Georgi Mihaylov, EGT Digital: “We are seeing growing demand for more personalised and interactive betting experiences”
Georgi Mihaylov, deputy CEO of EGT Digital, shared how the company is preparing for iGB L!VE.
Exclusive interview.- Ahead of iGB L!VE, Georgi Mihaylov, deputy CEO of EGT Digital, shared how the company is preparing for the expo. In an exclusive interview, he spoke about EGT Digital’s key highlights at its stand and the conversation they are hoping to have with operators.
Mihaylov also discussed insights about X-Nave platform’s latest developments, and the challenges and opportunities operators face during the 2026 FIFA World Cup. He also shared the company’s priorities for the second half of 2026.
EGT Digital will be attending iGB L!VE at a time when the industry is increasingly focused on platform scalability, player engagement and operational efficiency. What will be the main highlights of your showcase this year, and what conversations are you hoping to have with operators during the event?
iGB L!VE comes at an exciting time for EGT Digital as we continue to expand both the capabilities of our X-Nave platform and the breadth of our product portfolio.
One of the key highlights at our stand will be the Sportsbook, which has seen significant development over the past year. With the FIFA World Cup in full swing, operators are increasingly looking for solutions that combine scalability, performance, and powerful engagement tools, and we will be showcasing a range of features designed to help them maximise player activity during periods of peak demand.
We will also present our latest gaming content, including Black Lounge Bell Link, one of the newest additions to our popular Bell Link jackpot series, as well as our portfolio of more than 180 in-house developed games.
Beyond individual products, visitors will have the opportunity to explore the broader EGT Digital ecosystem and the full range of X-Nave capabilities, including the Gaming Aggregator, CRM Engine, Payment Gateway, AI-powered functionalities, and the recently expanded Player Engagement Suite, which combines loyalty, gamification, rewards, and lifecycle automation within a single connected framework.
The conversations we are most looking forward to are those focused on growth. Operators today need more than standalone products – they need flexible technology and solutions that help them acquire, engage, and retain players more effectively.
With the FIFA World Cup being hosted across the United States, Canada, and Mexico this year, we’re fortunate that the matches won’t be competing too heavily with the exhibition floor for our attention. That should make for some lively conversations around sportsbook performance, player engagement, and the trends emerging from the tournament as it unfolds.
The X-Nave platform has continued to evolve with new engagement tools, AI-powered capabilities and an expanding content ecosystem. What are the latest developments within the platform, and how are they helping operators improve both acquisition and retention?
One of our major focus areas this year has been strengthening the player engagement capabilities within X-Nave. We recently expanded the platform with a comprehensive Player Engagement Suite designed to help operators manage acquisition, retention, loyalty, and lifecycle automation through a single connected ecosystem.
The suite combines several complementary layers of engagement. Operators can leverage real-time reward mechanics such as Prize Drop campaigns and jackpot-triggered bonuses to drive immediate activity, while tools like Missions and Tombola create ongoing reasons for players to return and interact with the platform. At the same time, loyalty points, reward marketplaces, and automated player journeys help transform short-term engagement into long-term retention.
What makes this approach particularly effective is that these tools do not operate in isolation. Every player action can contribute to a broader engagement journey, creating a more consistent and personalised experience while allowing operators to optimise promotional spend and improve player lifetime value.
Alongside these developments, we continue to expand our AI capabilities across the platform. AI plays an increasingly important role in personalisation, player segmentation, behavioural analysis, campaign optimisation, and operational efficiency, helping operators make faster and more informed decisions while delivering more relevant experiences to their players.
EGT Digital has been placing significant emphasis on its Sportsbook offering ahead of major sporting events such as the 2026 FIFA World Cup. What are the key challenges operators face during these high-demand periods, and how does your solution help them address those challenges?
Major events such as the FIFA World Cup put every technical and commercial aspect of an operator’s business under pressure. Traffic surges, player expectations increase, and competition for attention becomes more intense than ever.
Our Sportsbook is designed to help operators thrive in this environment. It combines a scalable infrastructure and fast live betting performance with a broad range of engagement tools that help maximise activity throughout the tournament. This player-centric approach was recently recognised with the Sportsbook Player Experience Innovation award at the SiGMA Asia Awards 2026, highlighting our ongoing focus on delivering engaging and differentiated sports betting experiences.
Beyond platform stability, the real opportunity lies in keeping players engaged before, during, and after every match. Features such as Jackpot Sport add an additional layer of excitement through progressive jackpot prizes linked to qualifying bets, while Early Payout campaigns provide operators with powerful promotional opportunities around key fixtures.
We are also seeing growing demand for more personalised and interactive betting experiences. Player Props is a great example of this trend, allowing players to wager on individual athlete performances across a wide range of statistics and in-game events. During major tournaments, interest often extends beyond the match result itself, with fans closely following the performances of their favourite players. By creating multiple betting touchpoints throughout the game, Player Props helps operators drive deeper engagement, higher betting activity, and longer session durations.
