As the industry enjoys the first day of GAT Expo 2022 in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia, TVBET‘s Senior Business Development Manager for Latin America, William Lozano, speaks with Yogonet about the importance of this event in the current panorama for the LatAm market.
As he assesses LatAm’s current panorama as a fertile land with room for growth and improvement, Lozano gives the publication a sneak-a-peek into the company’s participation at GAT Expo, its plans for 2022, its expansion strategy and its outlook on the Russo-Ukrainian war and the way it is currently affecting the industry and the world.
As TVBET confirmed its presence at GAT Expo 2022, what are the company’s goals and expectations about its participation? What products is it planning to showcase at the event? What does GAT Expo and Colombia represent for TVBET?
We are always happy to participate at the event, where representatives from all over Latin America come together to present their products. Thanks to GAT Expo, we have reached a lot of partnerships as more and more businesses are getting interested in TVBET products.
Initially, the plan was to exhibit at GAT Expo with a bigger team of representatives. Due to the events in Ukraine, our plans have changed, as part of our team is still located in the war zone, which means we need all hands on the deck- in our main Warsaw office/studios. That’s the tiny sacrifice that we had to give.
However, as a GAT Expo visitor, I will be happy to meet and talk to the new and existing partners. I’ll share more information about TVBET games, and how to take their business to a new level. Our games offer a slightly different experience to the players, unlike the standard live dealer content. I will be more than happy to tell you what’s the difference but also present how to generate additional profit by investing in some custom solutions.
The company has recently announced a new partnership with BetWarrior to expand in Latin America, how has it positioned the company in the countries in which it operates? Is this partnership intended to enter the Brazilian market? How does the company assess this process so far? What are the next steps to conquer that jurisdiction, and under which business model is TVBET planning to operate in the country?
Brazil is still a very young and complex market to operate in. On one hand, we have big socio-economic potential, but on the other, it’s missing the basic element of efficient payments system. So many players do not own a credit card and the traditional boleto bancário is not responsive to mobile screens, where processing can take up to three business days!
Betwarrior has a fantastic UI and utilizes the latest in machine learning and artificial intelligence to deliver a truly personalized user experience. Being present on their website is an unparallel opportunity, that brings great results for TVBET. The growth is expected in 2022, especially with the development of in-house tools, which will boost the numbers. We are still working on the Brazilian strategy and how to expand in the market. The B2B business model will remain the same, the need to boost the team inside the continent seems like a reasonable step, that I’d like to consider.
In a previous interview with Yogonet, the company stated that live games are a new fresh trend on the igaming market, with a 7-8% growth in bets on a monthly basis. How has that trend continued, especially considering the company’s latest expansion deals throughout South America, Europe and other jurisdictions? What are the company’s predictions for this trend in 2022?
I can say that we are stable in this regard. After analyzing 2021, I can say that our GGR grew at a similar pace. In 2022 we plan to at least double up on those numbers, and we have multiple tasks in the pipeline that will surely help to make it possible, first announcements to follow at ICE London.
During the past year, there has been a major focus on the Polish market, where the company is located. We started working with most of the polish operators, and the result exceeded our expectations. The co-operation is so fruitful, that we are launching a Polish poker table in the middle of March 2022, just in a couple of business days.
What are the company’s predictions for the Latin American region in 2022 based on the countries where it operates? How does TVBET assess LatAm jurisdiction’s post-pandemic growth both in terms of technological and legislative achievements? What are the company’s expansion projects for 2022?
Our plans in LatAm is to be present in most of the countries in the region, we are already present in Peru, Brazil, Ecuador, Mexico, El Salvador, soon going live with a new partner from the Dominican Republic. The current expansion project is – Colombia, we hope we’ll finalize it by the end of the year, with a local partner. Argentina to follow.
Latin America has managed well with the pandemic (let’s remember Covid-19 is still active), and stands hard on its feet. There are still some technological improvements to be done, as I have mentioned in regard to Brazil, like payments. Some areas still struggle with internet accessibility. However, the number of punters using mobile, makes the market all more attractive to enter.
3.0 technologies have been growing in the industry, and they have become one of the most expected trends for 2022. From crypto casino deals to the metaverse, are there any plans to integrate into this new technology? What are the potential pathways TVBET could take to this end?
It will be very interesting to see the developments in the near future. Developments on Metaverse with relation to Virtual Reality is already taking place for Live Casino products. We can envisage that TVBET’s Live Games concept would fit perfectly into realm of VR concept. We are very interested to research ways to implement this on our offering, and I believe it is only a matter of time.
Regarding Crypto, we do not connect to crypto wallets directly, nor associate with any transactions, however, we do support majority of those currencies and can add a new one in no time. Among our partners, you may find modern crypto-casinos. Cryptocurrencies have really changed the financial world and helped players remain anonymous, for which they appreciate this technology.
I am not sure how fast we will enter the metaverse or other new technologies, what’s certain is that we constantly keep the minds opened to our customers’ needs, that’s what drives the innovation.
In a previous interview with Yogonet it was stated that the company was eyeing the Argentinian market but was well aware of the implications of dollar fluctuations. Now that Buenos Aires province and Buenos Aires City are operational in terms of online gambling, what is the company’s current approach on the new Argentinian markets, particularly those operational in Buenos Aires?
The regulation in Argentina is a little bit special due to the number of provinces, we are trying to understand what we are facing. We already receive an active demand from the operators in Buenos Aires but first, we need to prepare internally to execute what is needed to become compliant. We are surely going to use the support of the local specialists to help us out in entering the market, in a most efficient way. The currency fluctuation is not an issue for us as well, as we can agree to favorable commercial terms, that will be mutually beneficial.
During our last conversation, the company stated that the Latin American market was at the top of its interest and was actively developing partnerships in the region. How does TVBET assess that process so far? How has its “partner family” grown in the last couple months and how do they positioned the company in terms of expansion and relevance?
We have a few integrations on track that is a fruit of our effort in LatAm in the last two months and we are in conversations with multiple operators. We try to focus on speeding up the technical part, as it tends to last quite long. We consider this part of the world as a potential but the market by itself is special, thus we need to understand the differences in CULTURA and be flexible with each country.
Are you planning to attend any other upcoming events this year? What could you anticipate about your participation in some of the largest ones, for instance, ICE London? What impact are you seeing from the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian war, in this or any other aspect of your business?
Yes, we always try to be at least present on most of the industry related events. Certainly, the biggest focus is on ICE London. We are patiently waiting and actively preparing for it, it’s been so long. We plan to have a spectacular stand represented by our own presenters. The sneak-peek will be available soon on our social media. Before that, our rep for Asia will visit SPICE Goa, as well.
As for the Russo-Ukrainian, we’re very concerned not as much in terms of the business, but mainly about our dear colleagues in Ukraine. Except for the obvious and direct help that we can offer from Poland, we can only keep on praying for the end of it. This war will have a huge impact on the igaming market as a whole, since already now many operators refuse to work with Russia, and Ruble is falling down so rapidly. The economic consequences could be bigger than Covid-19… But that’s not the most important thing right now, the human innocent lives are.
Original article: https://www.yogonet.com/international/news/2022/03/15/61788-tvbet-at-gat-expo–34the-number-of-punters-using-mobile-makes-latam-all-more-attractive-to-enter-34
