"LatAm is this year’s primary focus and main point of our strategic plan for expansion"

As EGT Interactive readies to attend upcoming regional events GAT Expo Cartagena, to be held March 15-17 in Colombia; and SAGSE Latam —March 30-31 in Buenos Aires, Argentina—, Irina Rusimova, Chief Business Development Officer at the company talks with Yogonet about its strategies for the Latin America's region, where the Bulgarian online gaming provider has recently named two Regional Business Development Managers, Georgi Izov and Nikola Georgiev. They have already driven several new partnership deals with "some of the major operators" in Colombia and Mexico, and the company is currently preparing its first launch with "some prominent operators" in Argentina's Buenos Aires province, while certifying its games for the City. "We are also closely monitoring the developments in Brazil with regards to the expected new regulatory framework," she says.

Rusimova also delves further into the company's new line of RNG slots, and EGT Interactive's approach to develop its recently launched Live Casino vertical. 

Why have you decided to attend in-person GAT Expo Cartagena in March? Which are your key goals and expectations for this event? What will be your focus there?

The GAT Expo is one of the significant events for the LATAM region where we are going to showcase our most recent releases, products, features, including the newest line in our product portfolio – our Live Casino. We are also looking forward to meeting in person with our current and potential partners. EGT Interactive is already certified in Colombia and Mexico and we are in process of certification at the latest regulated country from the region – Argentina. We are also constantly monitoring the regulatory updates for the rest of the markets in LATAM and participation in industry events provides important – first-hand information on what is to be expected as new developments in the region. 

Which impact do you expect this event will have in terms of brand presence, and other aspects of your business? Which specific markets are you targeting the most via this participation?

The EGT brand has already gained popularity and presence in the region through the land-based activity, thus we believe our portfolio to be an important addition to the online operator’s portfolio of games. The participation at the event will provide us with possibility to showcase our newest product line – the Live casino which we are considering to be a preferred choice of game for many players from the region. In terms of targeted markets – Colombia, Mexico and Argentina are of high importance for us due to the availability of a regulatory frame. 

EGT Interactive has recently showcased new in-house games at SBC Summit Latinoamérica. What does Latin America represent for you? What’s your approach to emerging markets like Argentina (Buenos Aires province and city in particular), and potential ones such as Brazil? 

LATAM is this year’s primary focus and main point of our strategic plan for expansion. We have set high goals and aggressively targeting this region while steadily growing our presence within the local operators. Recently we have appointed two Regional Business Development Managers, Georgi Izov and Nikola Georgiev, who will be working closely with the local operators for the execution of the goals that we have set for this region. With their support, we managed to already sign several new partnership deals with some of the major players in Colombia and Mexico and we are currently preparing our first launch with some prominent operators in Argentina province while we are certifying our games for the City. We are also closely monitoring the developments in Brazil with regards to the expected new regulatory framework. 

What can we expect in terms of in-house development this year, and which competitive advantages are you seeing from this? Which other investment priorities and innovation could you anticipate?

This year is all about new products. For the past year, we have been working on the development of new line of products which we are happy to be able to provide to our partners. On one hand, we have developed and already presented our entirely in-house developed slots. Some of the titles which are already showing great interest from the players are 20 Golden Coins, Orient Story, Viking Rising, Secrets of Sherwood. This new line of casino slots differs from the classical titles in their graphics, themes and special features while using the same proven mathematical algorithms and they aim to communicate better with a whole new group of target players that are interested in modern themes, visuals and graphics. At the same time, they too support our most successful marketing tool – the Mystery Jackpot Cards game which gives yet another possibility of additional win to the player. At the same time, we have also been working on the brand-new line of product - our Live casino games. 

EGT Interactive has recently entered Live Casino with a new platform, and four initial titles. What’s your strategy, approach and resources to be competitive in this specific area? What impact do you expect from this vertical in your business?

One of our main goals as a content provider is to be able to provide a full line of products to our partners. The Live Casino was basically the last missing type of product that completed our offering. It is a highly complex project which we managed to execute in a very short period of time due to our experience, highly qualified team members, availability and possibility of relocation of resources.

Our strategy for the development of this vertical includes enlarging the number of tables, adding new titles and different types of games, offering branded tables, languages and collaboration with some of our most successful RNG titles. 

As this vertical is provided as an integral part of our complete portfolio, we have the possibility to distribute it quickly and successfully within a short period of time to all our partners through the already existing integration net that we have built throughout the years. This product line aims to differentiate EGT Interactive from the rest of the RNG games providers, diversify the portfolio and it will definitely have positive impact on the overall results, especially in the markets where Live Casino is a preferable choice for the players. 

Do you plan to attend any other events in the coming months?

With the situation of the pandemic slowly getting back on track, we are happy to be able to return to our pre-pandemic pace and thus we have a full list of already scheduled representations in designated events throughout the year. Starting with ICE in April we are also to be present at GAT in Colombia, SAGSE in Argentina, Peru Gaming Show, local gaming shows in Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, iGB Live in Amsterdam, G2E, Sigma and two events of SBC – in Barcelona and LATAM.