“Comtrade aims to be the platform of choice and a benchmark in quality games in Brazil”
With the recently launched CG Games division, Comtrade Gaming has also entered the development of its own games, in addition to already operating in emerging markets such as Brazil, where it has obtained certifications. Steven Valentine, CCO, is betting on innovation, partnerships with major operators, and the use of artificial intelligence to strengthen responsible gaming, consolidating the company as a global reference in iGaming.
GMB - Comtrade Gaming recently launched the CG Games division. What were the main challenges faced in creating this new unit, and how does it align with the company's global strategy?
Steven Valentine - There are actually a lot of challenges, and it was harder than I had imagined. Making games is fairly straight forward. We had a long history of that building games for other companies, so we already had that part covered. The difficult part is scaling the reach of your games.
The space has never been more crowded, and operators are bombarded with new providers every month. Then even when you have operators wanting your games the process of actually getting them live is a long one!
Brazil has been an important focus for Comtrade Gaming. How is the company adapting its solutions to meet the specific demands of the Brazilian market, especially with the new regulations?
When it comes to Brazil, like many we are still finding our feet. We have gained certification for our games. We have some experience there already as our platform has been licensed there since January and we have live operators using that. We are just starting with our games, but we are pleased to say we have a couple of the biggest operators lined up to take our content.
What are Comtrade's goals in Brazil?
We have two main goals for Brazil. To be the platform provider of choice and to be a recognized provider of quality games. We have been in business for over 20 years and have already achieved great success. We don't need to conquer Brazil in year 1, we will be there for many years.
Comtrade Gaming has established partnerships with local and international operators. How have these collaborations contributed to the company's growth in Latin America?
We are fortunate to work with some of the biggest named operators. These operators are known globally. Our Latam journey is really just starting, but working with such big names gives us a lot of credibility when we are talking to local companies in new jurisdictions.
The iCore platform is central to Comtrade Gaming's services. What are the differentiators of this platform compared to other solutions available on the market?
iGaming platform is definitely our specialty and accounts for over 90% of our business. What differentiates us from other solutions is our attention to detail and our individual client focus.
For most vendors it's a numbers game, in how many operators they want to onboard. We are more interested in helping operators with their numbers, we are totally focused on their growth.
Many operators face challenges when migrating to new platforms. How does Comtrade Gaming facilitate this process to ensure a smooth and efficient transition?
Expertise and experience that is the key. We have specialist teams that handle migrations. Every client we onboard has a dedicated team that ensures a migration is done properly.
The majority of clients we take on our migrations, there are many other providers for startup operators, we specialize in helping existing operators realize their own ambitions.
With its entry into game development, how is Comtrade Gaming innovating to deliver unique experiences to players?
This is very hard indeed, initially we have focused on building high quality games, but I wouldn't say they have been innovative. We had to establish ourselves with a good catalog and believe we have now done that.
We are currently working on a new game concept that will be truly innovative and I haven't seen anything like it on the market. We hope to be bringing that out in early 2026, we just operators and players like it!
How is Comtrade Gaming preparing to meet different regulations in emerging markets such as Brazil, Malta, and the United Kingdom?
For us, regulation is the easy part. We are a very technical company, a regulator sets the rules, and we implement them. We achieved Brazil certification on our platform within 6 weeks of starting.
There is very little we haven't seen around the world; the difficult part is when it isn't clearly defined. Which is still the case for some areas in Brazil.
What trends do you believe will shape the future of iGaming in the coming years, and how is Comtrade Gaming positioning itself to lead in this space?
With iGaming, it's typically more of the same, new markets regulating and operators trying to establish themselves or win greater market share. Either via organic growth or M&A.
The vendor space is far too crowded, and many companies are losing money, that can't continue forever. So I expect to see some big-name vendors having to scale back and live within their means or sell up as their investors want out.
The biggest change from our perspective though is AI. AI will shape how we develop products, and it will help streamline operator operations as they look for greater efficiency.
How does Comtrade Gaming incorporate responsible gaming practices into its platforms and products?
This used to be based on modeling and algorithms, but now we have already developed true AI prediction tools for this. We can tell very quickly from player actions how likely a player is to become a problem gambler, and our AI tool can also advise on the best action to take.ve
Source: Exclusive GMB
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English version: “Comtrade aims to be the platform of choice and a benchmark in quality games in Brazil” - Games Magazine Brasil