Latin America has continued to open up at a steady rate and is widely seen as a market that is stacked full of potential, but there’s still plenty to be learned about capturing the attention of modern players in the region.

Vladimir Malakchi, CEO at leading game development studio Evoplay, sits down with Gaming Americas to discuss the success that the company has seen this past year and what its growth strategy will be for Latin America and other key regions in 2023 and beyond.

As one of the industry’s leading development studios, Evoplay has had some outstanding success this year, amounting with an award win for Innovation of the Year at the SBC Awards – what was the driving force behind that win?

As a company filled with iGaming enthusiasts, we’ve always been recognised for our prioritisation of innovation, something which sits at the very core of our game development strategy. Based on the research we conduct, we’ve noticed a clear trend emerging – that modern players seek exciting products which deliver unique experiences, especially when speaking about the next-generation of gamblers.

The development of new technologies and their immediate adoption by the wider entertainment industry, means that developers must stay on top of current trends, at Evoplay, we successfully meet this challenge by delivering products that not only meet the ever-changing preferences of modern players, but exceed their increasingly high expectations.

Looking to the LatAm market, what key differentiators is Evoplay bringing to the table, and how are you able to make your games as exciting as they are?

Thanks to the diversity of our product portfolio, we have a lot to offer the market’s local players. Our unique titles are topped up with the latest gamification tools, as well as tried and tested features, mechanics and modes that allow them to stand out, providing players with exclusive gaming experience they won’t find anywhere else.

LatAm is well-known for its passion for football, and we are able to facilitate this phenomenon thanks to our collection of football-inspired products which combine elements from traditional casino and harmonise this with the thrill and unpredictability of sports betting. The package consists of 4 betting-fuelled games: Football Bet, Penalty Shoot-out, Penalty Series and Football Manager.

Having analysed and identified the key factors that make wagering on live sports so attractive to casual bettors, the collection of titles provides the same level of excitement to players but from the comfort of their smartphones, without being limited to any real-life event schedule, ushering in a new era for sports fans and casino enthusiasts.

Do you have anything you would you like to share with your audience ahead of SBC Summit Latinoamerica about how Evoplay is going to make an impact?

We will continue doing what we do best and what we are recognised for in the industry, which is delivering bespoke iGaming content that wins the audience’s attention and earns their respect from the very first click. Evoplay’s varied portfolio and pioneering approach to game creation already sets us apart from our competitors, and we look forward to sharing our insights at the event with industry colleagues and prospective clients.

Evoplay enjoyed a strong year of product development with some exciting additions to its award-winning portfolio. When it comes to the prevalence of mobile over desktop in LatAm, how are you looking to cater to the market’s unique conditions and does that change your game development strategy? 

The mobile sector has always been at the forefront of our priorities, as the data shows that LatAm is one of its biggest adopters, with roughly 75% of customers engaging with our products via smartphones. This breaks down to approximately 150 million mobile gamers in the region, which suggests that our mobile-first ideology is totally in tune with the audience there.

In addition to this, our in-house game engine Spinential provides a vital service, accelerating loading speed by up to 10x while saving digital storage space, opening the doors to far more players by allowing them to use our products on a multitude of devices across varying qualities of internet connections.

As we look beyond the upcoming World Cup and into the New Year, could you tell us more about your company’s growth strategy and vision for the LatAm market and other key regions?

As a leading development studio to the industry, we never stop looking to expand our reach and have already announced our plans for European expansion, with Portuguese and Swiss markets at the face of our short-term plans. That said, we are actively working on signing deals with operators in the markets where we have established our presence.

LatAm is most definitely on our radar for the coming months, and we will be ready to discuss this in more detail as we approach the end of the year. In the meantime, our research departments will continue to conduct analysis and collect data that helps us identify the region’s niches and player preferences, so that we can be more prepared for entering the market and fulfilling the requirements of its users.