"Our understanding of the Brazilian market grew significantly throughout the year, and we expect to capitalise on that in 2026"

2025 has been a landmark year for Comtrade, marked by new market entries and strategic partnerships that underscore the company’s growing influence in the iGaming industry. Steven Valentine, Chief Commercial Officer, reflects on the progress the company has made and how these milestones have shaped its approach to new opportunities.

In an exclusive interview with Yogonet, Valentine talks about the lessons learned over the past year and what lies ahead in 2026. With a focus on supporting clients, refining the platform, and exploring emerging markets, Comtrade is aiming for steady, sustainable growth while navigating a competitive and evolving industry.

Looking back at 2025, how would you assess the year for the company? What are some of the major takeaways/highlights, achievements, or lessons learned over the past year?

There were two standout highlights for us in 2025. The first was our iGaming Platform becoming certified in Brazil and then launching our first client in the newly regulated market. Our understanding of the Brazilian market has grown significantly throughout the year, and we expect to capitalise significantly on that in 2026.

The second highlight was signing our partnership with DigiPlus in the Philippines. It's always very exciting to work with such large operators, and it further validates us as being one of the few platforms of choice for enterprise-level operators.

Which issues and trends would you say dominated the conversation this year? Any specific trends, markets, or technologies that you believe will drive change in 2026?

There are three items that seemed to dominate this year: AI, regulation, and tax.
2025 was the year that really brought AI into gaming products. It had been talked about a few years earlier, but true AI—agentic AI—is now a key component of many gaming offerings, particularly in the platform space. The efficiencies it brings both in developing products and operationally for operators really are a game-changer.

Regulation is a constant topic year after year. 2025 started with Brazil and then moved on to future markets such as Finland and New Zealand.

The third item is gaming tax. Unfortunately, our industry is always an easy target for governments looking to fill holes in their budgets. The rise in taxes in September in Romania was significant and has a direct effect on an operator's investment strategy with a single stroke of a pen from the government.

The very recent 90% increase in gaming tax in the UK is the harshest ever seen and, from a player protection point of view, does the total opposite of what the government pretends to care about.

What can we expect from the company in 2026? What are the main challenges and opportunities you see in the gaming industry in the upcoming 12-month period?

2026 will be boringly—or, from our perspective and for our clients, reassuringly—more of the same. We will continue to focus on delivering for our clients and helping them grow. We will also add new clients where we see value for both the operator and us.

The biggest challenge the vendor space has at the moment is how price-driven it has become. The market is saturated with vendors, many of which are not making money. Even some of the larger ones, really good companies from the outside, that you would expect to be profitable, are actually reporting losses of millions per month. Are these companies able to transition to profitability?