Looking Beyond The End Of Your Nose - Q&A With Yoni Sidi, CEO Of Wiztech Group

Looking Beyond The End Of Your Nose - Q&A With Yoni Sidi, CEO Of Wiztech Group

We spoke to Yoni Sidi, CEO of Wiztech Group, to find out why he believes it’s important to look at the technological progress being made in other sectors to drive innovation in the global online gambling industry.

What can technology and platform providers learn from other industries? Are there any sectors in particular that intersect with online gambling?

They can learn a lot. I’ve always believed it’s important to not only rely on the tried and tested approaches, models, systems and solutions in place and instead to look at what’s being done in other sectors. This is because some have evolved much faster than iGaming, so not only set a higher standard for us to aim for, but also provide a lot of lessons learned that we can benefit from.

Fintech is a great example here. Something that really caught my attention was the ability to solve customer issues in real time, and how the sector manages payment processing and data. This is an industry that deals with much larger transaction sizes than online gambling, so I was fascinated to see how companies handle customers not just in terms of initial conversion but also retention.

By looking into this, I could see that it’s common for fintech companies to adopt a knowledge base model when speaking to customers about their portfolios and the current state of the markets, which is something we have looked to integrate into the Wiztech platform.

Technology is often relied on to overcome complex challenges to deliver a seamless user experience, but how important is it for the technology itself to be easy to use?

Very, especially for online casino and sportsbook operators running multi-vertical, multi-market businesses around the clock. Time is precious, and we know that operators and their teams are often on the move, so they require a platform that is intuitive and easy to use, no matter where the user is.

At Wiztech, we believe the platform must reduce operational burdens and team stress, and absolutely not add to them. This is why we’ve kept things simple while also offering smart features such as alerts and complex back-office auditing tools. It’s also why we have embraced new and emerging technologies such as AI, machine learning and automation so that our platform can do even more of the heavy lifting, allowing our partners to focus on other aspects of the operation such as branding, marketing, personalisation and other factors that help them stand out from their rivals.

Just like the fintech world, iGaming is heavily regulated. What challenges – and opportunities – does this bring when it comes to technology?

Regulated markets are often tougher to crack simply because there are so many requirements to meet from a technology perspective. But in meeting those requirements, you emerge as a high-calibre business that ultimately attracts a much higher quality of customer – this actually applies to both B2B and B2C.

Being active in regulated markets also enhances a company’s credibility, which makes striking relationships, whether that be with payment providers, content houses, media companies, affiliates, etc or directly with customers, so much easier.

But for me, the greatest advantage to regulation is that frameworks and requirements are put in place with the sole purpose of protecting consumers and ensuring they remain in control of their play. And any reputable technology company should want to support that.

One of your biggest customers is Winpot, the hugely popular online casino for players in Mexico. What has made this partnership so successful?

I’d say it’s the combination of our powerful and sophisticated technology and the great team of people behind Winpot. They are incredibly proactive and have shared their tremendous insight of, and experience in, the Mexican market with us and this has allowed them to get the most out of our platform.

Winpot is an established land-based brand loved and trusted by players across Mexico, so being able to take this into the online space has been a real advantage for the team. Of course, they still need to deliver a superior player experience, and this is where the Wiztech platform has come into its own.

I think it’s fair to say that both parties have been a little taken a-back by the success Winpot has enjoyed in such a short space of time, but instead of putting the brakes on and trying to analyse this success, we’ve doubled down so that Winpot continues to take the fight to the power players, and the new brands entering the market, and ultimately take share away from them all.

Just how important will AI be in terms of shaping the future of technology in the iGaming industry?

It’s going to be revolutionary. At Wiztech, we are bullish on the AI opportunity and are already exploring the capabilities of the technology and how we can use it to improve our platform and the solutions we provide to our operator partners.

As I mentioned at the start, the iGaming industry has been slower to evolve than other sectors, but with AI, I think we can not only play catch-up but also get ahead of the curve. This includes things like AI chatbots and game recommendation engines, but also responsible gambling and player monitoring.

For me, AI’s influence on the sector is going to be profound, and at Wiztech, we are going to continue to pioneer it.