Domenico Mazzola, commercial director at Altenar, tells Focus Gaming News why he’s a big believer in the Latin American market.
Exclusive interview.- While all eyes are on the US as the big growth market, Domenico Mazzola remains a big believer in Latin America. Altenar’s commercial director took time out to discuss the company’s strengths and plans for the region.
Altenar offers fully managed sportsbook solutions, and it’s particularly strong in Latin America, with a presence in Colombia, Peru and Brazil.
“When it comes to South America, I could say that we have a very strong presence there, working together with several business partners,” Mazzola says.
“We were one of the first sportsbook suppliers in Colombia – actually we’re planning to come back with a couple of brands that I cannot announce right now.”
Opportunities for growth in Latin America
With internet presence and payment options growing, Latin America remains an appealing market, Mazzola says.
“In general we see South America with a very big potential because it does not yet have all the restrictions and all the competition that, for example, you can find in Europe, and it does not have very peculiar necessities like, let’s say, the Asian market.” Domenico Mazzola, commercial director at Altenar.
Mazzola highlights the need to partner with local companies given the still-strong retail presence in the region, and notes that now is a good moment for those with a commitment to LatAm while other operators turn their attention to the US.
He says: “Many companies probably decided to diversify and change their priorities, switching fr om targeting LatAm to the US, and this gives, in my opinion, the space for other providers that decided not to enter the US right now, like us, for example, to focus more on acquiring operators in South America.”
Cutomisation is key for Latin America
One of the biggest strengths that Altenar has for winning the region is its commitment to customisation.
“We understand that in order to be successful, no matter wh ere you operate you need to localise your solution, create and deliver content and functionalities that the specific markets require,” Mazzola says.
“Many people, especially here in Europe, believe that South America is just one big country, which is totally wrong, even if you consider the fact that in Brazil they speak Brazilian, while in Peru they speak Spanish, or that Mexico has customers more focused on US sports, while Colombians are very football-orientated.
“It’s important to know these things, which are apparently quite basic, but at the end of the day, you’re still seeing brands working in different countries with exactly the same look and feel everywhere.”
He notes that customisation doesn’t only mean localisation, however.
He adds: “We are fully committed to customising our solution not only for specific markets, but specific operators.
“We have, right now, two operators working on the same market in the same country and we delivered for them two different sportsbook approaches because one is more focused on, let’s say, an online presence, and the other has physical casinos, so, of course, the audience is different, and the requirements are different even though it’s the same country.”
Altenar continues to develop its technology, with a new version of its sportsbook offering more tools and a faster, more stable product. Mazzola says the company strives to balance customer requests and its own pipeline of new tools. It’s currently building a business intelligence tool and a possible new cross-platform mobile app.
In the meantime, the time is ripe for further growth in Latin America.
Check out the full interview with Domenico Mazzola on the Focus Gaming News YouTube channel.
