Steven Valentine, Comtrade Gaming: “Exhibiting at SiGMA is all about helping people understand what we do and how we can help their business”

Steven Valentine, chief commercial officer at Comtrade Gaming, discusses the company’s debut at SiGMA and the evolving landscape of the igaming industry.

Exclusive interview.- Comtrade Gaming will be exhibiting for the first time at SiGMA this year. Chief commercial officer Steven Valentine spoke to Focus Gaming News about the company’s plans for the show, its recent success in helping operators grow their businesses, and the major technological trends shaping the industry.

What do you hope to find at SiGMA and what do you hope to achieve there?

This is actually our first time exhibiting at SiGMA. We have attended the show as visitors for many years, but now, having a stand should make it much more interesting for us. We specialise in providing igaming platforms. Typically, this is for existing operators who are looking to migrate from their current provider so they can grow their existing business and enter new markets.

“Exhibiting at SiGMA is all about helping people understand what we do and how we can help their business, whether that is now or in years to come.”

Steven Valentine, chief commercial officer at Comtrade Gaming.

What would attendees approaching the booth find?

First of all, I just hope they find us! It’s no secret that SiGMA in the past hasn’t been the easiest logistically, or to navigate your way around, but hopefully, the new venue will help with that. What people approaching the booth should see is a very clear and simple message about the fact that we supply a leading igaming platform. 

One thing that should really grab their attention is the names of the operators for whom we already provide the platform. Operators such as Superbet, Dafabet, M88, Stanleybet, etc., are all very well-known names and market leaders in many of the countries they operate. It then takes a deeper discussion to explain how long we have worked with these clients and how we have been able to help them grow significantly.

Comtrade Gaming has recently just migrated a new operator, Spinbit, can you tell us a little bit more about that?

Spinbit is a fantastic new client. They felt they had outgrown their previous platform and were struggling to get the individual attention they needed for their future business plans. Each one of our clients has its own dedicated development team that focuses specifically on their individual needs. This suits many operators who don’t want to have an in-house platform but want to be in control of their product development. It’s an approach that has been hugely successful for us and our clients. We have only been live with Spinbit for two months, and the growth they have seen already is exceptional.  

The business saw a 20 per cent increase in the very first week after migration, and each week after has been increasing. The team they have is extremely focused on the customer journey and their attention to detail is their real strength. Our job is to provide their team with the technology and the tools that can facilitate their success. 

“Each one of our clients has its own dedicated development team that focuses specifically on their individual needs.”

Steven Valentine, chief commercial officer at Comtrade Gaming.

What would you say are the major leaps in technology that are being incorporated into the casino and igaming industry?

Having been in the industry for many years I would say there are never any major leaps; it’s always been evolution over time. In the platform space, what people want more than anything is reliability. It needs to run 24/7 with no disruption. After reliability, the next major factor is the ability to develop what they want, and for that to be done quickly. 

We run three-week sprint cycles, which means that every 3 weeks we release a new version of our platform, on a “no downtime upgrade” basis. As well as our core updates, crucially that new version also contains the individual developments that an operator has specifically placed on their development roadmap and that they control.

AI is definitely going to change things, but for the most part, this will just enhance and automate many functions that are already carried out today.

You are also active in the RGS space, can you tell us more?

We probably have one of the most commercially exploited RGSs in the industry. It’s one of only two products that we actually sell to other gaming vendors. It’s already being used in every igaming state in the USA by Ainsworth, and it’s been licensed by many other game providers in numerous additional jurisdictions. 

We offer a source code licence or provide it as software as a service, but for every case, each vendor has their own deployment of the software. It allows them to build games, typically slots, very quickly due to the extensive built-in game frameworks and SDKs. The software as a service model means that small game studios can have their own RRGS with no upfront investment.

How would you assess the work carried out this year and what are your objectives for the medium and short term?

Migrating Spinbit was a significant focus for us. We typically only take on one or two new clients a year. Being privately owned and part of the much larger Comtarde group gives us an enviable amount of stability. It allows us to take a very long-term view and build lasting relationships with our clients. Our clients benefit significantly from this, and it reflects in their growth. 

I have been saying the same thing for 15 years at Comtrade Gaming; it might be a bit repetitive, but we will continue to focus on being a very reliable partner for our clients, and we will keep adding new clients in a way that doesn’t affect or dilute that focus.

However, we are currently working on something that will be very new for us, but it’s a little early to discuss, so watch this space early next year!