Marina Ilina, PIN-UP Global: “Regulation should be developed by market players in cooperation with the government”

Marina Ilina, CEO of PIN-UP Global, shares insights on PIN-UP Global’s rapid growth, strategic developments, and the challenges shaping the gaming industry.

Interview.- Marina Ilina, CEO of PIN-UP Global, talked about PIN-UP Global’s growth over the past year, transitioning from an ecosystem to a holding company, and its expansion into the B2B market.

During an interview with SBC News, she also reflects on leadership qualities, the importance of adaptability in the rapidly evolving gaming industry, and PIN-UP’s strategies for navigating increasing regulatory pressures.

PIN-UP Global’s profile in the industry has grown significantly over the past year. What do you think influences such a rapid development? 

The industry doesn’t stand still – even if the news is silent.  The gambling industry has always been renowned for its highly-intensive, technology-driven and highly competitive nature. In the face of a complex and highly regulated environment, there is only one way for market players to grow – they must never stop. This is what our strategy implies – we are growing both in technology and the number of products we develop for gambling operators, as well as in expanding the brand’s presence in different areas of the sphere. The investment fund has enabled us to expand our portfolio into two other large areas, the results of which we will report on shortly.

The last time we spoke was last year. What business-critical changes have taken place in PIN-UP during this time? Could you also tell us about your major failure? 

PIN-UP has seen a lot of changes. We have moved away from the ecosystem format and are in the transition phase to a holding company.  Since our announcement in 2021 that PIN-UP became an ecosystem, almost every other company calls itself that now – with the identity of an ecosystem and organisational structure being lost.

It is important for us to reflect the principles of transparency and reliability in the structure, which is what we are moving towards at the moment.  We expect to obtain a large number of certifications and licenses in the near future – I am sure our products will be very competitive. We have moved into B2B and now our platform and proprietary software solutions are available to other brands, not just to PIN-UP. We are very interested in the B2B market – we are always ready to share not only our software products but also our expertise. 

As for the failures. We prefer to refer to them as opportunities. Of course, mistakes happen, and we analyse them carefully to draw a lesson. I am sure that experiences like this only allow us to get better. So, for the PIN-UP team, mistakes are the work in progress – we focus on fixing them and avoiding them in the future.

Your management style is known for being highly demanding. What do you think are the leadership qualities needed to succeed in an industry as competitive and dynamic as igaming?

The leader must have a clear understanding of where the company is moving and why. Naturally, this should be subject to financial interest, competition, regulatory considerations and relations with regulatory authorities.

We have an understanding of where we are going in the next two years (I don’t believe in planning for the longer term in this area). All PIN-UP employees have clear goals and objectives for each work period. Each department is interdependent on the results of their peers. You can’t just fail to do a task, because the whole company expects results. The leader sets the pace, assesses the manager’s competencies and optimizes processes. The manager must be open-minded and results-oriented. In order to achieve all of our goals we live on a non-stop schedule, yet the entire team understands what they are putting so much effort into. 

Intellectual honesty and integrity are also critical. One of PIN-UP’s values is to be open and honest in communication, we strive for transparency and straightforwardness in communication. If there are problems or someone is not doing their job well, we speak up right away so that we can quickly address all issues and improve processes. The success of the business also depends on the leader’s ability to be honest and guide the team in the right direction.

Recently, many countries have been tightening the regulation of online gambling. To what extent do you consider attempts to restrict the industry’s work to be appropriate? One could use an analogy with prostitution: if it is not legalized, it does not disappear but works uncontrollably in the shadows. 

In my ideal world, regulation should be developed by market players in cooperation with the government. Unfortunately, we often see the opposite situation, when the government just skims the surface and brings down bills that either do not work or drive business into the shadows. I think several factors are important in any regulation – tax burden on the operator-tax burden on the player (and who is the tax agent here), grey market control. More often than not, states think that if businesses are tightened up with mandatory deductions, it will be good for the country.

In reality, however, operators are very good at counting money. Licensed operators will not work in countries where taxation, for example, mandates withholding winnings from the player, but does not regulate the grey market. Players themselves will not play in licensed products. Everyone is waiting for the regulation to happen in Brazil now, and I’m sure that will be a major factor for many to decide whether to go into this white market or not.  

How does PIN-UP Global help its partners who have licences to operate in their countries to adapt to the ever-changing regulatory requirements?

All of our software solutions can be customised to regulatory markets.  We are able not only to develop a policy of responsible gaming and timely identify players who may spend time in online products to the detriment of their interests, but also to adapt marketing, loyalty programs, and all communications with players to the required legislation. We are not standing still but adding more and more customization for the convenience of operators, so we expect new franchisees with European regulations in the near future. 

What innovative products and services does PIN-UP Global offer to the B2B market to help igaming operators increase their efficiency, improve user experience and achieve sustainable growth in a highly competitive market?