Alongside this, our Bet Builder allows players to create customised wagers based on multiple selections within the same match, offering greater flexibility and control over the betting experience. Together, these features create more reasons to engage and more opportunities for operators to differentiate their offering during major tournaments.
Ultimately, our goal is not simply to help operators manage peak demand, but to help them maximise the commercial opportunity that events such as the FIFA World Cup create.
Content remains a critical differentiator for operators. With successful releases such as Panda Ventura and the expansion of the Ventura series, what lessons has EGT Digital learnt about creating games that resonate across different markets and player segments?
Successful content starts with understanding players. Panda Ventura was developed with specific market preferences in mind, but the elements that ultimately drive engagement are often universal – intuitive gameplay, rewarding mechanics, strong visual presentation, and an experience that players want to return to.
The success of Panda Ventura, recognised as Best Slot Game at the SiGMA Europe Awards 2026, together with the outstanding performance of Black Clover Bell Link, demonstrates the strength of this approach. We are very proud that Black Clover Bell Link, launched earlier this year, was ranked Europe’s #1 New Slot Game by Eilers & Krejcik Gaming for three consecutive months, confirming not only a successful launch but also sustained player engagement across multiple regulated markets.
This philosophy extends beyond individual titles. From the outset, the Ventura series was designed as more than a collection of standalone games. Our goal has been to build recognisable game families that players can connect with, while ensuring that every new release brings its own theme, atmosphere, and gameplay experience.
For operators, sustainable performance matters more than short-term success. That is why we place strong emphasis on long-term engagement, replayability, and portfolio development. Whether it is an award-winning title such as Panda Ventura or a consistently top-performing game like Black Clover Bell Link, our objective remains the same: to create content that players genuinely enjoy and that delivers lasting value across regulated markets.
“Ultimately, our goal is not simply to help operators manage peak demand, but to help them maximise the commercial opportunity that events such as the FIFA World Cup create.”
Georgi Mihaylov, deputy CEO of EGT Digital.
AI has become one of the dominant topics across the gaming industry. Beyond personalisation, where do you see the biggest opportunities for AI to create value for operators over the next few years?
Personalisation remains important, but I believe the biggest opportunity today is turning AI from an analytical tool into an operational one. The real value comes when AI not only identifies opportunities and risks but also helps operators act on them faster and more effectively.
We already see this in areas such as churn prediction, lifetime value forecasting, intelligent game recommendations, bonus optimisation, and responsible gaming monitoring. The next step is bringing these capabilities together so operators can make more informed decisions and automate parts of the player lifecycle without losing control or oversight.
I believe the industry is moving beyond the question of where AI can be applied and towards how deeply it can be integrated across the business. The greatest value will come from connecting AI-driven insights with real operational actions, enabling operators to react faster, improve efficiency, and deliver more relevant player experiences at scale.
AI also has significant potential to enhance operational performance behind the scenes. From campaign optimisation and customer engagement to quality assurance, compliance monitoring, and fraud detection, it can help teams work more efficiently and focus their efforts where they create the greatest impact.
Ultimately, the operators that gain the greatest advantage from AI will be those that embed it across the entire business rather than treating it as a standalone marketing tool.
“Our goal has been to build recognisable game families that players can connect with, while ensuring that every new release brings its own theme, atmosphere, and gameplay experience.”
Georgi Mihaylov, deputy CEO of EGT Digital.
Looking ahead to the second half of 2026 and beyond, what are EGT Digital’s main priorities in terms of product development, market expansion and innovation?
Some of the most successful products in our industry are not responses to existing demand, but solutions to challenges operators have not yet fully identified. We believe innovation comes from anticipating what is next rather than simply reacting to what is happening today.
This philosophy continues to guide our product development strategy. In Sportsbook, our focus is on creating new ways for operators to engage players and differentiate their offering, while in gaming we will continue to expand our portfolio of more than 180 in-house developed titles and build on successful game families such as Ventura and Bell Link.
We also see significant opportunities in expanding the capabilities of our modular platform. Operators increasingly want the freedom to choose the solutions that best fit their business, whether that means adopting a single product or leveraging the full power of an integrated ecosystem. Maintaining that flexibility while continuing to enhance functionality across the platform remains a key focus for us.
By further enhancing the capabilities of X-Nave, AI-driven functionalities, and our Player Engagement Suite, we aim to help operators deliver more personalised experiences, improve operational efficiency, and make faster, more informed decisions.
From a market perspective, we remain fully committed to regulated markets. As new jurisdictions open and existing frameworks mature, operators are looking for partners that can help them navigate complexity without compromising speed, flexibility, or innovation. That is where we believe EGT Digital is particularly well positioned.
Ultimately, our goal is not to add features for the sake of adding features. It is to develop solutions that help our partners stay ahead of changing player expectations and build sustainable long-term growth.
