Roland Andrýsek, SYNOT: “The quality of operations in many Balkan countries increased significantly in the last few years”

Focus Gaming News spoke with Roland Andrýsek, Sales Director of SYNOT, about the company’s strategic goals and product showcase at the Belgrade Future Gaming Expo.

Exclusive interview.- The Balkan region remains one of the most important and competitive markets for the gaming industry, with operators increasingly seeking high-performance products, omnichannel solutions and technology capable of bridging the gap between land-based and online gaming. As the sector continues to evolve, events such as the Belgrade Future Gaming Expo provide a valuable opportunity to assess market trends, showcase innovation and strengthen relationships across the region.

In this exclusive interview with Focus Gaming News, Roland Andrýsek, sales director at SYNOT, reflects on the company’s participation at Belgrade Future Gaming Expo 2026, where it presented its latest cabinets, gaming systems and content portfolio. He discusses SYNOT’s position across the Balkan markets, the growing demand for quality products, emerging industry trends, and the strategic opportunities that continue to drive the company’s expansion throughout the region. Andrýsek also shares insights into how SYNOT plans to build on its strong regional presence and further strengthen its market share in the years ahead.

The Belgrade Future Gaming Expo is a key event for the Balkan industry. What were SYNOT’s main objectives going into this year’s edition, and to what extent were they achieved?

The Belgrade Future Gaming Expo is a key industry event for us, and SYNOT has been a regular participant for many years. Our presence at the show is highly strategic, as it allows us to strengthen our position in a region that is extremely important to our business.

Today, we have an established footprint across the entire Balkan region, with market shares reaching the lower tens of per cent in several countries, which represents a significant achievement for us.

This year’s edition once again provided an excellent opportunity to reinforce our strong relationships with existing partners, engage with new potential clients, and continue driving our growth across the region. Overall, we can say that our objectives were successfully met.

Could you walk us through the key products and solutions SYNOT showcased at the event? Which innovations generated the most interest among attendees?

At this year’s exhibition, we once again presented our latest products and solutions. Visitors and business partners had the opportunity to explore both our newest cabinet models and our comprehensive portfolio of gaming systems.

In terms of hardware, the spotlight was on our latest cabinets, the ST2-32 and ST3-27. The ST2-32 model, in particular, will be installed with our partners in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and North Macedonia from June 2026; besides, we have been installing VLTs in this cabinet in the Greek market, where we anticipate finalising the deployment of 500 ST2-32 cabinets by the end of July 2026.

Among our gaming content, key highlights included the brand-new Gamifire Prime system, featuring a package of 36 games, as well as our Exclusive Games set. This portfolio builds on the success of one of our most popular products in the Balkan region, Explosive Games Premium Plus.

We also showcased our bonus link feature system, SUPER LINK, which is currently installed with the majority of our key partners across the region.

Overall, these innovations attracted strong interest from attendees, confirming that our product strategy aligns well with market demand.

Based on your conversations during the expo, what trends or shifts are you currently observing in the Balkan gaming market?

I wouldn’t say that the gaming industry in the Balkan region is going through any significantly different or more dynamic changes compared to other parts of the world. However, the quality of operations in many Balkan countries increased significantly in the last few years. The Balkans largely follow the overall global development of the gaming market. This mainly means a steadily growing connection between online and land-based gaming, both in terms of the overall offering and in the products being developed for these two segments.

“The Balkans largely follow the overall global development of the gaming market.”

Roland Andrýsek, sales director of SYNOT.

SYNOT has built a strong presence in the region over the years. How would you describe your current position in the Balkan market, and what differentiates your offering from competitors?

As I mentioned earlier, we are currently active across all countries in the Balkan region, with a particularly strong position in markets such as Greece, Serbia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

One of the key factors that differentiates us from our competitors is our ability to work closely not only with commercial subjects, but also with state lotteries. A recent example is our new partnership with Lutrija Bosne i Hercegovine, where we signed an agreement for the delivery of up to 500 slots.

From a product perspective, we believe we are one of the few gaming solution providers capable of offering true omnichannel solutions. This means we can provide a complete range of products, platforms, and solutions for both the online and land-based segments. We see the range of our portfolio as a significant competitive advantage, which supports our business activities across multiple business entities.

Did you notice any changes in operator demand or player preferences compared to previous editions of the expo?

We continue to see a growing emphasis on quality and higher expectations from both operators and players.

SYNOT has been active in the Balkan region for more than 18 years, and during this time, we have seen a significant improvement in the overall quality of gaming products across the markets.

This applies not only to the land-based segment, but also to online casinos. Today, the level of quality and the overall offering in the region are fully comparable to other European markets, including EU countries.

Partnerships are often a key outcome of events like these. Were there any particularly meaningful discussions or opportunities that emerged during the expo?

SYNOT has a very strong position in the region and has established business relationships with most of the major operators of gaming equipment. At the same time, there is still a large number of smaller operators across the region – not only in Serbia, but also in countries such as North Macedonia, Croatia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina – with whom we are only just beginning to cooperate.

This exhibition provided a great opportunity to connect with many of these smaller companies and establish new contacts, which are very important for our continued growth in the region.

Looking ahead, what are SYNOT’s strategic priorities for the region, and how do you plan to build on the momentum from Belgrade?

Our main strategic priority is to further strengthen our position and continue growing our market share in the region. Across the Balkan markets, we currently provide and participate in operating more than 10,000 gaming machines in land-based operations, mainly under lease or revenue-share business models. This provides us with a very strong foundation that we continue to build on and further develop. We see clear potential to keep expanding this market share in the future.

The Belgrade exhibition is currently the most important industry event in the region, as it serves as a key meeting point for a wide range of operators, not only from Serbia but also from other countries where we operate. This makes it a crucial platform for supporting our further growth and development in the region.

“Our main strategic priority is to further strengthen our position and continue growing our market share in the region.”

Roland Andrýsek, sales director of SYNOT.