While the pandemic’s effects on the gambling industry were perhaps more easy to notice in the land-based vertical – as the images of shuttered casinos and empty gaming floors became frequent over the past two years – Covid-19 also changed the iGaming landscape in unexpected ways that the sector is still trying to comprehend.
As thousands of gamblers across the world were confined to their homes to help contain outbreaks, this led to a spike in digital gaming activity and changes in online behavior. Now that most countries start to leave the worst days of the pandemic behind, operators and stakeholders in the sector are seeking to keep up with the expanded market.
In conversation with Yogonet, Andrey Starovoitov, Co-CEO at iGaming software solutions provider SOFTSWISS, reflects on the changes the sector experienced since the pandemic and this year in specific. Moreover, the expert explains how to stand out in the online gaming space, and what plans the company has going forward.
What is your assessment of how the gaming sector developed in 2022? What role did SOFTSWISS play within this context?
The pandemic period has definitely changed industry trends. It is also important to note that the use of online services increased sharply during the pandemic, and the past two years have been a springboard for growth for iGaming. Investment and competition in the market have increased consequently.
SOFTSWISS was not left out and offered its clients novelties and tools which are regularly supplemented and improved. Our winning combination of quality, innovation, and security has enabled us to emerge as an industry leader, and in the process, we have set the level of growth for our competitors.
I hope our development pace encourages other companies to create strong and engaging offers. And of course, we back this up with our responsive, attentive client service and our 10 years of experience in iGaming and Crypto.
This year also marked a general return of in-person industry events all over the world. What are your main takeaways from the events schedule in 2022?
Live communication and the opportunity to see your partners and clients, including potential ones, are still of vital importance in an industry that is characterized by trust in your partner. This trust is quite difficult to build in an online format, so we are very pleased to see the live events are coming back.
It is also delightful to see that industry representatives are scaling up their presence at industry exhibitions, improving their stands and presentations, and finding new and interesting formats. And there are more events. We strive to take part in our key exhibitions, we send regional managers as delegates, and we can already say that this is bringing measurable results.
What new technologies and trends do you expect to gain momentum next year? How does SOFTSWISS approach these new developments in iGaming within its portfolio of solutions?
A definite trend in 2023 will be an increasing level of competition. I will never tire of saying that game aggregators today are not only fighting among themselves but also with the direct integrations of game developers. At SOFTSWISS we are acutely aware that a future strategy can only be built on the possibility of bringing added value not only to operators but also to the players.
The information aggregation of many studios and operators is the core asset on which we will build our value-added strategy for our clients. And the first step in this direction is the planned launch of the Tournament Tool by the SOFTSWISS Game Aggregator, which allows us to launch promotional campaigns for multiple producers at the same time without any technical integration.
Any tournament will be able to run through the back office, and all the necessary information for the player will be available directly in the game window. This step will be a continued build-up of the iGaming ecosystem of products available through one integration with SOFTSWISS.
What should we expect from SOFTSWISS in 2023? Are there any new plans or announcements you could share with us?
With increased competition in the market, another challenge is also expected to emerge – player and client retention. Companies will be rushing to improve key business metrics and increase lifetime player value.
In this context, the products that SOFTSWISS creates and our innovations, such as jackpot campaigns and tournaments that we implement, definitely help to achieve key business goals and improve player retention as well. This makes partners feel more confident.
In the year ahead, we will continue to develop our products aimed at attracting and retaining players, as well as our outstanding service, which is recognized by partners and with multiple awards.
