Exclusive interview with Igor Rus, Head of Business Development and Marketing, Comtrade Gaming

“Our focus is to help both operators and vendors improve their offering via better technology”

(Exclusive coverage from G2E Las Vegas) - Comtrade Gaming's Head of Business Development and Marketing talks opportunities and challenges. “The Italian gaming market is the biggest in Europe,” he says.
2015-10-08
Reading time 3:21 min
(Exclusive coverage from G2E Las Vegas) - Comtrade Gaming's Head of Business Development and Marketing talks opportunities and challenges. “The Italian gaming market is the biggest in Europe,” he says.

What were your goals for this G2E?

Comtrade Gaming is always looking for new business opportunities. As always our focus is on helping both operators and vendors improve their offering via better technology. Our main goal at G2E is to spread the awareness of our market leading solutions and increase our client base.

One such example is the fact there are many game vendors on this show who are well-established in the land-based casino market, but have yet to move into the online environment. This is typically because they don’t have the technology that would allow them to diversify into this space. We have a proven track record of helping game vendors move their land-based game catalogue via our Remote Game Server technology (gCore) and our game development team.

Did you have any significant conversations with operators about Comtrade’s products at the trade show?

For sure, we had some interesting talks with large US-based operators, but unlike Europe and Asia we are less well known to US casino operators, so there is still a fair bit of evangelizing to be done. One hot topic has been the interest in a free-to-play social casino for large land-based operators where currently online gambling is still not available. The ability to market to these players to drive growth in the land-based world, and build a database for the future when legislation may allow online real play. So, the software has to be good as it is for pay to play.

Why do American operators need to hear more about the gCore, sCore, and iCore systems?

Because they truly are market-leading products. gCore enables vendors to easily develop games for the online market. It comes with many different game frameworks, with which they can then develop their own games by themselves. Our technology makes the transition to online a breeze.

Our sCore product line is built around standard G2S protocol that is required by more and more regulators around the world. G2S (game to system) is the protocol that connects the slot machine (EGM – Electronic Gaming Device) to the host systems.

This communication protocol unlocks the power of network gaming and revolutionizes the way information is exchanged between Electronic Gaming Machines (EGMs) and back-of-house systems. Nowadays, most of the leading vendors already sell their machines with G2S support, and we can help the rest with our sCore technology. Operators that have their floors equipped with such machines can use the sCore Connect product line to either enable their existing systems to “speak” G2S, or to implement new applications that would improve player experience or simplify their operations.

iCore is our enterprise gaming platform which, among others, features offers a central bonusing system combined with real time loyalty and player management segmentation.

For whom are the products designed?

Our products are designed for premium operators that have to deal with all typical enterprise technology challenges and operate in the regulated gaming markets.

In the case of sCore, we cover the complete ecosystem and provide technology that can be used by vendors within their slot machines or casino management systems, and then we provide complete solutions for operators and regulators to remotely monitor and manage these machines.

Why is America so important to Comtrade Gaming?

The US, Canada, and the rest of the Americas are obviously a huge market with a lot of potential for gaming opportunities. On one side it is already well-established with traditional US Casino operations, but there are still areas that haven’t allowed such gaming activities in the past. We see our opportunities in those states and countries where new types of gaming operations are being regulated. This is an opportunity to introduce modern communications protocols like G2S from the Gaming Standards Association for either central state monitoring or advanced management of gaming machines with the possibility to add additional value-added services and to extend player experience to online and mobile channels.

Brazil is in talks on legalizing iGaming. What are your thoughts on this?

The legislation will certainly have a big impact on other South American markets, especially in Mexico and Columbia. The push for regulated iGaming will most likely spread rather like the domino effect that has taken place in Europe. Sooner or later every regulator will realize that online gaming is present in their country, whether they allow it or not. The task of blocking this activity is usually not successful, and it is better to regulate it, which then brings in tax revenue and enables the state to define necessary responsible gaming and anti-money laundering policies.

What do you expect to happen after the show?

Technology, technology, technology, that will always be our focus. We deliver marketing leading products and solutions, and help solve the many problems of operators and vendors. We look forward to forming new partnerships and the continued growth of our business into new markets.

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