In an exclusive interview with Yogonet, Tigran Sharafyan, Head of International Offices at global iGaming software solutions provider Digitain, explains the company’s plans for the upcoming GAT Expo Cartagena (March 15-17, Colombia) and SAGSE Latam (March 30-31, Argentina) expositions. He further reflects on the company’s performance during 2021, and shares Digitain’s future expansion plans in the recently regulated and soon-to-be regulated jurisdictions of the Latam region.
What are your prospects for GAT Cartagena this year?
GAT is a great opportunity for us to showcase our product line and our participation here is important as it is one of the key iGaming events in LatAm. As I always say, regional events like this offer a great chance not only to get to know new people and sign new partnerships but also to meet our existing partners and discuss new potential opportunities. So, the expectations from the event are pretty high and we are looking forward to having a productive show.
Are you bringing any specific innovation or any product that you want to stand out from the rest?
We are coming to GAT first of all with a much more content-rich sportsbook product which, for Digitain, is the product of main focus. Here I want to especially mention that we have recently crossed the line of 90,000 monthly live events which is an outstanding result for our trading department. Also, we have been constantly working on new sportsbook features which can benefit our partners in multiple ways equipping them with best-of-breed tools for player acquisition, retention, risk, and margin management and increasing the overall player satisfaction on sports betting.
You will also be present at SAGSE Latam in Buenos Aires, what will be your proposal there?
Product-wise the offer will be pretty much the same as in GAT. With Argentina being a sports-focused country too, the sportsbook is again going to be our leading product offer. We also have other gaming verticals of our own development, which have started to generate more and more interest in Latam.
At the end of 2021 you achieved GLI certification for your own sports betting platform, what role will the vertical play for your 2022 proposal?
In fact, we received GLI 19 & 33 certifications not only for sportsbook products but also for our platform solution where the user management part resides. GLI was really an important accomplishment when it comes to compliance, first of all, because it is famous for its strict guidelines, and being compliant with such guidelines, we expect, will make the road less bumpy for us when it comes to other certifications and licensing procedures that we will go through in future. And of course, this is a good prerequisite for Digitain to show more presence in regulated markets like Colombia where GLI is accepted as an official standard.
Also, it seems that Live Casino will have a hierarchical place in Digitain’s actions, with the appointment of Matthew Charlesworth to head the category. What are your goals there?
Live Casino is a relatively new direction for Digitain when it comes to our own product line. And I want to mention here that we spent a considerable amount of time conceptualizing and planning the vision of the product as we really wanted to come up with a high-quality product that will successfully earn its well-deserved place in today’s crazy competition among industry peers. In this respect, we are proud to have Matthew on the team as one of the industry-leading specialists in this vertical.
The legalization of gaming in Brazil is still on the agenda for this year, and in the LatAm region different regulations are advancing by leaps and bounds, are you looking to take advantage of the full potential of these markets?
It is already a long time since Brazil has embarked upon legalizing sports betting in the country and I hope it will eventually happen this year. For Digitain, Brazil is a strategic country here in LatAm as we really have a very good football offering and localized interface. With more and more LatAm countries gradually taking real steps to legalize gaming, this opens new doors for gaming companies like Digitain. With this in mind, as per our regional expansion strategy, we are looking forward to having a LatAm-based commercial unit that will be responsible for identifying new business opportunities for Digitain.
