Steven Valentine, Comtrade Gaming: “A significant amount of our effort goes into helping our clients grow”
Steven Valentine, Chief Commercial Officer at Comtrade Gaming, discusses the launch of the company’s CG Games division and its growth plans.
Exclusive interview.- With 20 years of experience in the industry, Comtrade Gaming has established itself as one of the leading companies in the sector, designing its own high-quality games to improve its market presence and offer exceptional service to its customers.
In an exclusive interview with Focus Gaming News, Steven Valentine, chief commercial officer at Comtrade Gaming, has delved into the company’s growth, the recent launch of their CG Games division and their strategic expansion into new markets.
What have been some recent developments for Comtrade Gaming?
The most recent development has been the launch of our CG Games division. Comtrade Gaming has been building the technical mechanics of slot games for many years for other vendors. With 20 years of experience, we decided it was time to add the design element to our skillset and start creating games ourselves.
This is an exciting new growth area for us. We have initially launched with 10 high-end quality games, 8 slot games and 2 crash games. We have just gone live with our first client. We already have several tier-one operators on our igaming platform, providing a great initial route to market.
Additionally, we will be partnering with some of the best aggregators, so we expect our games to become well-known very quickly.
You have focused on igaming platforms, is that business still growing?
igaming platform is the very core of our business, and our product, “iCore,” embodies that. While many claim to be the best at what they do, we truly excel in this area.
We are extremely client-focused, and a significant amount of effort goes into helping our clients grow. For example, we migrated a client nine months ago, and their business has tripled in size since. While we can’t take all the credit, they are brilliant marketers, but we provide them with every tool they need to be the best and, just as importantly, a very stable platform for success.
On the new client side, we have just secured our first client in Latin America, who will go live very soon. This market, though not new for many, is now receiving a lot of attention. It is maturing quickly, which is a sweet spot for us. We offer a great solution for operators who have experienced initial growth and now want to move to the next level.
The market is evolving so rapidly that some operators are having to change platforms multiple times a year due to bad service and broken promises.
Just as we have done in other markets, we can help the serious players develop a long-term platform strategy, enabling them to focus on establishing themselves or maintaining their position as market leaders.
“The market is evolving so rapidly that some operators are having to change platforms multiple times a year due to bad service and broken promises.”
Steven Valentine, chief commercial officer at Comtrade Gaming.
There is a lot of choice in the platform market, so why would somebody choose Comtrade gaming?
I believe it comes down to the individual approach we take with all our clients. They truly receive a one-on-one service. Everything is customised to their exact needs, and they have control over their own feature roadmap.
It’s also about credibility and integrity-we do what we say, every time, without exception. When we make a promise to a client, we take it very personally.
While many operators complain about their platform vendors, we don’t have those issues, which is why clients never leave us. Our staff turnover rate is less than 2 per cent, allowing our team to get to know our clients on an individual level over time. This makes a huge difference to the working relationship and the operational success of an operator.
What are Comtrade Gaming’s aims for the second half of the year?
Our aim and goals never really change: consistent, manageable growth and ensuring a high level of customer satisfaction.
However, we are now focusing more on becoming visible. Because we dedicate so much attention to our existing clients and don’t have a huge sales team, we may not be as well-known as some of our competitors.
With the addition of our new games division and hiring some excellent new people to help us push forward, we expect to become a much more familiar name. Having games allows us to reach a much wider audience, and now every operator is a potential client.
I am now in my 15th year with the company, that is a long time to be with one company in our industry, but I don’t think I have ever been more excited about what the future holds for us!
