The ongoing struggles faced by online gaming studios seem to ramp up with each passing week. As a constant jockeying for position within legacy jurisdictions rages on, a charge for market share in newly, or soon-to-be, regulated regions continues to be witnessed.
Add into the mix a continued evolution of player preferences, in addition to these being profoundly dissimilar from country to country, and the necessity to possess a varied and all-encompassing catalogue could be a key factor in determining success and disappearing into obscurity.
These issues formed the basis of a wide-ranging discussion with PopOK Gaming on the showfloor of the vast SBC Summit in Portugal’s coastal capital city of Lisbon.
However, before delving into the real nitty gritty, Head of Partnership Management, Tsovinar Elchyan, began by assessing the studio’s current standing within the igaming community.
“At PopOK Gaming we are focused on bringing fresh, exciting content to the gaming industry,” she says. “We offer a wide variety of games, including slots, crash games, live roulette, and instant games.
“We have a series of games in our roadmap that are being designed especially for Brazil”
“Looking back at 2024, we released several hit slots such as Royal Flash, Pirate Fortune, and Mega Diamonds. Last year, we also introduced quick cash out games, such as Ninja Fruit Cubes and Red Hot Line. In addition, mine and dice games are to be added to the list this year. The big highlight of this year, though, is our new series of games.”
Despite covering a large breadth of the online casino ecosystem’s verticals, PopOK Gaming is setting its sights on further expansion, led by a number of key titles.
Citing Diamond Quest, Royal Flash, Lost Treasure and many more, that are readily available across key locations, it’s entry into fresh geographies that are causing heightened internal optimism.
“We are particularly focusing on expanding in Latin America,” Elchyan continues. “We have a series of games in our roadmap that are being designed especially for Brazil.
“We are also working to certify more games in regulated markets, and to continue listening to feedback from our players and partners. The goal is to keep meeting the needs of players and stay successful in the market.”
Adding: “We are going to adapt our games based on the needs of players and the partners’ requests.”
“In Europe we already have our presence, but we now have wider targets around the globe”
A wave of optimism has spread across the industry as the year progressed as the country’s regime heads towards its intended launch on 1 January 2025.
Most recently it was revealed that President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva intends to host a meeting of senior ministers to address outstanding concerns regarding the federal framework to regulate fixed-odds betting and online gambling in Brazil.
Optimism for the continent certainly doesn’t stop there though, with Peru and Argentina also cited as future targets for the supplier.
Despite Latin America being the general target when looking at the future of PopOK Gaming, Elchyan also reserved a moment of time to address the current standing within a European market that serves as foundation for the group.
“We are already certified in most of the regions in Europe,” she comments. “In addition to the numerous countries already entered, we can add Latvia, Greece, Romania, Denmark and many more. In Europe we already have our presence, but we now have wider targets around the globe.”
However, alongside the adoption of such an all-embracing strategic outlook comes a fresh set of potential difficulties when looking to enact a multi-faceted expansion plan.
“Ultimately, if you want to stay successful in the market, you need to be flexible”
User desires are in a constant state of flux. With numerous elements, such as overall game design, maths, mechanics, bonuses, features, et cetera, forming critical elements of an online casino title, what challenges do altering player preferences pose?
“Different players and different player segments have different requirements,” Elchyan explains. “Some may like fruit themed games and some may like a particular mechanic, while others may have a preference for certain features. Plus, a lot of features within certain games may contain different ways of getting rewards.
“Ultimately, if you want to stay successful in the market, you need to be flexible, and your catalogue needs to comprise a number of different games to appeal to different player segments.
“This is what we prioritise internally at PopOK Gaming. We are ultimately trying to meet and exceed the needs of a range of different players based on the expertise of our team.”
With all of this in mind, the conversation quickly headed towards a natural conclusion. The curtain will soon fall on the current year and all attention will be directed towards 2025, with PopOK Gaming plotting a varied approach to help surpass internal ambitions.
“In 2025 we will continue expanding our crash games range by delivering a number of new features, in addition to building on the success of our popular slot games,” she concludes.
“We are also focused on getting certified in a greater number of regulated markets, as we believe our catalogue can appeal to a number of player segments across a range of jurisdictions.
“In addition, we are going to introduce new promotional tools and reward bonuses, which we believe will have strong appeal to players.
“Plus, we are excited to introduce a new vertical next year that we believe will be bringing something completely fresh to the market.”
