New betting markets are opening up and countries like Brazil are on the cusp of introducing regulation to the industry, with the whole of Latin America showing the potential to become the next global betting hub. Evoplay is one of the companies looking for new global expansion opportunities, and as you can imagine, Latin America is at the top of their list.
In a recent interview, Evoplay’s CEO Ivan Kravchuk talked about the markets where he sees the biggest potential for growth and how their football-themed games are so popular in Latin America.
Evoplay has been very successful in Latin America with football-themed games — what is the secret behind the popularity of such games?
IK: We are delighted with how popular we are in Latin America. The audience is known to be particularly passionate about football, so we really wanted to get an edge in that area. To achieve this goal, we have studied and analyzed all aspects and found that sports betting is very popular. Then we decided to bring the best sports RNG games to the market.
As a result, the three-game football package — Penalty Shoot-out, Football Bet and Penalty Series – has proven to be a truly unique product, performing very well in the region in 2022. The numbers speak for themselves, contributing significantly to overall growth in Latin America last year, a 560% increase compared to 2021.
Looking at current market opportunities — which jurisdictions in Latin America currently have the most potential? Is Colombia still the market experiencing the highest growth?
IK: Latin America as a whole has huge potential and is experiencing impressive growth, with gross online gaming revenue expected to reach $4.4 billion by 2026. It’s no secret that Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia will always be crown jewels over the next decade, thanks to large populations and audiences, and in Colombia’s case, excellent regulatory environments.
In terms of demographics, Brazil remains the market leader and is expected to continue to be so, as it is almost a continent in itself. Mexico is also a potential market and we would definitely like to develop it in the future. We are also looking to expand into new local markets.
We believe it is important to keep a close eye on all jurisdictions and their dynamics, such as Argentina, Chile and Peru, as each has unique characteristics.
Thanks to mobile devices and Evoplay’s Spinential game engine, players can enjoy HD gaming with as little as 10% of their bandwidth. To what extent do you need customized technology solutions to gain an edge in Latin America?
IK: It is in order to overcome this obstacle that we have developed our own Spinential casino engine, in which the word ‘optimization’ comes first. This engine is designed to make games available in regulated markets around the world, regardless of internet speed or device type, making high-tech gaming accessible to everyone.
This engine is ideal for Latin America, where Internet penetration is steadily increasing, but there is still a lot of room for improvement, especially when it comes to data distribution.
Providing high-quality, cutting-edge entertainment for gamers around the world, accessible under any circumstances, is what Evoplay is all about, and our mission is to bring the future of the gaming world to the players of today.
What are Evoplay’s plans for Latin America this year and what do operators expect?
IK: Following the success of Football Pack and the growing interest of the audience in these games, we have received a number of requests from our current partners in Latin America to continue to deliver football-themed games in a mobile-friendly way.
We at Evoplay really enjoyed working on this project and we are sure that what we offer will be well received by the market. What’s more, as some of you may have seen with our samba-themed game Hot Nights in Rio, one of our top priorities is how well locally themed games are received by players.
Mobile gaming is growing particularly fast in Latin America, as the region has completely skipped the desktop phase of the technology adoption cycle.
What are your feelings about Brazil’s transition to regulation and what is Evoplay’s view of the market?
IK: As I said earlier, I am convinced that Brazil has a huge potential. Especially given the rapid wave of digitalization that is taking place, we are convinced that if it becomes regulated, it will undoubtedly become one of the largest regulated gaming markets in the world.
Many industry players will be watching developments closely. There are some really good studies that illustrate this dynamic. For example, a recent industry survey confirmed that 63% of Brazilians love to play slots, which is of course the result of the strong tradition of land-based slots.
Undoubtedly, the combination of digitalization and passion for slots and casinos means that Brazil will become a truly global gaming giant.
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