From February 6 to 8, the last edition of ICE to be held in London will take place at the ExCeL exhibition center. Among the companies participating at the major annual expo, one of the key events for the global gaming and betting industry, is iGaming software and solutions provider EveryMatrix.
In an exclusive interview with Yogonet, Bobby Longhurst, Group Chief Commercial Officer (GCCO) of EveryMatrix, discusses the company’s expectations for the expo, set to highlight the sector’s latest innovations and trends.
In the conversation, Longhurst addresses topics such as EveryMatrix’s new offerings, strategic markets and innovations in casino and sports betting products.
What will be the main products EveryMatrix will present and focus on at ICE London 2024? Will you be showcasing any new products or services this time around?
As the show bids farewell to London in 2024 and says ‘hola’ to Barcelona in 2025, prospective customers at this year’s show will be able to experience the complete range of EveryMatrix products on our stand (N6-210). Our three core product pillars of casino, sports and platform will take center stage with our experts available across three days to discuss, demonstrate and showcase our comprehensive range of software, features and functionality within these key areas.
At ICE we will demonstrate how we have delivered some of the industry’s most prized and most successful turnkey projects that touch on almost all our business units.
Within casino, we will have on-demand demonstrations to showcase our new content enhancement tools and technologies entitled ‘BonusEngine Boosters’. This comprises five elements all aimed to enhance the player experience by adding multiple layers of excitement and engagement to any EveryMatrix or third-party game, across any supplier and any platform, significantly increasing acquisition and retention rates and player lifetime values.
This includes configurable jackpots, available on any game and any supplier; multiple free spins options; tournaments and leaderboards; challenges based on wagering requirements and player behaviors/bet frequency; and Lucky Wheel, a configurable tool operators can use to offer their players cash and non-cash prizes depending on their preferences.
Our casino display will also center on aggregation via SlotMatrix, with access to the largest library of global in-house and third-party content complete with easy, one-time integration, support and ongoing content recommendations plus all the well-known complementary bonus and gamification tools and features that continue to drive record revenues for the world’s biggest iGaming brands.
The third core element at the show will be our omni-channel sports betting offering that will present betting capabilities across both online and retail at the heart of the stand. Underpinned by OddsMatrix, EveryMatrix’s leading B2B sportsbook division has recently achieved its best year, setting record annual and quarterly growth and profitability and a record number of bets for tier-1 customers.
The OddsMatrix platform, data feeds and services division has gone from strength to strength in the last 12 months launching several large-scale digital projects for tier-1 brands, resulting in a 75% Year-on-Year (YoY) rise in total bets from 109 million to 183m between 2022 and 2023, and skyrocketing profitability, up by 90% YoY.
Given ICE London’s status as one of the major global events in the industry, what are your expectations for the expo, and what are the company’s key goals for the event?
ICE is always a massive event for the global industry and arguably our most important, setting the scene for the year ahead, allowing us to meet both new and existing customers and showcasing our latest products, innovations and strategic goals for 2024.
We have several key objectives for the next 12 months including one of our primary focal points to deliver further large-scale turnkey projects across the globe but with a particular spotlight on LatAm and Brazil, Peru, Chile and Mexico.
We want to continue to drive existing customers’ revenues as well as sign, launch and deliver new large-scale, complex turnkey projects. Our stand this year will shine the spotlight on the many technologies we have available that come together to drive outstanding results for our partners.
Our two largest ever include bet-at-home in Germany and globally, and the Hungarian Lottery (SZRT). Both went live with great success at the end of 2023 and included custom-built products and integration processes with almost every EveryMatrix team joining forces to ensure the successful launch of our OddsMatrix sportsbook and wide-ranging turnkey solutions. This included our casino platform, player management, payments module, and affiliate software – all designed to further enhance customer operations, driving both revenues and efficiencies.
Our work with SZRT, for example was one of our most complex integrations to date involving multiple teams including GamMatrix, EveryMatrix’s platform unit. GamMatrix purpose-built a range of project-critical operational and safer gambling features including rapid, multi-step registration and a comprehensive array of self-exclusion functionality in line with specific SZRT and regulatory requirements.
How would you describe the industry’s and your client’s current demands at the time? What markets will you focus on at the expo?
Our clients’ focus is always to operate as efficiently and as profitably as possible with maximum platform reliability and uptime while always remaining compliant, and our technology has proven time and again to be the leader in every area of the iGaming and sports betting ecosystem.
Our market focus for 2024 will continue to be global but with specific attention and growth plans for LatAm, Western Europe and Africa where we are beginning to see an increase in interest following the success of several projects.
The event comes as we enter a new year for gambling. What is your assessment of how the sector developed in 2023, and what should we expect from it in 2024? What role will the company play in the upcoming 12-month period?
The last 12 months have been transformative for EveryMatrix with record year-on-year and quarter-on-quarter growth and profitability, record and rising month-on-month GGR for our customers, and the launch and delivery of the largest and most complex projects we have ever undertaken, involving every one of EveryMatrix’s business units.
Plus, in September 2023 we became the first iGaming supplier to receive WLA Safer Gambling Certification with a commitment to put Safer Gambling at the heart of everything we do. Ideal talking points for ICE I think you’ll agree!
The industry continues to grow into new markets while also having to deal with changing regulatory requirements so, while there is growth, there is also the need to adapt and be as prepared and as ready as possible for new challenges – we are always on hand to guide and work closely in partnership with our customers across any element of the iGaming and betting ecosystem.
What other industry events does the company plan to attend this year?
We have identified key events this year with a large number in LatAm, one of our core target growth markets. This will include SBC Rio and SBC Miami as well as many local and regional LatAm-based events with many of the main organizers there. We will attend, exhibit and sponsor many more local events, boosting our brand and product awareness and showcasing our complete turnkey software solutions and services that have made a huge impact for tier-1 customers elsewhere such as in Germany and Hungary.
Our focus will be initially on Brazil, Chile, Peru and Mexico across all our core products, casino, sportsbook and platform, but with a clear focus to win and integrate our turnkey platform services dependent on whatever needs each local operator has.
Casino platform integration, gamification and productivity/bonusing features as well as our leading casino aggregation offering will continue to grow in LatAm and we’re primed to work with both new and existing brands in Brazil and the wider region to continually boost their acquisition and retention numbers. However, there is equally much more we can do.
Integrating our bespoke turnkey services in these markets is one of our major strategic objectives for the next 12 months and beyond. We have extensively analyzed the Brazilian market and are in daily conversations with partners and prospective customers, and one theme continues to appear: a lack of a high-performing, robust platform that can effectively and efficiently manage the complete iGaming and/or sports betting player ecosystem, with maximum uptime, extensive productivity features, localized content and safer gambling tools, all of which we have in abundance at EveryMatrix.
