News

“My goal is to empower every member of my team”

Having recently transitioned from Head of Strategy to Chief Sales Officer at Digitain, how do you plan to leverage your strategic insights to drive the company’s global sales and expansion?

As the former Head of Strategy, my main objective is to utilise the tools and techniques I have developed over the years to establish and implement effective strategies. One of my key strengths is the ability to analyse both data and experience, allowing me to create tailored data-driven strategies for each market we plan to enter or expand in.

This includes considering factors such as market specifics and competitive landscape to make decisions that align with the company’s vision and objectives. Additionally, my previous role has not only improved my business development skills but also shaped my unique leadership style, which will be instrumental in driving our company’s global sales and expansion efforts successfully.

In your role at Digitain, you are tasked with engineering complex sales solutions for multi-jurisdictional operators. What is your approach to meeting the diverse needs and regulatory requirements of these markets?

Digitain has over 3,000 employees with expertise in the entire iGaming supply chain. In terms of this, sales work closely with our product, regulatory, and technical compliance teams to ensure the exacting standards for certification and licensing are met.

We conduct regulatory monitoring of each market and new markets that are considering enacting legal frameworks for iGaming. Our teams of professionals liaise with regulators and certification providers, and it is essential to have this dialogue and communication flow.

Internally, we have multi-disciplinary review meetings and project planning to ensure all milestones in the regulatory, technical, product, and sales road map are delivered accordingly.

It is essential to state that these processes take time and should not be rushed; attention to detail is paramount, and our partners and regulators expect this.

As you step into your new role, what is your vision for Digitain’s growth in the iGaming industry, and how do you plan to achieve this?

My vision for Digitain’s growth in the iGaming industry is to maximise our potential by not only expanding in our current markets but also entering new markets where our technologies, and solutions, and unique partner-centric approach can help large operators significantly grow their businesses and gain a competitive edge.

We have various data-driven strategies in place to achieve this vision, which we plan to implement this year. As the sales team, we believe our main responsibility is to showcase the hard work of our 3,000+ employees to the world, and we are determined to do so with a winning mindset.

What qualities do you look for in your team, and how do you foster a culture of innovation and excellence?

As the newly appointed Chief Sales Officer, my goal is to empower every member of my team and fully support their growth and development. This can only be achieved through ongoing learning and development, as well as discipline and diligence that are the main qualities I am looking for.

I believe in leading by example giving individuals the freedom to make mistakes, learn from them, and ultimately flourish. Additionally, in Digitain, our policy is to heavily invest in our talents, invest in their learning and development, plus we have created a work environment with state-of-the-art facilities and comprehensive support to prioritize their physical health and mental well-being.

How do you plan to strengthen relationships with existing partners and customers, and what strategies do you use to attract new partnerships in the iGaming sector?

As the former Head of Strategy, I have established strong connections and relationships with many of our key partners. It is my intention to uphold these relationships in my current position, as it is one of my main responsibilities. Strengthening relationships with the existing partners is crucial for business growth. To achieve this, it is important to maintain proximity to our partners, investigate and prioritize their needs, and have a deep understanding of their market requirements to actively support the growth of their businesses.

When it comes to new partnerships, our approach involves a careful selection process where we prioritize certain criteria. We aim to work only with partners who have the potential to gain a competitive edge in their market and achieve top-ranking status with the help of our products, solutions, and support that are designed to assist them in reaching their goals.

Additionally, Digitain is establishing more sales offices to be close to our partners worldwide; we have opened offices in London, England, and Bucharest, Romania, and shall be expanding our physical presence in LatAm very shortly. The physical presence is vital to our local partners and further helps increase the awareness of Digitain in those core markets.

Our brand ambassador, Luis Figo, who has signed on for another year, has been wonderful, given his international presence in Europe and Latin America, further raising the awareness of Digitain in critical global markets. Our collaboration with Luis is unique in the B2B iGaming vertical, and we look forward to his attendance at the up-and-coming ICE London show and other events planned throughout 2024.

Regulatory landscapes in the iGaming industry are continually changing. How does Digitain, under your sales leadership, plan to navigate these changes?

Digitain is committed to flexibility and adaptability when it comes to accommodating to partner’s needs in their markets or jurisdictional requirements. This process, to my deep belief, is only possible to conduct successfully when there’s an ongoing dialogue between the Operator and the respective stakeholders of the Provider, such as Compliance, Technology and Business.

Under my leadership, one of my core missions should be to facilitate this dialogue because this will not only nourish the partnerships with existing partners from different regulated markets but also ease our journey to expanding our footprint into more regulated markets.

