Altenar is a sportsbook software and services provider who continued a pattern of punching above its weight in 2018 by posting ‘doubled’ revenues for the third year in a row.
The company powered a successful 12-month period that saw Wplay.co – the first approved licensee for the regulated market in South America – grow to become one of the early leaders in the region. Furthermore, Altenar closed the year by testing a new responsive sports betting client for some of its smaller partners.
We asked Altenar CEO Stanislav Silin for his take on what has contributed to such a successful year.
SBC: What sets you apart from the software providers chosen by the other licensees for the regulated Colombian market? How much of a differentiator has the Altenar Bonus Tool been for the market?
SS: What sets us apart is our ability to respond to customer needs relatively quickly, both in terms of what players see—like front-end design and layout—and what they feel in terms of betting experience: how our trading and support team closely collaborates with Wplay’s customer service team to serve players in the best way possible.
The relationship with the operator, teamwork between our company departments, and the mutual trust that develops create an environment that feels seamless for the player.
Coincidentally, the Altenar Bonus Tool—something that’s quite effective across our entire network—was not initially used in Colombia and is still somewhat underused for Wplay, due to the nature of the market. However, it’s a great customer acquisition tool elsewhere—operators who use it really like it.
SBC: Of course, it’s not just about Colombia, given that you are supporting operators across multiple countries in Europe and South America. How do you handle the challenge of catering to an operator whose audience includes both VIPs and bonus abusers?
SS: That is precisely why we need such strong cooperation with operators’ teams, including personal connections between the key contributors on both sides. Our flexibility and experience allow us to understand the challenges operators face and help us come up with creative solutions—even with a modestly sized trading and risk management team.
We’re already used to a mixed audience, as we support a very diverse range of operators across continents and jurisdictions. Information gathered from one player group or operator helps us improve and prevent abuse elsewhere. We have a team of talented, dedicated individuals who work in shifts and love sports betting.
SBC: Last year, you teased the launch of a newly designed sports betting client. Has this been released? If so, what has the feedback been?
SS: We released it to a few smaller clients toward the end of 2018 and are now preparing to launch it with some of our larger sportsbooks. The feedback has been very positive—especially on mobile—as we’ve significantly improved that aspect with our responsive client. At the same time, we’ve completely revamped our hosting infrastructure, upgrading network capacity 10x to handle expected growth in 2019 and support traffic peaks.
SBC: Altenar was confirmed as the sportsbook platform provider for Klondaika ahead of the FIFA World Cup in Russia. How much pressure were you under to refine your product for the Latvian market? How challenging is it to refine products for specific markets?
SS: Actually, the Latvian front-end isn’t deeply region-specific, apart from the usual language customization and content ordering. I’d say the Colombian or even Mexican front-end is much more region-specific. With Mexican operators, you’re practically prepping your product for the US market, as the local audience’s expectations are very similar to American betting.
The challenge of customizing content for players in different countries is definitely there, but the only way forward is to build modular and flexible front ends—where attention to detail is essential, and where each market must be addressed individually. It’s a continuous process of refinement.
Speaking of region-specific content, we’re now launching two regulated clients in Italy—and that’s where customization reaches another level. It’s not just about the front end. You’re effectively plugged into the Italian government’s betting system, with its own complexities, like specific rounding rules for combo bets and the need for precision and fiscal accuracy. We embrace the challenge and proudly share that mentality across our entire Altenar team.
SBC: What is the next big challenge for Altenar?
SS: Last year, we transformed the company to better pursue regulated markets. In 2019, we plan to turn that effort into client launches in new territories (and we already have a pipeline). Our goal is to have Altenar positioned among the top five sports betting providers in the industry within the next couple of years. I think we’re already close to that target.
