Yuri Makarov, Evenbeter: “We have grown from a pure poker provider to a mature, solid and well-trusted software partner”

Shows & conferences - 21 October, 2026

During SBC Summit Lisbon 2026, Focus Gaming News sat down with Yuri Makarov, Chief Commercial Officer at Evenbeter, to discuss the company’s rebrand, its new one-click poker product and its growing team.

Makarov explained that the rebrand reflects how far the company has moved beyond its image as “a solid, mature poker provider”. Evenbeter now also offers a casino platform and aggregation alongside a larger poker portfolio, and needed to update its message so customers understand its proposition. Over the past four years, he said, the team has grown about threefold to almost 250 people, with a significantly larger customer portfolio. The message to new customers, he said, is that it has grown into “a mature, solid, well-trusted software partner”.

On product, he highlighted one-click poker, designed to remove two barriers for recreational players: complex lobbies and long sessions. There is no lobby, and players go from a tile in the casino lobby straight to a cash table, with shorter sessions and a lighter design. “You don’t have to understand and bear all the complexity of poker to have fun,” he said, recommending it to operators without poker experience who want high-retention P2P games. Built for mobile with a lightweight integration, it also suits emerging markets where connections can be unreliable.

 

Asked why the team is growing at a time when AI is leading others to downsize, Makarov said Evenbeter has matured its processes and built a customer success team to be closer to clients. AI, he argued, cannot replace the preference for human contact: “A human being likes to work with a human being.” Growth is concentrated in tier one locations, with the company incorporated in Malta and adding people in Europe.