We have divided all our products into multifunctional platforms that can independently integrate with different operators and providers – we can separately provide services for CRM, marketing and retention, we are preparing a large affiliate project. The market will also shortly hear about our new all-in-one product, which will take risk management and anti-fraud in igaming, and beyond, to the next level. 

What innovations in gambling and betting do you think could fundamentally change the market in the coming years? And how is PIN-UP preparing for it?

Automation, simplifying interfaces and replacing human labour with software solutions will drive – and I’m not just talking about artificial intelligence here. Automating everything – from communication with players and choosing the best funnel for it, to the right triggers for retention – it’s important to transfer everything from human labour to automation.  Firstly, it is more convenient to count in this way, and secondly, it frees the field of creativity of specialists who work with such software. As for the games themselves, they should have a wide range from very simple interfaces and minimal action to deep game mechanics with buying bonuses and extra features.  

With the growing popularity of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology, many companies have started to integrate them into their platforms. What do you think about the potential of these technologies in igaming?

Cryptocurrency is really interesting and attracts attention with its advantages, but our audience is not yet ready for a large-scale adoption of these technologies. We are keeping an eye on market developments and integration opportunities, but right now we are focused on more traditional payment solution formats. In terms of potential, I think cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology will evolve iGaming and greatly enhance companies’ competitiveness in the market.

Cybersecurity is one of the key challenges for the industry. What advanced technologies and security measures are you implementing in your IT solutions to ensure your partners’ data and transactions are protected? 

For PIN-UP, cybersecurity is one of the key functions. We are committed to ensuring the security of our client’s data and to identifying and minimising business risks in a timely manner. We use a set of organisational and technical measures to protect information.

Our approach includes multiple layers of protection, from workstations to products at all stages – from development to operation. The information security solutions we utilize include various services from our cloud providers.

As our business is constantly evolving, we are modernising our approaches to security by applying cutting-edge technologies, both commercial and open-source. We also focus on staff training so that employees are informed of current threats before it’s too late. In terms of security, we provide round-the-clock monitoring of important events that require attention and response.

You have previously stated that you plan to invest in promising industry startups. How is the search for promising startups going? What is your overall assessment of the startups market? Do you often come across ideas that spark you? What directions are most startupers working in right now? 

It’s a great topic. We have reviewed hundreds of applications and MVPs in half a year. They are completely different. It’s important to note that, unfortunately, most startups are created simply as an idea – without a financial model crafted for it.  Business should be driven by money and ideas on how to earn it with benefits for the user. More often than not, startups have a lot of ideas but no economic model and no purpose – what a product is made for.

At the same time, there are some great solutions – new approaches and formats of advertising platforms/scalable platforms/traffic commands – all of these are perfectly overlaid on financial models and can develop the market and operators who will use them. When investing in a product we always utilize our expertise and strengthen current teams producing quick and meaningful results for them and for us.  Pretty soon we will see where we invest and we will be able to give many new tools to the market.   

Your brand, and you personally, have been recognised in the marketplace with more than one award. How do you plan to maintain your leadership position in this area?

We keep setting unrealistic goals for ourselves and achieving them. We develop cool products and we look at every problem as a challenge – trying to solve it in a way that the market hasn’t figured out until now.  Getting tons of innovation and great results.  Businesses stop growing when the manager is fed up or tired. I can say with certainty – PIN-UP is not facing it in the coming years. 

Imagine a simultaneous worldwide ban on the industry tomorrow. What would you do in that case?

An interesting question.  If gambling operation is gone, we always have software that can handle high-load projects in different locations, cool anti-fraud, traffic skills and retention – I think it will be either some incredible e-com with services or a big fintech (which is more likely). The banking sector is very similar in specifics, although there are some differences. It is likely that the neo-banking, lending or exchange-traded products sector will have to meet a new market player. 

Can you imagine PIN-UP in 3-5 years? What new features and products have emerged?

As I’ve said before, I don’t believe in such long-term planning in our market. In the 3-5 year perspective, it is generally difficult to predict what the market will be like and in which direction it will develop. But I would definitely like to see strong competitors in the future who know how to manage finances efficiently and make really cool products, rather than focusing on one thing.

What trends in the industry do you think will dominate next year?

Automation and the replacement of human labour with software solutions such as artificial intelligence and machine learning will dominate. This will lead to better personalization and increased security for players. The increasing use of blockchain technology and the development of mobile platforms and apps is also evident. It will provide players with even greater accessibility and convenience.

And, following the tradition, I would like to hear about your plans – what are you ready to surprise the market in the near future?

Well, I won’t reveal all the secrets ahead of time, otherwise how to surprise you later, but we told you earlier about the advantages of our anti-fraud development, including the implementation of machine learning and artificial intelligence technologies to achieve the highest results, reducing manual labour and speed of detection of fraudulent strategies. Now we are in the process of packing all options into one convenient platform, which can be used by all interested businesses in the niches of igaming, e-commerce, banking and others.