"Many traditional land-based players shifted to the digital side and become valuable omnichannel customers"

There has been a shift imposed by the pandemic, with a stronger focus on the online gaming sector. What is your current situation in that sense?

The pandemic had a major impact on all economic sectors and the gaming industry is no exception. But we have ensured the continuation of our business operations. The land-based operators took the hardest hit from the crisis, in the same time we saw a surge in online gaming as the social distancing measures created an opportunity for online technology. We have adapted and seized all the opportunities the new situation has given us. We continue to work in the new economic and business environment and we think it's time to act decisively, to help our customers and partners and to protect our business and the industry which will endure the confidence in our sustainability from our customers, players and the general public side.

What is the key to be competitive amid the online growing market, with more providers expanding their igaming offerings? Have traditional land-based players significantly shifted to the digital verticals?

There is a certain shift in the corporate strategy and we are executing an effective omnichannel strategy, incorporating the gaming offer through all digital channels. Many traditional land-based players shifted to the digital side and become valuable omnichannel customers. Through our interactive brand - CT Gaming Interactive we stay close to them in every moment and environment they prefer to be. We remain dedicated to providing our customers and partners with the highest level of products and services and remain working hard to bring the latest and most compelling content to them as well as a personalized attitude which is the key to be successful.

Have you seen further changes on the players’ (both existing and new or potential ones) profiles and demands since the outbreak began?

The current situation shook up consumers' behavior and their demands. People can play in the comfort of their own homes and can replicate much of the gaming excitement found by playing in traditional casinos. And that made us even more flexible. The ability to reinvent what we do and how we do it is vital to staying competitive. Win with new players' behavior is only through more personalized gaming offers, more user-friendly experience and great mechanics of the game play that surprise and delight. Arguably, an impressive and adaptive approach makes players prefer our products. We are seeing a vast acceleration of growth already present. The pillars we rely on are creativity, personal approach and excellent product offering. These have never been more important than now. It's our way to truly connect with our audience in new and novel ways. This also extends to the continued importance of product innovation.

Recently CT Gaming Interactive gained licenses in Spain, Italy and Colombia. What are your outlooks for the online gaming markets in the coming months, with more land-based casinos and traditional sportsbooks in the picture?

Let me first add that just recently CT Gaming Interactive has obtained certificate for Belarus as well. Further to your second question, I would like to clarify that the distribution of games remained largely the same, but the bets rose up significantly in the recent months. At the moment we have a dual opportunity to convert traditionally ‘in-person’ players into ‘online players’ whilst simultaneously bringing non-players into the fold. What are the outlooks for the online gaming markets? I think no one has yet to really manage to pinpoint the future trends and whether the trends will remain. But there is a certain opportunity for growth and leveraging increased interest to get in front of larger audiences and more engaged audiences, with the aim of bringing new players into the world of online gaming.

Many land-based operators are demanding more multigames to reduce the need for players to move around the casino floor, for instance. Have you received these new demands, and have you worked on them? What are your goals, expectations and plans for the land-based segment through the rest of the year, and into 2021?

We are focused on long-term strategies, leveraging new technologies to reshape propositions and to connect with even more consumers. Consumers appreciate interesting content and our goal is to provide the best entertainment to the players and an excellent personalized service to the operators. We have a multitude of multigames on offer in our portfolio such as the famous Speed King and Speedway series. Fully adapted to the current situation and with an appeal to the new generation of players, is our latest game pack Mega Jack 2020. Including a variety of games and concepts, ranging from the favorite fruit games, hot sevens and bars, symbol-trigger, wheel-spin, mystery-trigger, and many more, the multigame presents everything needed to become the new player's favorite. The multigame has 46 titles, designed to work with progressive jackpots. Six of the games have a special 2-level jackpot that could be played on any bet and is developed with the thought to make the thrill of the game even more exciting. We have many installations of Mega Jack 2020 on the pipeline till the end of the year and we are looking forward to our new partnerships. Furthermore, we offer a rich library of 160+ HTML5 games with different mechanics, appealing to all players' preferences.

Where do you see growth potential in the coming months?

On the whole, we believe that gaming will come out of the crisis as a more agile, more digitally native industry. We strive to make the best out of the current situation and pivot towards the trends that have been accelerated by the pandemic. That is on our business’s radar at the moment.