Source: iGaming Express

Iain Hutchison, CRO at Digitain: “Sportsbooks chose us because of our reputation and long-standing expertise”.

What assessment do you make of 2023?

As a business, we are pleased with our continued growth in multiple regulated markets. During this year, Digitain has opened offices in Bucharest and London. This is to expand and service our business pipeline, and growing markets such as continental Europe. Our team of brilliant people has grown to over 3,000 employees, showing the increasing demand for our Sportsbook and iGaming solutions.

What would you say was the company’s biggest achievement?

There have been many milestones for the company, namely its overall growth, increase in employees, the opening of new offices, and enhancements to our products. Therefore, it is difficult to single out one achievement, but I suppose, LatAm is one of our successes of the year.

We have attended several of the igaming shows, and this has generated a lot of enquiries, and new business wins. We have also scaled our LatAm team with several senior and operational hires throughout the year, and we shall continue to grow our pipeline in LatAm.

Your sportsbook recently won “Sportsbook Supplier of the Year” at the SBC Awards and “Sportsbook Provider of the Year” at the SiGMA Balkans Awards, how much importance do you give to awards and nominations?

Industry awards are important for any B2C or B2B business. The submissions are reviewed by judges who have a deep understanding of the industry, the challenges, and the dynamics.

Therefore, to get shortlisted is a great achievement, and likewise winning the award, as it demonstrates peer recognition, which helps further build your reputation and trust within and outside of the industry.

What are the key features that make your sportsbook stand out in so many award ceremonies? How many platforms have already integrated your technology?

We have over 150+ partners using our sportsbook to date, and a healthy onboarding pipeline for Q1 & Q2 releases in 2024.

There are many reasons why partners chose Digitain. Part of that decision making when selecting a technology provider, is our reputation and long-standing expertise in the vertical. We put the customer first and have always viewed the dynamic between supplier and operator as a collaborative one.

For a technology standpoint, our solutions allow flexibility, reliability, and customisation for the partner to ensure a degree of greater control to manage their brand and business processes in that local market. This flexibility is very important into today’s fast-moving markets, where players choices can change quickly, so you need technology partners such as Digitain that can facilitate change and adaption at pace.

“We have over 150+ partners using our sportsbook to date, and a healthy onboarding pipeline for Q1 & Q2 releases in 2024.”

What can you tell us about the upcoming scenario for esports?

eSports continues to be a popular product vertical. It appeals to a slightly different, younger demographic, and can be a natural introduction into more traditional sports betting products.

We have some exciting developments planned on that front throughout 2024, so keep a watching brief.

Luis Figo is set to continue his role as Digitain’s esteemed Brand Ambassador for the second consecutive year. How important is it to have a football legend like Figo on your team?

Luis is a well know sports athlete globally. As a business, we are delighted to continue our partnership into 2024.

The relationship given Luis stature in Latin American markets has certainly helped Digitain to stand out and help build our awareness in those regions.

What can you tell us about Digitain’s Paydrom solution and how it is revolutionizing igaming payments?

Payments and APM’s is the lifeblood of any online business, and payments is crucial in iGaming.

Paydrom, provides our partners with the flexibility at it is a payment gateway and payment service soltuion, that has 50+ providers, 400+ payment options to offer the best local payment options for a partner operator.

Instead of multiple end-point payment integrations, Paydrom solves that, via a centralised dashboard. We shall continue to expand that service as more payment methods become popular in each country’s market.

The Latin American market is going through an exponential expansion, what is Digitain’s biggest challenge in this scenario for 2024?

Latin America has been growing for several years and is an exciting market. There are several challenges, and ongoing regulation needs to be monitored to ensure market access and support for local operators looking to go online, and of course international operators entering the market.

As we mentioned, Digitain already has a robust awareness in the market, and our pipeline is expanding, and we shall continue to look at how we service and grow those market segments.

“Latin America has been growing for several years and is an exciting market.”

Looking forward to 2024, what plans do you have and are there any new developments that we can look forward to from Digitain?

Firstly, we wish to thank all our partners, who continue to support and use our platform services, they have been phenomenal.

In terms of 2024, well, come see us at ICE London in February and all shall be revealed then.

Source: Focus Gaming News

GMB – What assessment do you make of your company’s performance and growth in 2023 overall? Did it meet expectations or exceed them?

Gevorg Rushanyan – Digitain has a long history in delivering exceptional sports betting and iGaming solutions across many regulated markets.

Throughout this year, the business has opened offices in Bucharest and London to expand and service our business pipeline across continental Europe. Our people are phenomenal and have grown to over 3,000 employees, which again is testament to our business growth in 2023.

We look forward to 2024, as we further build on our growth, and expand our award-winning sportsbook and iGaming platform solutions to new partners across the globe.

