David Ajanjan, CEO, Riddec.
Why did you decide to expand operations to the United States?We are a software developer company for the gambling industry. I’ve been in this sector for over eight years. Now, we are going deeper into the online gaming and decided to see in first-hand what U.S. companies are needing. This market has a lot of potential for companies like Riddec. Our goal is to contact operators and gambling companies to help them create a product for their clients. Firstly, I was skeptical, but I have found in the U.S. market lots of people interested in our services, asking the right questions on how we could help them develop their gaming offerings for their clients. In your opinion, how has been the evolution of the iGaming industry, both in terms of markets and players?
Our company is from Estonia and Europe has evolved to become a mature and very strong, competitive market. So the US brings us great opportunities to install our product there. Regarding customers, they became smarter and more loyal. In the US, bettors express that loyalty to their sports teams when they gamble on those sports. They like to support their teams with their wagers, and win money in the process, if possible. I’ve have seen majority of bettors are fans, and then, there are some specific analytic bettors that study statistics and sports data before they put their online gaming bets. But their problem is that they don’t have historical sports betting data here, since it’s a new market. As the market evolves, the bettors will evolve too, as well as the amount of data from the sports leagues. What real possibilities you think your company has to take advantage of United States market’s business opportunities?
Since we are not a gambling company, but a software developing player, I think it’s easier for us to come to the States, show what our services are and start having clients from the iGaming segment. Online solutions like the ones we are offering are not yet well known and popular in the U.S., so that situation gives us a competitive advantage. Based on our extended experience in the online gaming sector in Europe, we can deliver consulting services and help companies in the different legalized jurisdictions in this country. We know how to guide the US online gaming market into the right direction in order for the U.S. to not commit the same mistakes that some European countries made when they started offering online gaming lots of years ago. What about Latin America? Is that market attractive to your company?
One of our clients is an Estonian company named Coolbet that offers an online sports betting platform, with a range of over 100 sports to gamble. Coolbet has recently started operations in Chile. So we know how strong the LatAm betting market is, the passion bettors have for sports and the business possibilities the market brings to our company. Another important issue about Latin America is that people there gamble for fun. I think gambling is always about the fun, an activity to enjoy.