The Balkans has become a hotbed of activity across recent years as the industry awakened to the many opportunities presented by numerous countries across the region.
As acquisitive possibilities entered into the crosshairs of many large operator organisations, suppliers rushed to gain as much local knowledge as possible in a bid to secure a podium placement.
One such example is Yggdrasil, whose own efforts across numerous geographies continue at pace, but what threat does the black market pose in potentially curtailing the effort of many?
Primary targets
“The Balkans are very important for Yggdrasil,” begins Regional Manager, Paulina Ostrzycka, when pressed on how critical this locality is for the business.
Persistent expansion efforts have seen the iGaming solutions provider strengthen its position across a range of markets, representing strategic moves to complement Yggdrasil’s global strategy.
“We are continuing to expand there,” Ostrzycka says. “Recently we went live in Croatia with Admiralbet, and then we strengthened in Serbia alongside them.
“In addition, we have gone live with Betano in Romania, which is one of the biggest operators in the country. The plan is to also expand with them in Serbia and Croatia.
“In general, this region is important for us, and we are trying to connect with the biggest operators in this market and then keep engaging with players.”
As alluded to, Serbia represents one of the company’s strongest markets within the Balkans’ gaming ecosystem.
However, Greece, which boasts lofty ambitions on becoming a key European hub, is also hailed as possessing particular strength.
On a product basis, Ostrzycka notes that a pair of titles have soared above the rest in the eyes of players, with Valley of the Gods and Barbarossa DoubleMax the top performers.
“These are the most popular and keep engaging players even though they have totally different themes,” she continues. “One game is about Ancient Egypt, while the other one revolves around pirate adventures.
“They have similar mechanics, with multipliers and high volatility. Those are the games that players seem to enjoy the most.
“We will focus on bringing those games to more markets as they bring the most revenue. That’s why we are so happy with them.”
Uniting operators and studios
Despite the progress being made, the stagnation that can follow a lack of sustained advancement can often be the difference between keeping pace and falling well behind.
This is at the centre of Yggdrasil’s mind when it comes to the Balkans, with a determination of following up on recent growth with further milestones a key priority.
“Like I say, we have recently gone live in Croatia, so we are focused on integrating additional operators within that market,” Ostrzycka says.
“There are also operators that we are going to go live with in the Czech Republic. In general, we are expanding in the Czech Republic, Croatia, and Serbia. That’s the goal.”
Furthermore, Yggdrasil also has high hopes that its wider product base will also stand the company head and shoulders above the competition within the region.
This comes in the form of Game in a Box, a new technology designed to simplify and accelerate game development from design to release, as well as the YGG Masters Program, which is aiming to welcome onboard a wave of independent studios.
“We have a lot of products that we can work on with operators, and we are hoping to bring more operators and studios together,” Ostrzycka notes.
Is the unregulated market a problem?
Despite the talk of progression being made across numerous aspects of the industry, a dark cloud is lingering across a number of jurisdictions. One that shows little sign vanishing any time soon.
Combating the black market has become a critical issue in a plethora of legalised jurisdictions around the world, but how much of a threat is this in the Balkans?
“To be honest, not too much. There are unregulated markets, and obviously operators can do so much,” Ostrzycka explains. “However, the regulated market also allows you to do so much too.
“We are certifying all the games, and making sure that the unregulated market cannot take all our games. We are regulating everything so they can compete the same way.
“I would say that we have a great promotional tool that allows partners to do tournaments, free spins, and missions. To be honest, they can compete in the same way as the unregulated market.
“I wouldn’t actually be afraid of anyone having less chances than unregulated markets.”
However, despite acknowledging a lack of a threat at the current time, Ostrzycka concludes by touching on what needs to be done to ensure that the black market doesn’t rise to become a major issue.
“Regulators need to just keep working with the industry,” she says. “Sometimes I think that regulators don’t listen to operators and it takes ages to try and fix issues. I think that’s the main point. They have to work together.”
