delivering a fantastic player experience. The market’s moving, and those who move with it are the ones who win.
The post Exclusive Q&A With Bar Konson, Chief Business Development Officer at NuxGame appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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