Originally published on SBCNews.
Operators are continuing to find new ways to both keep up with and adapt to a rapidly changing technology landscape, explained Darko Gacov, Founding Partner at Singular Group. But one of the main challenges for suppliers at the minute is developing encaptivating features which give them the edge over others.
SBC: In recent years there has been a big focus placed upon industry innovation, how has Singular capitalised on this?
In the last period, with the increase in competition, the frequent regulatory changes and the need for growth, technology is taking a key position in creating a success story. This is resulting in the big operators trying to experiment and find ways to break from their legacy technology so that their solutions can follow the pace of their growth and marketing efforts.
We have placed a big focus on innovation ever since the company came into existence back in 2009. One thing that might not be widely known, Singular was the pioneer of the nonstop bet feature which opened the gates towards the creation of bet builder and edit-bet features in the industry.
We have continued to innovate and experiment on many levels, starting with technology stacks, continuing with products and features. Our primary reason is giving our clients an edge over the competition in their respective markets. We work closely with our clients dedicated to their growth which can sometimes lead to innovation motivated by them.
The latest development is our 4th generation Sportsbook platform that will be unparalleled and includes a new design, player journey and a lot of encaptivating features. Even though the third 3rd gen sportsbook is an astounding product which has given huge value to our clients, we can’t stop there.
SBC: Can you tell SBC readers about Singular’s journey to becoming one of the top 10 Casino Tech Solution Providers for 2019?
Deep in its DNA, Singular has always been and continues to be a tech company. In the first two years of the company formation, starting in 2009, Singular was working in two industries. One was the banking industry where the company was creating core and mobile banking systems and even though unrelated, social media gaming was the second one.
In 2011, the company started shifting towards the iGaming industry. The main motivation was the cooperation with Adjarabet. We saw a challenge in an industry where there was a lot of legacy and knew that if we are innovative and focused on delivering the best iGaming experience, we can do some ripples in the industry. Having the determination to do so, over the next few years, without any legacy or technical debt, we designed different iGaming solutions which were enabling and supporting the growth of Adjarabet.
By 2014 we designed, developed and delivered the different product verticals constituting a 360-degree iGaming solution. It was then when we understood that we have attracted the interest of some major international players since one of the leading companies in the iGaming industry approached us with the intent to acquire Singular. This was an affirmation to push even harder since delivering an iGaming solution is not a destination, but a perpetual process which requires reinvention, innovation, and constant improvement.
SBC: What new components do you have lined up for 2019 to keep pace with the most powerful and feature-rich platforms on the market?
This year we aimed to give operators the tools that will equip their traders with insight for more effective risk management (RM) and empower their marketing team to deliver more efficient marketing campaigns. We created an ultimate synergy between our segmentation and recommendation engines and the marketing and RM tools that create a strong gravitational force that attracts, engages, and retains players ultimately maximizing their LTV.
As I mentioned before, the Sportsbook generation 4 is soon to be released which will take user experience to the next level with some bold moves. The solution will take in-play first approach, automatically adapting to each player’s needs and creating a personalized game experience, based on players’ activities and interaction patterns with the platform.
One of the points that further differentiates Singular’s Sportsbook is the control center with its match-centric focus. Bookmakers can apply configurations on match level giving them full control over the players’ betting lifecycle. This empowers our clients with the tools and knowledge to significantly optimize both their offering and their margins in the long run.
SBC: Has Singular identified any emerging markets that it wishes to target in the coming year?
Not only that we have identified an emerging market, but that emerging market has also identified us, which to admit is the best possible scenario. The market or better said markets in question is the United States, or some states in particular. We are hoping to share some good news out in regards to Singular and US during the course of next year.
SBC: How important is a well visualised sportsbook experience in complementing data feeds, number of markets etc?
It is crucial and that cruciality will be increasing over time. When it comes to the number of markets, there is a growing demand by the operators, but we are still looking at 80/20 rate, 80% of the players, 20% of the markets used. However, it is very important to have a holistic product, tailored to both the market and the players. Again, the flexibility to combine and switch between different data feeds is proving to be essential, as we predicted when we were originally designing the architecture of the solution.
Internally we have what we call Data Fees Service module (DFS). This module supports the integration and utilization of any data feed point in any way. In essence one can have one data feed as primary, second data feed as complementary and third data feed as supplementary. Of course this is not the limit, as in essence our operators get to choose how many data feed points they want to use and to what extent. This expands operators coverage and diversifies their offer which ultimately creates a more engaging experience for the players.
SBC: How has the changing level of demand for a digital product worked towards Singular’s advantage?
As stated in the beginning, Singular has always been a tech company that prioritized quality over quantity. One thing that has truly empowered our growth is the solid foundation in modularity and flexibility. Nurturing that flexibility of our solutions by creating different modules that can be integrated and combined in a flexible manner has given us an edge over the competition.
Particularly, in the dynamic market of today where both operators’ and players’ demands are constantly changing. On top, we have an accelerated change in market regulations which poses as a first-mover advantage. For Singular, the faster the demands are changing – the higher the competitive advantage we have.
