By Damian Martinez, journalist at G&M News.
You have a strong background in marketing within the gambling industry. How did your journey in iGaming begin?
My journey into the iGaming sector began 21 years ago after completing my military service. I was looking for a job for English speakers in Tel Aviv and the first one that came up was for a marketing role at an internet company. This was back in 2004 (I was just 23!) so it was all pretty new still. I went for the interview -the first and only interview I’d had- dressed to impress in a suit (if you are familiar with Israeli culture, you’ll know this would have raised a few eyebrows). I was told that I was too young and too inexperienced for the marketing role, but they did have an opening within the customer support team. I happily took the job and started my career as a customer service agent, but from day one I did things a little differently. Instead of typing to customers via ICQ (showing my age, once again), I thought it would be better to actually speak to them on the phone, so I did that, which quickly got me promoted to VIP Manager. Looking back, I can’t help but think that promotion might have been more because of the British accent I had rather than my abilities as a customer support agent, but just six months after joining the VIP team, I moved to the marketing team and the rest, as they say, is history.
What inspired you to take the leading role at your current company?
With Wiztech, it was an opportunity that really just fell into my lap when I was approached to come on board as a Co-founder of the company. I already had a vision for a better, easier way to use platform which had been in the pipeline for quite some time. Then it suddenly snowballed from what was initially meant to be a small, nimble company providing B2B services into what is a large company with more than 100 employees around the world today. It’s been a fast-paced thrill ride, that’s for sure. Looking back, I think the inspiration was to create a truly great product and a solid business and, for me personally, to build something from scratch which I had never really done before.
Wiztech aims to “build a better gaming universe.” Can you elaborate on what this vision means in practical terms for operators and players?
Our approach is all about keeping things simple. Time is precious and we know that operators and their teams are often on the move, so we wanted to build a platform that was intuitive and easy to use no matter where someone is. The platform should reduce operational burdens and team stress (and certainly not add to it) and this is why we’ve built smart features into our tech stack, including alert features to more complex back-office auditing tools. The feedback we have received from our partners and the relative success we have had since launching Wiztech suggest we are achieving our aim of building a better gaming universe, but there is always more that can be done, and we are constantly trying to evolve based on things like AI learning and customer feedback.
The firm has positioned itself as both a fintech and gaming innovator. How do these two sectors intersect in your business model?
For me, it’s important to not only rely on the tried and trusted models already in place and instead also look at and explore other verticals that, in some aspects, have evolved much quicker than the iGaming industry and take inspiration and learnings from there (fintech is a great example of this). For example, the ability to solve customer issues in real time caught my attention and is something we’ve looked to build into the Wiztech platform. Another big piece is how the fintech sector manages payment processing and how it looks at the data. In an industry that deals with much larger transaction sizes, I was also fascinated to see how it handles these types of users not just in terms of initial conversion, but also retention. They provide what I would call a knowledge-based model when speaking to clients about their portfolios and the current state of the markets. Again, we have incorporated as many of these practices as possible in our platform.
Mexico’s Winpot online casino is powered by Wiztech. What makes this partnership significant, and are there plans to expand into other Latin American markets?
It is a successful collaboration for several reasons. Firstly, our associates in Mexico are great partners who are active in the business and provide substantial local knowledge and support. Their retail establishments are well known in the country, and more importantly, are trusted and respected, which gave us an incredibly solid foundation to work from. I always felt that if we can provide a platform and operation that can represent the retail business in good light, it will be a major boost for us. Given the quality of the platform, which, based on market feedback, has a more “younger” feel to what is out there, I knew we could appeal to a wide variety of audiences, something we are doing today. I don’t think myself or the partners thought we would see such significant growth in a short period. Instead of trying to put on the brakes and reevaluate our position, we both made the conscious decision to double down to embrace the growth, as well as to continue to increase market share in what is a very challenging market with some big players already established and new brands looking to enter. This puts us in a really good place for the future. When we examine other LatAm markets, we do feel that the platform is perfectly placed to perform well, especially with the increased interest in the region. But it’s also important to stay focused on what we have built with Winpot and not lose sight of what we want to achieve in 2025 and 2026, so for now, we have our eyes on just the one prize, but it is a big one.
What are the biggest opportunities and challenges for the brand to advance into regulated markets worldwide?
Regulated markets, whilst sometimes tougher to crack, bring a lot of potential upsides if you have the ability and desire to put in hard work. Regulated markets tend to bring with them a higher value customer who trusts the licensed operator and is happy to stay loyal, so long as they receive the quality experience they are seeking. Being active in a regulated market also enhances the company’s credibility, which makes relationships with payment providers, media owners and affiliates a little easier. I’m also a firm believer that player protection in regulated markets is crucial not just for the brands, but the industry as a whole, and is not something that should be overlooked because this in turn leads to better long term customer retention. In terms of the challenges of being regulated, you have the complexity of the regulations, which normally come at a financial cost, such as local taxes or changes to the platform to be compliant. Then it is also about staying up to speed with any changes and being able to act quickly whilst not letting it affect your ongoing business and the end user. I still see Wiztech as low down on the food chain and in regulated markets you are dealing with big organizations who have the finances and manpower to do all of what I said above and then also spend the money on marketing. Competing with these guys isn’t always easy and indicates we need to find new ways to not only keep pace but also overtake. At Wiztech, this means we use our ability to be nimble to our advantage wherever possible, but this normally means putting in the extra hours!
Where do you see the iGaming industry will be heading in the next five years, and how is Wiztech preparing for this new scene?
Ongoing and new regulations will play a major factor in the iGaming space as we see more markets and states becoming regulated. This is great for the industry but it must be done in a smart way as to reward the companies playing by the rules and not give an advantage to those who do not. This is easy to say but in practice it can be very difficult to implement. At Wiztech, we are huge believers in AI and its ability to help advance this industry. I have always said that technological advancement in iGaming has been on the slow side, but I feel with AI we are trying to use it as best as we can for things like game recommendations and chatbots to name a few. For me, AI’s influence in iGaming will only get stronger. Crypto needs to be more openly accepted in our industry and I think we will see more crypto-friendly sites hit the market, especially as blockchain continues to ensure more transparency and security. The role of gamification will also increase. As we embrace the new younger audience, we must adapt to their requirements, which come from their experiences on casual games and apps. This is why things like leaderboards, missions and other social features will soon be common amongst all operators.