Less than 24 hours before SBC Digital Summit CIS kicks off, we spoke to Dmitry Starostenkov, CEO of EvenBet Gaming, who emphasised that companies who are not ‘ready to face the change’ will ‘stay in the past’.
Speaking to SBC, Starostenkov noted further ways companies can mitigate the impact of the current pandemic, highlighting CIS countries as being the ‘dark horse’ in the igaming market and pointed to a conference agenda that caught his attention.
What are you looking forward to at the SBC Digital Summit CIS?
CIS countries have always been a sort of dark horse in the igaming market. It has a potential audience of millions of players, extremely variable legislation practices, growing presence of global operators, and rapid development of local projects, language specifics – all this makes the region quite complicated but very interesting in terms of the prospective development.
A lot of things happen in these markets, such as the latest regulation changes in Ukraine and Uzbekistan, and the sports betting boom in Russia to name just a few.
I hope that the summit will help the iGaming industry to outline the most interesting vectors for future growth in the region.
What would be your biggest bit of advice for betting and gaming businesses trying to mitigate the impact of COVID-19?
To be ready that we will never go back to the world as it was before the pandemic. During this year, we have met new challenges, regulation changes, we had to adapt our offers and products. The way we interact with our customers and partners which is here to stay.
I’m quite sure there is more to come until we will find ourselves in the new normal. Those who are not ready to face the change, will stay in the past.
What are you promoting at SBC Digital Summit CIS?
Our core product is an online poker platform, ready for integration into any existing system or for starting a new project from zero. Taking into account the stable poker popularity in the CIS countries, especially among sports betting fans, this might interest operators starting or developing their projects in the region.
What industry innovation will capture the most attention in 2020?
It is absolutely esports. If we’re talking about tools and strategies, this is the growing popularity of video streaming. Once used only for video games, it has become an ultimate instrument to acquire the new generation of players to casinos, betting services, and poker rooms.
Which operator has impressed you the most in 2020?
888 group, demonstrating unbelievable growth amidst the pandemic. As the competition in the online sector becomes more tough, the whole 888 ecosystem flourished.
What partnership has stood out in the past 12 months?
It’s hard to mention just one: all this year is full of merging, partnership, new agreement. We are definitely in the middle of the market redistribution process which most likely will result in consolidation of operators and suppliers at least at the saturated markets.
Which parts of the conference agenda have caught your eye?
I’m extremely interested in the country-specific panel discussions since they can provide operators and vendors with valuable insights on the key CIS markets: Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Georgia, and Russia. Looking forward to getting some ideas from the experts with an experience of discovering the possibilities there!
