“Latin America is a strong sport-focused region”

Focus Gaming News speaks to Jan Urbanec, CEO at Endorphina, about its participation in events and the growth in the LatAm market.

Exclusive interview.- Jan Urbanec, CEO at Endorphina, granted an exclusive interview to Focus Gaming News, where he talked about the strategies and vision to grow in the LatAm market. Also, he referred to new regulations.

The industry has been apart for over a year but there’s a series of events coming in the next weeks, with UGW, SBC Barcelona and iGB Live in September. How important is it for Endorphina to be able to connect with other companies at in-person shows once again?

Since we finally have the chance to connect in the industry again in person, it’s a chance we have to seize and take, as we all know. The event marathon starting in September is the perfect opportunity.

We want to make sure we connect with our current customers to refresh our online-only relationships during this almost 2-year period. We are also eagerly waiting to see new projects and opportunities that will be presenting themselves for the first time at these live events.

It is understood that some things cannot be communicated via email, skype or zoom. Some things have to be shared with the right tone of voice and with a friendly smile over a nice meal. Then things that took weeks to solve or agree upon, can be sorted in minutes.

Endorphina has been present at most online shows throughout the pandemic. What can the industry expect from the company at the upcoming live events?

We desperately tried to make the online shows work for us. Almost to match the efforts as our normal event organizers. But everyone can confirm that it was just not “it”.

If someone wants to avoid you, they will. And all you will get is some targeted sales spam. There is no commitment and people have the “event” running on one of 100 open tabs in their browser.

The positive side is that the quality of online conference discussions, panels and presentations went up a lot. Discussion topics that were usually private suddenly became an open stage theme. And this helped the industry quite a lot. More information and market knowledge were being shared.

“We are also eagerly waiting to see new projects and opportunities that will be presenting themselves for the first time at these live events.”

Jan Urbanec, CEO at Endorphina

How important is your status as a Prague-based company heading into an Eastern European event like UGW?

We see our company as a bridge. Our geographical location almost dictates this position. Our role is to connect our product with both Western and Eastern markets. There is a strong and proud gaming tradition in the markets that are east of us. And with the new regulations happening, Endorphina wants to be there.

That means we have to travel to shows like Ukrainian Gaming Week and forge stronger relationships in markets that are sometimes unjustly overlooked.

We understand the strengths and pitfalls of these markets and at the same time, we are happy to bring our own expertise to share. It is very refreshing to see the challenges of the CIS market are different from the ones in the west of Europe.

Your recent deal with Betsson involves Latin American markets, which you have already targeted with Dotworkers. What’s your take on the region’s evolution in the last few months and how big is Latam for the company’s plans?

We started with a position in the Latam market some years ago. But that was only when the casino game interest was maturing. Latam is a strong sport-focused region so we picked a strong partner that understands that.

Our portfolio has sports-focused games to help with the marketing, but ultimately we are convinced that the proven games will drive the revenue is Latam, as the land-based players will start moving online.

Our success in the market has to be heavily attributed to our Latam sales and account management teams that have been purposely focusing on this area. We understand that each region or sometimes a country requires a dedicated team that can orient us in the culture and local specifics.