What assessment do you make of your company’s performance and growth within the Brazilian market in 2023?
Digitain has had a surprising year of exponential growth in Brazil, on par with our strategic operators, who have well-known names in the industry. We have experienced a boost in traffic that is incomparable to other markets in the region, and we believe that one of the reasons is the sympathy that players have come to have with our sports and esports product.

We are firm in our strategy that for us Brazil has to be one of the markets with the greatest momentum in sports betting for the upcoming years.

Could you list the main achievements or goals accomplished?

Digitain and our team, have attended over 30 summits and industry trade shows throughout 2023. The business has won numerous B2B industry awards. We have introduced and launched new features on the sportsbook platform which have been well received by our B2C partners, such as SportChat, Sport Jackpot, Sport and Bet Race Tournaments, AI Sport recommendations and Multi and Ultra Cash Back, and many more features all designed to enhance player engagement that leads to revenue growth.

There are many more achievements, and it is only possible with the continued support of our 150+ partners, and over 3,000 team members delivering the best iGaming and Sportsbook solutions into the market. We wish to thank all our partners and suppliers for helping us make it a fantastic 2023.

In your sector within the industry, what trends or technological advances do you believe will dominate the market in 2024?
We are seeing more socialization features being introduced in the sportsbook. Players wish to engage with other players and have that sense of community. Digitain has recently introduced our player-to-player engagement tool, called SportChat, which has proved a success with players and our partner operators using this feature.

2024 shall see more of these social features introduced into the platform, and more AI to improve processes within the player journey for acquisition and retention marketing plans.

What is your general opinion on the regulation of the sports betting and online gaming market that is on the verge of approval in Congress?

As a B2B supplier business we welcome regulation within the supply chain. It is important for the industry to grow and protect consumers, so regulation is welcomed.

What are the main goals/objectives of your company for 2024 within the Brazilian market? And on a global scale?
Our goals are to continue to monitor the progression of the bills in the Brazilian Congress and timelines for regulated sports betting in Brazil, and indeed across other Latin American countries.

Our teams, legal, compliance and technology, will review the licensing requirements and make the necessary preparations required for these regulated markets.

Source: Exclusive GMB

Digitain added another award to its silverware, with the Prestigious Romanian Gambling Industry Grand Awards by Casino Life & Business Magazine Romania for ‘Complete Digital Solutions of The Year’.

Iain Hutchison, Chief Revenue Officer of Digitain, said: “Digitain has expanded into the Romanian market, and we now have offices located in beautiful Bucharest. Therefore, we are delighted to win this award from Casino Life & Business Magazine Romania, one of the oldest and best recognised industry publications in the region. Our continued thanks to everyone that voted for us and supports Digitain.”

SiGMA Africa is one of the largest iGaming events on the continent. It takes place in March at the Grand West Exhibit in beautiful Cape Town. Digitain won the industry award for Best Platform 2024.

Iain Hutchison, Digitain’s Chief Revenue Officer, said: The SiGMA Africa event attracts 2,500 delegates and over 100+ exhibitors. The event is part of Digitain’s growing presence in the African marketplace as more and more countries expand their sports betting and online presence. As a business, we are delighted to participate in the event and win this esteemed award for our team and on behalf of our African partner operators.”

Digitain proudly announces the launch of all-new, native applications for iOS and Android devices. This groundbreaking release promises an unparalleled, immersive gaming experience, solidifying Digitain’s commitment to innovation and customer satisfaction.

Centrivo’s native applications deliver a seamless, unified gaming experience across both iOS and Android, ensuring a consistent and high-quality experience for users. Above all this Centrivo’s extensive suite of casino games and features offers a diverse range of options to cater to every player’s preferences and taste. Moreover, the new application seamlessly integrates a comprehensive sportsbook and virtual sports, providing users with a one-stop destination for all their sports betting and virtual gaming needs.

Edmond Ghulyan, Group Chief Strategy Officer and Chief of Centrivo Product Solutions, expressed his enthusiasm for the launch, stating, “We are thrilled to introduce the all-new native applications for Centrivo. This marks a significant milestone in our ongoing efforts to provide cutting-edge solutions for our users. The immersive, all-in-one experience across iOS and Android platforms, coupled with innovative features like push notifications and cross-product navigation, reflects our dedication to delivering a superior gaming experience.”

Also, to continue the above features Centrivo’s App stays trendy by having dedicated esports space as well as providing a sports betting experience with innovative features and a user-friendly interface, making it easier and more enjoyable for users to place bets on their favorite events.

With a commitment to continuous improvement and innovation, Centrivo remains at the forefront of the industry, offering a dynamic and engaging platform.

