SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
Only a few weeks on from its transformation into a B2B platform provider, GR8 Tech already has big plans to establish itself as a leading force within the betting and gaming industry.
In its new iteration, the company will ultimately draw upon its three decades of experience in the B2C sector to create a platform that is flexible and customisable for its partners – alleviating pain points that many gambling operators face.
In an exclusive chat with SBC at ICE London, four key executives at GR8 Tech outlined the newly evolved firm’s vision, explaining how it will create new paths of growth for its partners.
SBC: Congratulations on your business transformation announcement! Can you tell us why now was the right time to pursue these new B2B ambitions?
Evgen Belousov, GR8 Tech CEO: There are two reasons for us carrying out this transformation. The timing for our transformation has been dictated by the current state of the igaming market. Being saturated with offers, it lacks a deep understanding of the operators’ problems, as well as high-quality, personalised, but at the same time, not intrusive service.
These exact features, in combination with top-notch technical solutions, are what GR8 Tech is ready to offer to its clients and what sets us apart as a new disruptor in the industry.
I feel that the existing gambling market has a need for more tailor-made, customisable solutions in terms of technology. Large-scale gambling operators that work on a third-party software often require specific product updates, modifications and customisations for their product. So we need this ability to customise offerings. We have seen the demand for the market, and the possibilities that we can offer.
The second reason for our transformation is that we are, first and foremost, a tech expert. We created a great platform and we have an ambition and understanding that we are able to process more. We can actually handle and support more operators and brands than we currently have. I believe that we can increase the number of active players by 10, or even 20 times. Our platform can handle this, but can also facilitate that growth for our partners.
With these two reasons, we thought it was the right time to announce our transformation to GR8 Tech and open our platform to the market.
SBC: What have been the biggest challenges you have encountered when shifting from a B2C company to a B2B company?
Artur Ashyrov, GR8 Tech CTO: Actually, our shift to B2B is the result of a long internal evolution and overcoming not one major, but many daily challenges. It was a very natural shift for us.
From the very beginning, our team has been very sensitive to what is relevant and promising in the market. We were one of the first to bet on technology and begin developing our own platform with unique features, a convenient modular structure, and a simple and clear approach to maintenance. Now the next big change comes from a place of our internal readiness.
This is a very natural process, determined by internal factors and motivation and reinforced by external demand. So I can’t really say that there was any particular challenge along the way. Each one was unique and important to achieve today’s result.
Evgen Belousov: One of the biggest, most problematic challenges that we also faced is the human mindset. Given that we as Parimatch Tech provided solutions only for the Parimatch brand, we considered many things from the point of view of this one B2C operator. Yes, we created a great platform and fantastic product that is capable of processing millions of active players. But the challenge came in the form of understanding that our new client is not the player placing bets or gambling at the casino, it’s the gambling operator itself.
This team might have marketing specialists, product specialists, casino and sports specialists. We provide a product for them – not just for the players placing the bets, but for the operator. This is a huge shift in mindset, and is probably the biggest challenge that we face.
We can tell people that we are a B2B provider, but ultimately you have to change the mindset of people that you are working with. You have to understand that you have a different client in mind.
So yes, our transformation into an open system has been quite a challenge. Changes in strategy, structure, business processes – all this took time, and all this continues to this day. Invariable in this transformation is our bold spirit, which drives us to continuously move forward.
SBC: For those that might not know, how is GR8 Tech disrupting the sports betting space as we know it? How do you plan to “set a new norm” for what a great betting product is?
Artur Ashyrov: Today, constant troubleshooting and micromanaging of the igaming product is a sad reality. You have to micromanage all things relating to your product – whether that be the maintenance of your tech platform or overcoming difficulties with configuration, etc.
We are going to change that with our forward-thinking approach and technological leadership, which help minimise the need for time-consuming control of every little detail, freeing up operators to focus on what truly matters.
Our solutions easily combine with each other and cover all operators’ pain points: limited performance capabilities, integration issues, lack of scalability, compliance difficulties and so on. Thus, with them, you can easily lay a flexible, adaptable, powerful base for the growth of the igaming business.
