Last December Smartsoft Gaming, a leading Georgia-based provider of non-traditional casino games announced a stellar partnership with Entain – one of the world’s largest sports betting and gaming groups. As part of this deal, Smartsoft supplies Entain with its portfolio of games including the flagship game JetX.
The Head of Business Development at SmartSoft Saba Chkheidze spoke to SBC CIS about the latest deal, summarized 2022, and discussed plans for the current year.
Last year Smartsoft Gaming announced a stellar partnership with Entain. Could you tell us how you came up to expand your relationship with the company?
We are excited about this partnership with Entain, as they are one of the leading iGaming companies. Our partnership will involve the distribution of our game portfolio on Entain’s global brands, such as bwin, Sportingbet, and others. This is a significant expansion of our existing relationship with Entain, which began with an exclusive partnership with one of their local brands. With this global partnership, we are excited to introduce our diverse range of products, including non-traditional casino games, slots, and casino games to a wider audience. We are proud to have Entain as our B2B partner and look forward to a successful collaboration.
In the context of partnerships, can you summarize 2022 and underline the most important deals of the year?
Building on the successful partnership with Entain, Smartsoft had an exceptional year in 2022, marked by its expansion into new markets around the globe. Notably, the company secured a key partnership with Hollywoodbets, a prominent operator in South Africa. With this agreement, players in South Africa can now enjoy Smartsoft’s popular game, JetX. The Hollywoodbets deal was just one of several successful partnerships the company formed in 2022, enabling Smartsoft to broaden its global presence and offer its entertaining games to a wider player base.
Recently, you have also entered the Romanian market, which has been popular lately. How satisfied are you with your expanding strategy last year? In our last conversation, you also mentioned entering the North American market. Do you have any news on this?
Our partnerships are a key part of our growth strategy, and we are always looking for new opportunities to work with top operators worldwide. We entered 10 new markets last year, one of them being Romania, where despite the tightening of regulations we successfully launched JetX on the industry-leading operators such as Betano, Casa Pariurilor, and Fortuna. We plan to continue this trend of expansion in 2023 as well. We are currently exploring our options and preparing for the licensing process in the North American markets, so that is something that we are looking forward to in 2023.
You generally focus on non-traditional games, one of the most popular is your Jetx. Could you tell us how and why niche products were able to gain such popularity? How did you manage to partner with so many top-tier brands?
Smartsoft has been a pioneer in the non-traditional games segment, recognizing the untapped potential of niche offerings that were not being fully utilized by the traditional gaming industry. We set out to create top-quality non-traditional games that would appeal to players with unique mechanics and innovative features. Our games enable players to interact and play together, with moderated chat options that enhance the social and engaging aspects of the gaming experience. Our focus on innovation and interactivity has been key to creating products that stand out in the iGaming industry, making them popular with both players and operators. We continue to explore ways to diversify and enhance the gaming experience for our players.
The 2022 World Cup was one of the main sporting events of the year. Recently you released a new Football X game. How well was it received by the players?
The World Cup is a pivotal event for the igaming industry, with the number of unique consumers tripling during this period. To capitalize on this opportunity, we launched Football X, a unique game that offers a quick and exciting gameplay experience that complements the football frenzy during this time. Our crash games have a cross-sale effect with sports betting, making FootballX an attractive option for both players and operators. In a short period of time, FootballX has emerged as a superstar product and delivered outstanding results.
Last time we also talked a lot about the importance of participating in various international awards, conferences, and exhibitions. You attended many events last year organized by SBC, Sigma, G2E, and so on. Could you tell us what results you get from industrial conferences?
We place great importance on attending conferences and exhibitions as we believe that building relationships with industry experts and professionals is paramount. Last year, we had the opportunity to participate in several prominent events such as SBC, Sigma, and ICE London, among others. While the experiences at each event were different, the results were largely similar – we were able to make new friends, build partnerships, receive potential offers, and increase brand awareness for Smartsoft. In fact, the successful partnerships we mentioned earlier in this interview were largely a result of our participation in these exhibitions.
Could you summarize 2022? How successful was it, and what challenges did you face? Could you share some of your future plans?
Last year was both interesting and challenging for Smartsoft. We experienced significant growth with the doubling of our employee numbers, increasing the number of partners, and expanding our unique games portfolio. Our Compliance team has been hard at work acquiring new certificates and licenses. We have also opened a new office and attended more than ten exhibitions to spread the word about Smartsoft. Looking ahead, we plan to continue refining our existing portfolio and adding new games. Our eyes are set on expanding into North America and the UK, as well as exploring the potential in the Asian market.
Don’t forget to subscribe to our Telegram-channel!