Digitain confirmed that Edmond Ghulyan has assumed a broader role in the senior management team to the position of Group Chief Strategy Officer and Chief of Centrivo Product Solutions.

Edmond previously held the position of Chief Customer Care Officer and Chief of Centrivo Platform. With almost 6 years now at Digitain, in his new role, Edmond will lead both the strategic development of the award-winning, competitive and GLI-certified iGaming Platform with the whole of suite of Centrivo products and Digitain’s Strategy at a group level.

Mr. Vardges Vardanyan, Founder of the Digitain Group, commented on the promotion: “Edmond has been a key part of our senior management and leadership team for nearly six years. He has led from the front and is a shining example to his team in delivering exacting technical solutions for our current and future partners. 

Our business has experienced rapid growth in multiple markets throughout 2023, and with Edmond onboard to manage our Centrivo Product Solutions and to lead Digitain Group’s Strategy, we are confident that 2024 shall continue our growth expansion.”

Edmond Ghulyan, Group Chief Strategy Officer, Digitain, said: “I am excited to assume this new and more comprehensive role of leading Digitain Group towards its strategic goals and building upon the strong foundations of the Centrvio product solutions for our existing and potential partners to meet the ever-changing demands of their businesses today and for the future. 

As a business and team, we are well placed to continue to deliver robust, scalable, and highly compliant technology and product solutions for any market and ensure that our partners can focus on building a competitive, unique and highly-automated brand across multiple channels and markets.

With the company’s rapid expansion and ambitious plans for the future, I would like to especially thank Mr․ Vardanyan for the incredible support during the past six years and for the new opportunity to lead Digitain Group’s Strategy.”

Digitain has strengthened its sales executive team by promoting Ani Mkrtchyan to the position of Chief Sales Officer. 

Ani joined Digitain over five and half years ago as a Sales Manager and later served as Head of Strategy for nearly three years. She has immense experience in the iGaming industry and extensive expertise in international development strategy, operations, and sales strategies across several regulated markets. 

Mr. Vardges Vardanyan, Founder of the Digitain Group, commented on the promotion: “Digitain is committed to investing in its people and nurturing that talent. Over the nearly six years of being part of the Digitain Family and its growth into multiple markets, Ani has demonstrated exemplary attention to detail, insight, and leadership, putting our partners and customers at the heart of everything we do. We are delighted to have Ani join our leadership team as we continue expanding as one of the major platform providers to B2C partner operators in regulated markets.” 

Ani Mkrtchyan, Chief Sales Officer, Digitain, said: “I’m immensely grateful to Mr. Vardanyan for his unfaltering vision in Digitain, mentoring and coaching our people. When engineering complex sales solutions for today’s multi-jurisdictional operators, we put partners and our people first and strive for the very best versions of ourselves and for our partners in that delivery goal. I look forward to assembling and building a game-changing team over the months and years ahead.”

Digitain has signed a sportsbook agreement with gaming brand LeBull.pt as they launch in the Portuguese market.

Vardges Vardanyan, Founder of Digitain, commented on the agreement: “Portugal is a growing regulated market, and we are delighted to work with the management of LeBull. We share the same vision in bringing new player experiences into the Portuguese market.

We, therefore, look forward to supporting and growing the LeBull brand together over what is an exciting time with our award-winning sportsbook platform technology and services.”

Tiago Pereira, Head of LeBull Portugal, said: “Digitain has been our compass from day one, helping LeBull.pt navigate the maze that is offering sportsbook in a highly regulated market like Portugal. They offer a top-tier service and quality support.

Portugal provides a lot of opportunities to create market share and growth in comparison to other regulated European countries. We look forward to working with Digitain’s team as we accelerate our growth in Portugal over the months ahead.”

Digitain se complace en anunciar que ha ganado el premio SiGMA Europe al mejor Proveedor de Sportsbook en Vivo del Año, celebrado en Malta.  

El evento SiGMA Europe, una de las mayores cumbres B2B de iGaming, contó con la asistencia de más de 25.000 asistentes y tuvo lugar en La Valeta.

Iain Hutchison, Director de Ingresos de Digitain, comentó: “Como equipo, estamos comprometidos con el ‘arte de la excelencia’ en todo lo que hacemos para nuestros socios. Todos nuestros compañeros, más de 3.000 profesionales, contribuyen al éxito de nuestras soluciones de sportsbook en múltiples mercados internacionales y regulados.

No podríamos hacerlo sin ellos y sin nuestros socios operadores, por lo que estamos encantados de añadir este premio SiGMA Europe a nuestra colección. En nombre del equipo Digitain les agradecemos a todos”.