In an exclusive interview with G3 MEDIA, Matej Horvat, VP Interactive at Comtrade Gaming, reveals how ๐ข๐๐จ๐ซ๐โ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐๐ง๐ญ๐๐ซ๐ฉ๐ซ๐ข๐ฌ๐ ๐ข๐๐๐ฆ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐๐ญ๐๐จ๐ซ๐ฆโ๐๐ฏ๐จ๐ฅ๐ฏ๐๐ฌ ๐๐ฏ๐๐ซ๐ฒ ๐ญ๐ก๐ซ๐๐ ๐ฐ๐๐๐ค๐ฌ with ๐ณ๐๐ซ๐จ ๐๐จ๐ฐ๐ง๐ญ๐ข๐ฆ๐. From ๐ฌ๐๐๐ฆ๐ฅ๐๐ฌ๐ฌ ๐ฎ๐ฉ๐ ๐ซ๐๐๐๐ฌ to ๐๐ซ๐๐ฎ๐ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐๐ฏ๐๐ง๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง, ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐ข๐๐ง๐๐, ๐๐ง๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ซ๐๐จ๐ซ๐ฆ๐๐ง๐๐ ๐ฌ๐๐๐ฅ๐ข๐ง๐ , discover how iCore keeps operators ahead in a competitive market.
1.ย Security, regulatory compliance, user experience. What are Comtrade's priorities when it comes to iCore's upgrade cycle?ย
All these aspects are integral for the continuous operation and for the success of our clients. Of course, different departments at our clients would prioritise their own objectives however, with our understanding of big picture and vast experience, we help them to achieve cohesive and effective roadmap plans.
We implement rigorous security measures to protect user data. For example, we conduct automated nightly security tests and regular vulnerability assessments. Additionally, our platform undergoes penetration testing to identify and mitigate potential threats.
Ensuring compliance with industry standards is crucial. We conduct frequent audits to align with regulations, including GDPR and ISO 27001. Our processes include detailed documentation and regular reviews to ensure all updates meet these standards.
We prioritize clientโs input and user feedback in our development cycle. Updates are released regularly every three weeks, or even quicker when there is a critical business need. At that point we utilize our โrapidโ approach. For instance, during a recent migration of a new client, we have significantly improved the user flow experience based on live data analytics and direct client input, ensuring more seamless and intuitive experience.
2. iCore supports numerous payment methods, comprises a vast array of game content, odds feeds, and tools for KYC/AML, fraud detection and identity verification. What are the challenges of maintaining a three-week upgrade cycle on a no down time basis with so many moving parts?
Various payment methods, game content and odds feeds are often complex integrations with vendor specific logic, however our proven seamless integration framework with multi-tier and high-availability architecture ensures that we minimize and encapsulate the complexity to smaller units which demand meticulous planning and testing, while the system as a whole remains stable and functional during upgrades.
Tools for KYC/AML, fraud detection, and identity verification must be continuously updated not only to comply with evolving regulations in different markets but also to keep away other threats from malicious users or clientโs unfriendly competition.
The three-week upgrade cycle necessitates well-coordinated development and deployment processes. Multiple teams are required to deliver high-quality updates on time, while managing dependencies and avoiding conflicts. On top of that achieving zero downtime during upgrades requires advanced deployment strategies, such as rolling updates and canary releases. With so many moving parts, effective risk management is crucial. We maintain detailed risk and contingency plans to address potential issues swiftly. For instance, if a new feature impacts existing functionality, we have predefined steps to mitigate and resolve the problem.
By addressing these challenges, Comtrade ensures that iCore remains a robust, reliable, and innovative platform, capable of adapting to the dynamic needs of the gaming industry.
3.ย With a short three-week upgrade cycle, where does the time come from to conduct comprehensive testing?ย
We rely a lot on automated testing. We leverage automated testing tools like Selenium WebDriver and TestRail to run nightly smoke and regression tests. This ensures that critical functionalities are continuously validated without manual intervention.
