For betting industry affiliates looking at entering a new market, effective research into a sector to identify payment preferences and cultural distinctions is key, according to a panel of specialists at the CasinoBeats Summit.

Speaking on a panel entitled  ‘New market pioneers’, sponsored by bet365 Affiliates, and moderated by Ricardo Pinto, CMO, Darwin Gaming, Alison Brincat, Head of Affiliates at Branders, explained the multiple dynamics firms must assess when entering a new market. 

“Market research is mandatory when you launch into a new country completely,” explained Alison Brincat, Head of Affiliates, Branders. “You look at the games that are the most popular within that market, the user experience, what does the actual what does the player want?

“What types of payment methods are actually important to have? Not just games, which are very very important, but the whole experience as a whole for those players that we aren’t targeting specifically for that market.”

Using India and the US as an example, Brincat observed that PayPal is a popular payment method in the former country, whilst in the latter UPI is more widely utilised. 

“Having the whole user experience and having the most optimal user experience I think is mandatory if you want to make the market a success,” she reiterated.

Sharing Brincat’s view on the importance of understanding the popularity of payment systems, Marcos Oliveira, CMO at Clever Advertising, added that game preferences should also be considered, among other factors.

“We do massive research on the markets, and one of the keys is payment methods,” he began. “The first thing that we should do in the markets is know how our customers can deposit, and then how to find out the games that they like, that’s a question of showing them culturally the games that you believe they will be most familiar with.”

Oliveria also detailed which markets he believed held substantial potential for both affiliates and operators, explaining that Japan has been ‘the thing’ over the past year, explaining that although the US has been attracting significant attention from the gaming industry, for affiliates there is ‘still too much complication’.

Instead, he detailed his belief that markets in Africa and Eastern Europe could hold potential, stating: “We are still very focused on our company in Africa. So we’re still developing a lot of business in like 15 to 16 African countries, Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya Guinea, Senegal, Cameroon, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda – those are hugely developed markets. 

“Ukraine with its new regulated market, people will be moving there, and then of course you have the whole CIS block that’s been developed for the last few years like Georgia, Belarus, Kazakhstan. So the Eastern Bloc, along with Bulgaria and Romania are still very untapped markets that we’ll be focusing on in the next few years.”

Also commenting on the Japanese market, Johan Styren, CEO & Founder of DilantiMedia, praised the sector’s safe environment for firms as well as the ability to develop trust-based relationships with players.

He remarked: “In Japan we have a very different situation where obviously the market isn’t fully regulated, but then again, the government has pretty much said that if you don’t operate anything from Japan, you’re fine.

“Obviously as an affiliate you’re even safer, but due to the fact that there’s so much trust involved in gaining players’ trust, we have to be very trustworthy, that’s not a problem, that is how you build your market, by being truthful. 

“It’s about having a balanced view of operators. In many European countries you’d just say ‘this operators great, this one is good, this one is super good’, but in Japan you actually have to be honest, and they won’t trust you otherwise, You may have to point out things about operators that aren’t alright, and the operators are fine with this because they understand as well that it’s all about building trust.”

Source – CasinoBeats Summit. To register and view this panel discussion and more, click here