Following on from a hugely successful 2021, which saw tech ecosystem supplier Betbazar capitalise on a surge in interest in Esports and next-gen gaming, we sat down with the company’s CEO, Alex Iaroshenko, to talk through what’s driving the provider’s vision for entertainment.

With plenty of insights on the evolution of next-gen demographics, as well as the latest on European regulation and shifting player preferences, this one’s not to be missed!

Congratulations on a 2021 with plenty of standout achievements being announced previously by us here at European Gaming! Can you talk us through the last 12 months and how that brings the next few months into focus pre-ICE?

The past 12 months have been very exciting for us! Both our team and partners have done an outstanding job in supplying our clients with a wide range of products. I’m very happy to see that our focus and services have evolved beyond our highly successful Esports selection – our ecosystem now encompasses casino, fintech and everything that offers real entertainment.

By creating this Betbazar ecosystem we have been able to better prioritise what we do, our main focus is to continue building our product base across sportsbook, casino and sports games, which sees an incredible combination of casino, fintech and sports merged into one.

We’re also looking at joining the race around bespoke platform services, as I feel this is another significant growth space that offers a wealth of opportunity. In addition to this we’re improving our strategies around KYC and affiliates, allowing both ourselves and our partners to grow.

Betbazar recently announced that it plans to transform what its offer in terms of an ecosystem – with multiple new verticals now stretching beyond sports betting, how does this relate to your vision for the industry in 2022 and beyond?

We believe that the future of the industry is all about meeting the demands of the new generation of player. For us, meeting this demand is all about supplying the right forms of entertainment to them that will engage, excite and ultimately retain them.

Our ecosystem will span multiple verticals – you cannot expect to continue entertainment players with just one standalone product anymore. They demand varied, constant entertainment that cashes out quickly. Effectively we’re catering to the Tik Tok generation who want to jump between multiple forms of entertainment in one evening.

We plan on taking a soft approach to this, easing players from one game to another by offering them something similar to what they initially started with, this way there’s familiarity and they’re not being pushed towards a product they’re not actually interested in.

How do you see the evolution of the casino vertical, given this is now an area you’ll be greatly enhancing your focus? How greatly does the approach to casino differ across emerging European markets?

We’re seeing operators face significant challenges in attracting players in Europe, especially in Central and Eastern regions. Take Ukraine for example, their land-based heritage was viewed negatively for years, and the idea of casino was not considered to part of the social culture. That said, things have started to change since the market has been regulated and big casinos entered the market. Looking at Russia and Kazakhstan, casino is yet to be regulated for online – this will likely change in time.

Looking to this year and the next, I believe emerging markets hold plenty of potential – and with the likes of Georgia and now Ukraine offering plenty of good examples for regulated casino done right. Now it’s key to showcase the benefits of online to jurisdictions yet to regulate and provide products that can suit what regional demographics demand.

From a broad perspective, how can we describe what European casino demographics will be over the next five years? What’s the ideal entertainment environment that needs to be offered by both operator and supplier? 

From our perspective, the ideal entertainment environment features high-velocity betting games that offer a combination of casino, social dynamics and gamification such as tournaments. We’re seeing more and more players demand this type of real time, next gen offering that immerses players and makes them feel part of something.

We should expect a future offering that sees players fully immersed in a shared environment that fosters a strong social and community feeling. People want to be in a group, creating a place for gaming that offers a gamified, competition engendered experience (just like video gaming), and that is going to be key for engagement and success over the next decade.

Which verticals do you believe hold the greatest potential over the next five years and how do you see new player interest being created? How much do you see live casino outperforming the likes of slots?

Live casino’s growth trajectory certainly suggests it will continue to grow strongly, it’s a space that’s difficult to disrupt, as you have a number of tier one incumbents that have a hold over the market.

If we’re specifically talking about a new generation and demographic of players, then I think it’s difficult to look beyond Esports. It’s engaging, entertaining and immersive and these new players will be interested in something they were already familiar with, and gaming is one of those things.

Given your extensive experience working across the sports industry with Genius Sports, how will casino evolve alongside sportsbook over the coming years?

In my experience sportsbook has always been a fantastic tool for acquisition in that new players first sign up to place bets on their favourite sports and then move onto casino products, giving them a try. The key is ensuring that product complement each other – without cannibalising spend.

The two need to sit alongside each other and offer different types of entertainment that engages the player whilst still offering something familiar. For example, a fixed odds betting game with a live dealer would appeal to sports fans as they understand the concept.

Ultimately, I don’t think the industry will change much and we’ll have relative stability, the nature of the business has pretty much been the same for the past few years – and will likely continue to be.

Can casino ever come an acquisition tool in its own right given that at present sportsbook usually takes the majority of new sign-ups?

Sports betting will always be one of the major channels for operators to attract new players, and for the majority of markets, this will likely continue to be the same going forward. As mentioned, I believe the key for casino is to create an experience that compliments the sports betting experience, rather than cannibalising the wallet, which results in a shorter customer lifecycle. Of course, there will always be players out there that will give casino a try first ahead of placing a sports bet, but it will always be rarer.