Evgen Belousov: The most significant market demand now is quality service. With our background combining the operator side of the business with the service provision industry, we are well-equipped to deliver just what the market is looking for and help our clients thrive in this competitive environment.
I would say that our approach here is that we want to give our customers the feeling that they don’t have to worry about the technical side of things. They can focus on the things that really matter for their business. We’re not afraid to give freedom to our operators.
We can provide the toolkit necessary for our customers to extend their platform. They don’t have to wait in line for a new feature. It comes out of the box, and we provide the different layers of development. In that way, I think we’re really distinguishing ourselves from others.
SBC: How will GR8 Tech draw upon the B2C experience from Parimatch Tech to eradicate any pain points that operators might face when looking for a platform provider?
Dmytro Paliants, GR8 Tech BD Officer: Having worked closely on the B2C development of the Parimatch brand – and making it one of the most recognised leaders in the global betting market – we understand very well what operators need to ensure uninterrupted, stable daily operations.
Designed with operator needs in mind, the GR8 Tech platform can handle the peak loads of any sporting event on the planet, handling 20,000 logins, 80,000 sports bets, and 1 million settlement processes per minute with 99.95% uptime.
In addition, we offer much more than just a platform. With almost 30 years of operating experience behind us, we provide clients with both technological solutions and support for them throughout the entire product life cycle, as well as expert service support for effective business development.
Delivering that expert service is the reason why we have a lot of custom-created products as part of our offering. The GR8 Tech platform is optimised for many markets to increase the conversion rates, decrease churn rates and deal with higher player volumes. We are helping operators to overcome the key pain points that they often face with third-party platform providers. That’s why our platform is standing out from the competition.
Evgen Belousov: We understand that our client, the operator, is not just a single person. It’s not just the CEO, or one marketing person. It’s a whole host of people who are in charge of multiple divisions – marketing, product, trading.
At GR8 Tech, we don’t want to be a bottleneck. If you take a look at the gambling operators with huge GGR, you’ll find that a lot are using their own software. Their team contains all of these specialists. They have their own platform requirements, and often they face a backlog from their B2B service provider.
We don’t want to cause that backlog for our partners.We want to give our operator partners the tools they need to grow, so that they ultimately become lifetime partners. This is our vision.
SBC: Walk us through the ways that GR8 Tech will work alongside the Parimatch brands in regulated markets across the world.
Evgen Belousov: The Parimatch brand operators Parimatch Eastern Europe, PМІ, and Parimatch United are GR8 Tech’s clients. At the moment they successfully use GR8 Tech’s products in 15 markets worldwide, including Ukraine, Cyprus, the United Kingdom, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Kenya, Nigeria, and several other countries across Europe, Asia, and Oceania.
We will continue our cooperation and will draw upon this real-world experience and feedback from our existing clients to refine and improve our offerings, ensuring that we are always at the forefront of the industry and providing the best possible solutions to our partners.
We already have some unique value propositions that other B2B providers don’t have. On our platform, for example, you can easily market the sports events within your sportsbook. You can customise your margin. We also have education materials and educational workshops so you can easily inform your staff about different sports and events.
You can replace the games in the casino lobby too, and segment your player markets. There are a number of tool sets that we already have which can also be considered as beneficial for operators.
SBC: What are your plans for the company in 2023?
Dmytro Fedyukov, GR8 Tech Head of B2B: Our main focus in 2023 is to continue raising awareness about our company and the innovative solutions we offer to the igaming industry. Our goal is to continue growing our client base, but we are very selective in the operators we work with.
We are not a one-size-fits-all provider, and we aim to only collaborate with operators who are truly focused on growth and scaling. So we aim to build strong relationships with our clients and provide the best possible service and support to help them succeed. We also plan to further develop our technology offerings to stay ahead of the curve and meet the evolving needs of the igaming industry.
Overall, our goal is to continue growing and establishing ourselves as a leading provider of igaming solutions, helping operators to overcome their challenges and reach new heights in the competitive world of online gaming.