Each three-week cycle includes specific phases for different types of testing. Integration testing to validate new features and integrations. Regression testing to ensure existing functionalities remain unaffected. User Acceptance Testing (UAT) to confirm the end-to-end business flow. Our QA team conducts parallel testing across multiple environments. For example, while one team focuses on integration testing, another handles regression testing to maximize efficiency. Our continuous integration framework automatically deploys updates to all lower environments and runs tests, providing immediate feedback on code changes. This accelerates the identification and resolution of issues.
By utilizing these strategies, Comtrade ensures that iCore undergoes comprehensive testing within each three-week upgrade cycle, maintaining high standards of quality and reliability.
4.ย How does Comtrade ensure upgrades to iCore account for changes to APIs, authentication and data formats? Are these areas where careful, rigorous testing is required or is this the company's bread and butter?
Changes to APIs, authentication, and data formats are critical areas that require meticulous testing. In the case of changes to a critical component declared as such by the regulatory authority it also requires a special protocol for changes, external testing and certification from approved testing authority by the regulator.
All API changes would trigger extension of automated API tests using tools like Hoppscotch and Swagger. These tests or test suites validate that all endpoints work correctly, and handle data as expected. We are especially proud of our capabilities to continuously monitor API performance and authentication processes in operation. This includes real-time logging and monitoring using tools like Kibana, ElasticSearch and Power BI, which help us quickly identify and resolve issues.
We have long established strict versioning protocols to ensure backward compatibility. This means that new updates do not disrupt existing integrations. For example, when updating an API, we ensure that the new version can coexist with the old version during the transition period.
On top of that detailed documentation is maintained for all changes. This includes specifications for new data formats and authentication methods, ensuring that all stakeholders are informed and can adapt accordingly.
While rigorous testing is essential, managing changes to APIs due to constantly adding new integrations is indeed our bread and butter. Our established processes and tools are designed to handle these updates efficiently and ensure that the bread is always crunchy, and the butter is smooth.
5. iGaming platforms often operate across different regions, each with its own uniqueย and evolving set of regulations. How delicately does Comtrade handle the compliance components of iCore in the development and deployment cycle?ย
At Comtrade, we are fully equipped to support clients in any regulated market, including emerging markets and those with very strict regulations. Our approach is diligent and comprehensive, ensuring seamless entry and sustained compliance. We conduct thorough research and analysis of each target market's regulations. This involves studying legal requirements, industry standards, and specific gaming regulations to ensure our platform meets all necessary criteria.
Our dedicated compliance department is responsible for managing regulatory adherence. This team develops and maintains tools and processes that facilitate efficient market entry and ongoing compliance. They stay updated on regulatory changes and ensure our platform evolves accordingly.
It is very important to work closely with clients on a project level to understand their specific needs and challenges better. This collaboration allows us to provide personalized support and ensure that our platform addresses all regulatory requirements effectively with minimised business impact. We integrate automated compliance checks into our development cycle. These checks validate that all updates adhere to regional regulations before deployment. This includes verifying data protection measures, transaction limits, and age verification processes. Regular audits by external authorities are conducted to ensure ongoing compliance. These audits review all aspects of the platform, from data handling to user authentication, ensuring that iCore meets the highest standards. Comprehensive documentation is maintained for all compliance-related
updates and critical components declared by the regulator authority are maintained and updated with the special protocol.
We also collaborate closely with external legal experts to interpret and implement regulatory requirements. This ensures that our platform not only meets current standards but is also prepared for future changes.
6.ย iGaming platforms experience usage spikes during major sporting events or promotions. How does Comtrade seek to improve backend infrastructure for increased loads without sacrificing on performance? How often are components for speed and reliability optimised during the constant upgrade cycle?
iCore employs a scalable architecture to handle extremely large volumes with increased loads during major events. This includes load balancing, distributed smart caching, throttling and many other tricks to ensure optimal performance. We conduct regular performance tests, including load, stress, and endurance tests, to evaluate and enhance system capacity. These tests simulate peak usage scenarios to ensure the platform can handle high traffic without issues.
While we are capable of effectively managing any level of traffic, we also prioritize efficiency and infrastructure cost optimization. Components for speed and reliability are optimized continuously. Each three-week upgrade cycle includes specific phases for performance review and enhancements, ensuring that the system remains efficient and responsive.
Advanced real-time monitoring tools, code profiling and system profiling help us track and tune performance and identify bottlenecks. Automated alerts enable quick responses to any issues that arise during high-traffic periods.
