What have been some recent developments for Comtrade Gaming?
Our most recent and most exciting development is the launch of our content division, CG Games. We have been involved with building games for many years, typically helping other companies with their technology and we have sold our RGS to many leading game vendors.
This will be the first time we have built games for ourselves and we will have 10 games ready to be launched and we will be live with our first operator in May.
The games are very high quality and we will offer a mix of both slot and crash games. We are particularly pleased with our “Crash Soccer” game that will be in live with a selected operators just in time for the football European Championships.
Which markets are of particular interest to Comtrade at the moment?
As our iGaming Platform is aimed at large established operators we are always driven by working with the right kind of operator rather than a specific market. There is real need for our very bespoke platform offering and working with market leaders or operators who want to take their business to the next level means will work in any market if the see a good synergy with the client.
Having said that though it is very hard to ignore Latam, and especially Brazil, we believe that market in particular needs a very strong PAM partner and we can provide that reliability and dependability that is currently lacking for most operators in the region.
Crash games are growing in popularity and are the main theme of this issue. Can you talk to us about Comtrade’s crash game offerings?
Crash games have done exceptionally well and currently there seem no end to the longevity of them. We are coming to the market with two crash games, as mention “Crash Soccer” being our lead game but we will also be launching “Space Aviator”.
For the Soccer game we will offer a customized version to a select few operators and we see this as real USP for them. It lends itself to being branded very well and offer something very new but in the familiar crash concept.
What role does AI play at Comtrade Gaming?
AI is already playing a huge role in our uptime capabilities, ensuring that our operators suffer no downtime. We have extremely strict SLA’s and ensure that our platform is running smoothly 24/7 and AI helps predict issues before they arise.
The next step for us in AI will be the able to streamline bonus campaigns and loyaty schemes. AI wont change what operators do from a marketing point of view but it will help with how quickly they can configure campaigns.
What differentiates Comtrade Gaming from it’s competitors
We have been in business for 20 years and through all that time we have been privately owned by the same owner and part of a much larger group of technology companies. This level of stability is rarely seen in our industry but makes a huge difference to the business continuity of operators.
We are totally focused on our clients, and helping them to grow. It’s been our strategy from the very start and hasn’t changed. We have very big-name clients and they stay with us for a very long time because of our ability to deliver for them month after month year after year. Integrity and credibility mean everything to us and any promises we make always deliver on and our clients respect us for this.
There are many vendors whose strategy is completely dictated by their stock market listing and they have to show growth whatever happens. This is typically to the detriment of their existing clients.
What trends do you envision will define the iGaming industry over the next few months?
Trends in iGaming can’t be measured in months. We are a very dynamic industry in many respects but products and markets typically evolve over many years.
Crash games seem like an overnight success but actually, they have been around for 5 years.
Regulation will always have a big effect, the potential slot games ban in the Netherlands could be disastrous for some and seems like a huge step backward for regulated operators.
Romania seems to be tightening up on unregulated operations and pushing that responsibility onto platform vendors. The vendors that support both regulated and .com for that market, there will no doubt will be some tough choices ahead.
New markets, tighter regulation and M&A activity in both the vendor and operator space, so in short, the trend will be more of the same…
Steven Valentine
Chief Commercial Officer
Gambling Insider Magazine: MAY JUN 2024