SBC Summit Tbilisi: Leaders — The Industry Digest In and Out

Today, industry leaders, creative software and technology companies, and local experts convened at the Sheraton Grand Tbilisi Metechi Palace in Georgia for the SBC Summit Tbilisi, the beacon event in iGaming and Sports Betting sectors not only in Georgia, but its neighboring regions as well.

Panel discussion “SBC Leaders – the industry digest in and out” featured Maia Kopinadze, CEO at Europebet, Dainis Niedra, Chief Operating Officer at Enlabs (Entain), Dmitry Starostenkov, CEO at EvenBet Gaming and Andrew McCarron, Managing Director, SBC, moderating the discussion.

This panel highlighted significant regulatory progress in iGaming made by the Eastern European and Central Asian markets in recent years. These markets not only possess the potential for success but have also reshaped the iGaming industry for the whole region. Industry leaders took a deep dive into the strategies behind their success in these incredibly dynamic regions, often prone to unpredictable changes. Panelists shared their valuable ways of adapting to different rules and cultural differences.

Europebet’s CEO, Maia Kopinadze, offered some perspectives into the local igaming market. She emphasized that the Georgian Government provides local iGaming companies a healthy environment for operating and huge opportunities for future development by enforcing responsible gaming regulations and implementing adequate taxation of the gambling business. She also mentioned that a very important aspect is that there must be a “trusting relationship between the regulator and the companies.”

Dmitry Starostenkov, EvenBet Gaming’s CEO, said that success of the company depends on its strategic principles and shared that their company’s main principles for selecting the appropriate strategies are grounded in learning how to navigate the industry and optimize the product so it meets the appropriate requirements and fits the overall trends — moving from Tier 1 markets to emerging markets. Dmitry emphasized his company’s devotion to a principle where 80% of the product features meet the global trends, while the other 20% focus on delivering the level of entertainment expected in the emerging markets. In Dmitry’s view, following this principle allows companies to adequately spread their resources while at the same time maximizing the number of markets they pursue.

Dainis Niedra, Chief Operating Officer at Enlabs (Entain) also shared his company’s success story and experience in the Baltic region with the audience and pointed out that “companies will have successful operations if they easily adapt to any changes of the regulatory environment”.

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