Altenar spoke to SBC News about focusing on the new opportunities that have emerged in recent weeks, emphasizing that people, products, and partners remain at the core of its company philosophy.
“This is a science fiction movie that we live in. And unfortunately, not only the ‘bad guys’ die at the end,” said Dinos Stranomitis, Director and COO at Altenar.
“Joking aside, this is a serious emergency situation in every respect — especially for a company providing a sports betting solution. Who could have imagined that one day, there would be no sports events for a week, a month, or even longer?”
In a time when job security is uncertain across industries, Stranomitis emphasized that Altenar has provided clarity and reassurance by committing to retain all employees, supported by a remote work policy until it’s safe to return to the office.
He added: “Altenar has already communicated internally that ALL employees will stay, and we are fulfilling all obligations to date. Our people feel safe working from home, and they will become our strongest ambassadors when this chapter becomes history. During this time, we are building loyalty — because Altenar remains loyal to its people.”
Meanwhile, Stanislav Silin, Chief Executive of Altenar, explained that the global pandemic has provided an “excellent opportunity” to focus on both current and prospective team members.
He said: “As with any period of uncertainty, there are both challenges and opportunities. We chose to focus on the latter while adapting to the former — and that’s the philosophy we promote within our company.
“Because of how our organization evolved, we had no difficulty transitioning to 100% remote work and have experienced no productivity loss as a result.
“This is an excellent chance to focus on people — not only those already on our team, but also potential new talent who may have been left behind by companies that prioritize financial assets over human capital. In the end, when this period eventually passes, we are confident we’ll emerge stronger than ever before.”
“Trendy” products like virtuals and esports have also taken center stage for Altenar, as Stranomitis explained: “Altenar is actively developing products that are in high demand right now — including more virtual sports, more esports, and additional concepts that have been queued for months due to a packed development schedule.”
“This gave us the opportunity to reorganize some departments by shifting team members — allowing us to make the most of the lighter offering we currently have.”
Adapting the product portfolio to be less reliant on live sporting events can be a major advantage during this period, as over one-third of the world faces restrictions on both travel and sports competitions.
According to Silin, the key to maintaining audience engagement is to be “well prepared” and acknowledge that while traffic may dip temporarily, it will be followed by new peaks in the near future.
He added: “Despite the challenge of a reduced competition schedule, we believe this is the right moment to focus on product areas we previously had less time to develop. This includes our virtuals offering, esports, and other segments that are not directly tied to traditional sports — which are currently very limited.
“From a technology standpoint, we see this slowdown as an excellent opportunity to address technical debt and execute upgrades across both software and infrastructure. With lower-than-usual traffic now, we’re preparing for the inevitable surge that’s coming — and we’ll be ready for it.”
The final important step highlighted by Altenar was a renewed focus on partnerships. While the current environment may not be ideal for forming new collaborations, Stranomitis emphasized that Altenar is working closely with its existing partners to ensure they remain “strong and viable” in the months ahead until the sporting calendar returns to normal.
Silin concluded: “This is also an opportunity to strengthen our business relationships with both customers and suppliers. As Dinos mentioned, we remain in constant communication with our current partners and are continuing to sign new ones — both to deliver our products and services, and to pursue strategic deals for acquiring additional content.”
