Mark Schmidt, EveryMatrix: “This is the first time we’re exhibiting at SiGMA Africa and will be our biggest presence in Africa to date”

EveryMatrix’s head of sales in Africa reflects on the upcoming event in South Africa and the main expectations that the company has for this year for the region.

Exclusive interview.- Mark Schmidt, head of sales in Africa at EveryMatrix spoke with Focus Gaming News ahead of SiGMA Africa. In an exclusive interview, he discussed the company’s experience in the African market.

What are EveryMatrix’s primary objectives for participating in SiGMA Africa?

This is the first time we’re exhibiting at the show and will be our biggest presence in Africa to date. The EveryMatrix casino, sports and affiliate experts will be on hand to discuss, demonstrate and discuss our transformative turnkey technology as well as best-of-breed modular products that can be used independently or come together to power entire operations.

The event is being held in Cape Town South Africa, a market we’re focusing on extensively with an office here and additional resources being brought in later this year and in 2026 giving us a significant advantage over our competitors that have tried and failed to work with local operators while based offshore.

What products are you planning to showcase at the event?

If you look at our results in the last few years, it’s been record-breaking year after record-breaking year. This is why we’re the industry’s fastest-growing provider. What we’re doing is reinvesting profits back into our products that we’re able to offer to our partners worldwide including in Africa.

In South Africa specifically we’re offering the industry’s largest casino aggregator (SlotMatrix) with 34,000 games from hundreds of integrated premium studios including our own content from EveryMatrix Games and our recent acquisition Fantasma Games.

Our OddsMatrix sportsbook and odds feeds products are best-in-breed with 170,000+ live and in-play events every month. We provide localised, market-specific products such as horse racing that is a ‘must-have’ for 90 per cent of sportsbooks here.

If you don’t have a suitable horse racing product, you’re not seen as a serious operator in many people’s eyes here. Our new horse racing product, developed following the acquisition of FSB, is now under soft launch so you ‘ll be seeing much more in the months to come.

In South Africa there are several other sports that are crucial such as rugby, cricket and golf that need to be provided at a high level. We’re able to do that and more.

Our casino BonusEngine product also leads the way in offering operators fully configurable, cross-vertical bonusing options alongside JackpotEngine where brands can add configurable jackpots to any game. If you look at the bonuses that players receive they’re the same standard bonuses they’ve been getting for years. All these bespoke, personalised products will shake up the South African market.

“What we’re doing is reinvesting profits back into our products that we’re able to offer to our partners worldwide including in Africa.”

Mark Schmidt, Head of Sales in Africa at EveryMatrix.

What industry trends will dominate the conversations at SiGMA Africa?

I expect people to discuss what many of our prospects and contacts here and across Africa are frustrated with every day; how legacy suppliers and their legacy technologies are dragging down many operators here.

This isn’t just a South African problem. It’s across the continent. Legacy suppliers who over-promise and under-deliver is common. If you speak to an operator in Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, over the years they will have the same feedback that they were promised the world but only got a tenth of what they were expecting. In South Africa there is a lack of choice of high-quality turnkey technology for operators going back for the last 20 years.

Existing suppliers are slow to roll out features. They’re adequate when it comes to horse racing, but weak across every other vertical. This has allowed companies to come in thinking that can offer something new, but South African operators are fed up with what they are being forced to use and they’re taking the opportunity to speak to tried and trusted providers coming into the market such as EveryMatrix.

I’m fortunate to have many close C-level friendships with execs that run operations here and their frustrations are never ending with what they’re working with. I compare what some of them are doing as trying to win a Formula One race with a bicycle. It’s simply never going to happen. 

Most South African operators also use a handful of providers that cover 80 per cent of the market, but it’s the same product suite, the same casino offering and the same front-end.

The only front-end differentiator they is a few cosmetic changes in terms of colour waves.

We have proven technology that consistently and continually delivers growth for our customers worldwide. We know the products that we have are best-in-class and we’re confident we can deliver in South Africa, making a big difference to our customers and their players’ experiences.

“Most South African operators also use a handful of providers that cover 80 per cent of the market, but it’s the same product suite, the same casino offering and the same front-end.”

Mark Schmidt, Head of Sales in Africa at EveryMatrix.

Can you tell us more about the investment you are putting into South Africa in particular?

Many providers have tried but failed to succeed in Africa. They’ve often realised the associated costs too late; they get a third of the way in and realise it’s not worth their while. It’s not been taken seriously and or been done well to this point, but we want to change that.

Many have also failed because they haven’t offered the right products, the right customer support, or understood the subtle requirements of South African players. It is an incredibly competitive market and if you have a sales team that’s based on the other side of the world that’s trying to understand how you work day-to-day, the chances of that relationship being successful are slim to none.

I’m in Durban, South Africa and we have another office in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania so we can meet with our clients face-to-face. We’re able to build relationships outside of business and get a real understanding of what their requirements are from a ground-up perspective, which puts us at an advantage compared our competitors.

If you put those factors together EveryMatrix is in a very strong position. In addition, we plan to  significantly increase our team over the next year with localised staff to support customers in real-time, with the right payment mechanisms and channels. This extra layer comes as part of the package with EveryMatrix and is how we do business.

EveryMatrix is exhibiting at SIGMA Africa on March 10th and 11th.