A year to remember: Evoplay’s landmark 2023

2023 has been another successful 12 months for Evoplay, with the company scooping multiple awards at some of the most prestigious ceremonies in the iGaming calendar. With 2024 looming, we caught up with Evoplay’s CCO, Vladimir Malakchi, who gave his insights around the most pivotal markets for the business and what they have in store over the next year.

Looking back at what has been a highly successful year for Evoplay, what would you say have been your biggest highlights?

Throughout this year, Evoplay has achieved remarkable success and earned recognition at some of the most prestigious industry award ceremonies in the calendar. Most recently, we were crowned Best iGaming Supplier and Best Mobile Gaming Provider at the EiGE Awards and earlier in the year, we won the Innovation of the Year category at the SBC Awards and Innovation in Mobile at the EGR B2B Awards.

This success speaks volumes to the consistently impressive quality and performance of our games. For instance, Penalty Shoot-out: Street has had a significant impact in LatAm, where it represents 60% of Bet Sum, 55% of GGR, and 70% of users from the overall traffic across all regions.

Additionally, we’ve not only strengthened industry alliances by 34% but also achieved an 84% increase in GGR and an impressive 104% surge in betting rounds. As we maintain a solid foundation for continuous growth, we eagerly anticipate equally positive results in 2024.

Italy has proven a mainstay for Evoplay in recent years – are you seeing plenty of success in acquiring new players, and would you say the balance is beginning to shift between land-based and online?

Italy, with its vast potential, offers an incredibly attractive market for the growth and promotion of our innovative games, with an abundance of engaging mechanics. We’re actively forming new partnerships and have already onboarded one-third of the market’s operators. Additionally, we’ve recently partnered with BetFlag, a renowned Italian iGaming and sportsbook provider, expanding our audience and strengthening our presence in the country.

Regarding the balance between land-based and online casinos, there is no significant decline in the former, while the latter is witnessing a substantial surge in players. Interestingly, this surge in the online realm doesn’t negatively impact the land-based sector but they coexist harmoniously. I believe this trend will continue throughout 2024, strengthening our position in the iGaming industry.

Looking at key markets for 2024 and beyond – the Balkans is certainly being seen as one of the continent’s biggest growth regions – would you agree, and do you see plenty of potential here?

The Balkan audience warmly embraces our games, showing a preference for classic and trending features like Bonus Buy. Earlier in the year, we had quite a buzz around our instant games and our slots, including The Greatest Catch Bonus Buy and Hot Triple Sevens, really stole the spotlight. As the year progressed, classic titles including Fruit Nova and the timeless table game European Roulette, gained more traction.

As part of our research into the region, statistics have revealed the growing interest of Balkan players. In the third quarter of this year, when compared to the same period in 2022, we witnessed a significant increase in Bet Sum by 29.3%, a substantial 50.3% surge in GGR, and a 17.6% expansion in the user base. It’s clear that our game portfolio effectively caters to the local audience’s preferences, and we anticipate even more productive results by the end of the year.

Evoplay went live in Portugal back in August, how have the first few months been, and how would you define the market’s characteristics?

We’re delighted with our progress in Portugal, primarily due to our exclusive partnership with Solverde.pt, which has got off to a strong start. We’re actively pursuing our development strategy there, consistently analysing the local audience’s preferences.

While it’s too early for specific metrics, our commitment to delivering an exceptional gaming experience for Portuguese players remains unwavering. We see their interest now in our classic slots, such as Inner Fire, and we’re also exploring new ideas and innovative solutions to leverage our strengths while ensuring strict regulatory compliance in this market.

Last but not least – what can we look forward to from Evoplay for SiGMA?

I’m really looking forward to the upcoming SiGMA Malta event, and I’m sure our partners and attendees will be in for some fantastic surprises from Evoplay. We’re launching a bold marketing campaign to unveil a groundbreaking flagship product that promises to redefine iGaming industry boundaries.

Our partners can anticipate an exclusive upgrade of our product, which will be revealed in Malta next week, so an exciting event awaits for all at Evoplay.

In addition, I will be delivering a keynote address on the topic of Gamification in Casino Games. As always, I am open to engaging in insightful discussions and eagerly anticipate meeting with all friends, partners, and media representatives!