Mitja Slavec, who has over 10 years' experience in platforms technology at Comtrade Gaming, outlines how personalisation and AI have changed the course of client conversation.
What is the biggest change you have witnessed in the iGaming and iGaming platform sectors in your 11 and a half years at Comtrade Gaming?
For me the biggest change has been the development and the extent of personalisation towards the player. Immediate adaptation of player experience and behavioural reactions based on data or predictions is now available, from what the player sees on the website or mobile app to tailored promotional offering and catered journey flows for best acquisition and retention.
For this to be possible, a very complex web of system integrations, real-time data sharing, and rule engine evaluations under large volumes must work seamlessly every second of the day, 24/7. The iGaming platform serves as the backbone of this intricate ecosystem, continuously tracking, reacting, and supplying other systems with the necessary actions and data to meet player expectations.
ย
How have partnerships with clients evolved in that time in terms of the demands from clients and the ROI involved on both sides?
Each client seeks focused attention from their iGaming provider to help them evolve into their envisioned future state. Historically, client demands centered around operational efficiency and cost optimization, but the focus has since shifted to enhancing player engagement features. At Comtrade Gaming, we have been fortunate to work with discerning clients who understand their growth needs. This has allowed us to form strong, deep partnerships as the demand for diversified offerings continues to grow.
To meet these evolving needs, we have established dedicated teams for each client, rather than employing a generic development team to serve multiple clients. This approach is crucial as it enables clients to craft their own roadmaps for maximizing player and business value. Meanwhile, we concentrate on delivering fast, successful outcomes for each client request, ensuring targeted ROI.
ย
Could you outline the range of product solutions you have offered to clients throughout your time at Comtrade Gaming? How has Comtrade Gamingโs product adapted to meet different trends over the years?
Our online offering initially started with a remote gaming server (RGS) product and a decade ago we launched our enterprise grade iGaming platform called iCore which we are evolving every three weeks. Recently we also launched our own games branded under CG Games.
Luckily our iGaming platform was architected for change and we started to adapt the product initially based on our client pain points, for example advanced sportsbook bonusing as most of the sportsbook providers were unable to do so themselves. We then adapted the platform to easily connect with land-based systems, supporting omnichannel flows. As long as you have the data and the master wallet, you can do almost anything within the platform.
Most of the changes to the product are related to the constant trend towards personalization (e.g. what the player sees on the frontend and interacts with the offering) as well as engagement engines (e.g. dynamic offerings of campaigns, product intelligent bonusing, player journey automation).
ย
How do you reflect on the change in the technology underpinning iGaming platforms in the past 11 and a half years at Comtrade Gaming? How are modern iGaming platforms more appealing to clients than before?
It is fascinating to observe how operators' business goals and expectations towards players have remained consistent over the years. The differentiating factor lies in the technology and the people behind the processes. 11 years ago, meeting operators' expectations was significantly more challenging. Many iGaming platforms struggled with real-time bonusing, setting up usable mobile frontends, and managing a single back-office interface or central reporting across multiple brands.
As technology has evolved, iGaming platforms have become more interoperable, sharing real-time data via event streaming. This enables the propagation of informational value to players and other systems, allowing clients to innovate and develop value-added add-ons themselves. Actions towards players or transactions are now instant with AI even predicting and acting ahead of time.
New frontend and mobile app technologies have transformed all player interactions with products, making them faster and more engaging. Game providers have evolved with new APIs, enabling them to influence player experiences with features like free spins and bonus buys based on operators' triggers configured within the platform.
Modern platforms are thus more appealing to clients, as they can achieve their business goals with a single system instead of multiple ones. Additionally, the faster release of new platform versions with zero downtime upgrades and higher performance volumes at lower hosting costs (thanks to cloud environments) further enhance their attractiveness.
ย
How much of a factor has regulation become in client conversations, as the topic becomes central for iGaming companies across many markets?
Regulation has always been at the forefront of any new market conversation and it is a challenge when iGaming companies are after an aggressive entry into several markets where regulatory processes are time consuming. Technologically it is quite straightforward when the platform supports several regulations and is faster to setup new markets with configuration or combination of specific regulatory requirements that undergo certification.
The key advantage we have found is having an iGaming platform that is able to host multiple jurisdictions on a single instance of the platform. This keeps the operation running efficiently, optimizing cost whilst achieving high level of transparency when it comes to key KPIs and analytics.ย
How do you see the rise of AI in all aspects of iGaming affecting client relationships in the coming years? In terms of products adapting to AI and new ROI/KPIs being developed?
AI was the missing piece of the puzzle for operators to shift to a new level of operational efficiency and maximizing ROI on key marketing efforts. It is a blessing especially for smaller and mid-size operators as it is much cheaper to find answers to demanding operational questions that only the big operators could previously research and afford.
When integrating AI into products, my key advice is to prioritize revenue-generating use cases over those focused solely on fraud identification or cost optimization.
Rise of AI is going to easily uncover and iron out any potential points of friction within player journeys on the fly. This will strengthen player long term trust and loyalty ensuring a stronger connection with the brand. One of the key KPIs is how many successful outcomes within conversion funnels are due to AI involvement.
With the right applications AI will keep players fascinated and make lives easier for operators.
Mitja Slavec, VP Product Management
The article "Experience Counts," featuring insights from Mitja Slavec of Comtrade Gaming on AI and personalization in iGaming platforms, was published in INTERGAMINGi magazine, Issue 6, October 2024.