By implementing these strategies, Comtrade ensures that iCore maintains high performance, cost effectiveness and reliability, even during high traffic spikes.
7. How is Comtrade strengthening iCore's anti-fraud systems, including improved identity verification, real-time analytics, and anomaly detection?
Due to different markets, regulatory requirements and clientโs needs or budgets we needed to employ various mechanisms and tools for fraud prevention, responsible gaming, geo-location, and identity verification, such as for example multi-factor authentication and biometric verification.
Many of those are coming out of the box with iCoreโs KYC and Fraud&Risk modules and some are built on top by integrating 3rd party solutions such as Iovation, Fingerprint, Callsign, CAF, Legitimuz, ... iCore Fraud&Risk module leverages user defined rules powered by real-time algorithms that allows us to detect suspicious activities instantly. For instance, our system analyses transaction patterns and flags anomalies that may indicate fraud or even automatically conducts preventive actions. We regularly update our anti-fraud systems to adapt to new threats ensuring that customerโs operation remains secure and reliable.
8.ย Comtrade manages enterprise clients across multiple markets on individual deployments. How are iCore upgrade deployments phased to mitigate risk?ย
For each client we have a dedicated project team that works on clientโs specific roadmap and manages to customize and deploy Core product roadmap updates into their releases. We plan all upgrades at predefined times to ensure consistency and prevent disruption. This allows us to coordinate with clients and ensure they are prepared for the updates.
The QA lead of the project team organizes customer consolidation meetings to review the status of deployments and address any issues promptly. Deployments are scheduled with each client individually. This ensures that all stakeholders are aligned, and any potential risks are mitigated swiftly.
With each client we have multiple dedicated development environments, integration environment(s) under continuous integration and staging.
We run smoke and sanity tests on integration environment(s) to ensure that all affected test cases are re-executed and validated. This helps us identify and resolve any issues before they impact the production environment. Bug triage sessions allow us to prioritize reported issues and decide on the necessary actions.
By planning, phasing and individualizing iCore upgrade deployments in this manner, Comtrade ensures that risks are minimized, and clients receive reliable, high-quality updates across multiple markets.
9.ย Who is responsible for communicating with operators about new feature rollouts and iCore's upgrade strategy? Are the tech team involved in these discussions?ย
As mentioned earlier for each client we have a dedicated project team. And the primary responsibility for communicating with operators about new feature rollouts and iCore's upgrade strategy lies with theย Project Managers (PMs)ย andย Business Analysts (BAs) when it comes to details. They ensure that operators are informed about upcoming changes, benefits, and any potential impacts. And it is important to emphasize that this goes vice versa as operatorโs business strategy and market needs can also affect the priority of our roadmap backlog, which is a benefit for both parties.
And of course, when necessary, the Tech team, which is part of the project team, is actively involved in these discussions. They provide detailed technical insights and support to ensure operators understand the technical aspects of the upgrades. Especially in a case of integration with operatorโs proprietary or 3rd party systems.
We also regularly provide our yearly roadmap plans for each quarter and release notes after each rollout, which helps our clients to prepare for improvements in their operation or marketing strategies.
10.ย How does Comtrade analyse the performance of iCore's upgrades once they've been deployed?ย
Well, the important part of the process must be performed even before the upgrade. Right after development phase our dedicated performance testing team uses specialized proprietary tools to measure the performance impact of changes. This involves carefully designing test cases and executing test suites in a before-and-after manner. By simulating various scenarios, we want to ensure that any potential performance issues are identified and addressed prior to deployment.
For the actual deployment, we create special before-and-after snapshots in production for all expensive operations. These snapshots capture detailed performance data, allowing us to analyse the direct impact of the upgrade in a real-world environment. The advantage of this approach is that it provides accurate data from the true system with real user interactions, ensuring that our analysis reflects actual performance.
Finally, we continuously monitor the performance and detect expensive operations using specialized tools on instrumented data from production. This ongoing monitoring helps us track system performance and identify any anomalies or bottlenecks. By maintaining a constant watch on key metrics, we can ensure that iCore remains efficient and responsive, even as usage patterns evolve.
Editorial published in G3 April 25 :: 84