Dmitry Starostenkov: “EvenBet is looking forward to establishing connections with the igaming business in Singapore”
Dmitry Starostenkov, CEO at EvenBet Gaming, shared with Focus Gaming News his insights on G2E Asia and the company’s goals.
Exclusive interview.- As G2E Asia 2023 Special Edition: Singapore is here, Dmitry Starostenkov, CEO at EvenBet Gaming, shares the company’s expectations, the products they are exhibiting and also EvenBet’s main goals for the next few months.
What do you expect from G2E Asia? What are your expectations about participating in such an important event?
For EvenBet Gaming, this is the first experience exhibiting in Singapore. Previously, we have participated in the Macao edition, but it’s very land-based oriented, while Singapore implements moderately strict but reasonable policies towards online gaming. We want to explore the online poker demand in the region and the opportunities to partner with local operators and suppliers.
“Our company is very well-known and successful in numerous Asian markets, and we are looking forward to establishing connections with the iGaming business in Singapore.”
Dmitry Starostenkov, CEO at EvenBet Gaming.
What does it mean to meet colleagues and customers at the expo? What products are you showcasing at the show?
We performed preliminary research on the region’s development and concentrated on the presentation of our poker games and the integration possibilities. The online gaming industry here is growing at the speed of light; in a few years, its infrastructure has radically changed.
However, the online poker vertical is relatively modest, yet card games are traditionally popular in South East Asia. EvenBet Gaming has 38 poker and card games created in-house, including such Asian hits as Big Two and Teen Patti, and we are sure that casino and sports betting operators may significantly increase their engagement and revenues by adding these games to their offerings and running regular poker tournaments.
I expect to discuss with colleagues from the other companies the regional gaming trends and audience demands to understand in which direction we might need to evolve while creating new product features. Countless recent trends in iGaming have come from Asia, including numerous entertaining options and mechanics. Being in Singapore now can help us see how people will play in Europe in 2024.
The company attended ICE London 2023, what balance do you make after visiting the expo? What are the main aspects you can highlight?
ICE London was a success for us. One doesn’t expect an event like this to grow significantly, yet this year, it happened, and we saw more visitors and better leads than even pre-pandemic. The audience quality this time was extraordinary, and we received more professional and interested visitors than ever. The numbers are still not ready: in our industry, it takes months to discuss the potential cooperation and get the final ROI estimation, but we are definitely in for the 2024 edition and with a bigger team.
Recently, the company released an e-book that is designed to support operators when launching an online and mobile poker offering. What feedback did you receive from operators?
We received noteworthy positive feedback from Latin and South America. It was the target region we kept in mind while working on the e-book content. The operators who only start or consider working with online poker described it as an indispensable handbook to get through the launch and initial pitfalls, and they continue actively discussing their doubts and issues with us. I hope they will implement the advice and see the poker vertical even more profitable!
What are the company’s main goals for the next few months?
Generally, we have two main development vectors. The first one is our product: new features and UI improvement. In our industry, “it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place. If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that!” so product development doesn’t stop for a single day. The second one is a further extension of our customer success department that runs support, client training, and creating various resources for our partners, sometimes with the help of the other teams. The e-book mentioned before is an excellent example of the collaboration between marketing, customer success, and technical departments.
“We aim to provide the best product and service in the online poker vertical, and this goal involves both active sales and process development.”
Dmitry Starostenkov, CEO at EvenBet Gaming.
