Interview with Global Gaming Insider and Steven Valentine
Steven Valentine, Comtrade Gaming’s Chief Commercial Officer, joins Global Gaming Insider to discuss AI and why success in today’s industry is not about chasing every new content trend…
How is Comtrade Gaming's strategy developing in 2026 - have there been any major pivots or is it more about consistency?
From my perspective as CCO, 2026 isn’t about a dramatic pivot for Comtrade Gaming, it’s about disciplined execution of a strategy we’ve been refining over several years. We’ve always positioned ourselves as a premium platform and technology provider rather than trying to be everything to everyone, and that hasn’t changed. What has evolved is the clarity of where we win. We’re doubling down on regulated markets and helping established operators make that next step in their growth. Operators greatly benefit from our long-term partnership approach, where our flexibility and technical depth genuinely differentiate us. As a privately owned company, it’s always about continuation for us, with even sharper focus. The industry has matured; clients' profits are under pressure due to the trend of tax increases and maximising lifetime player values has never been more important, and that plays directly to our strengths.
Product and design wise, how much is AI changing Comtrade Gaming's processes?
On the product and design side, AI is absolutely having an impact, but probably not in the way the hype cycle suggests. We’re not replacing core platform logic with AI, nor are operators asking for that. Where AI is genuinely transformative is in process optimisation and personalisation layers. Internally, it’s improving how we develop, test, and deploy, everything from smarter QA automation to accelerating integration timelines. Externally, it’s enhancing player engagement through better segmentation, recommendation engines, and real-time CRM triggers. The key is that AI sits on top of a very robust, deterministic platform. If your core architecture isn’t solid, AI just amplifies the noise. So for us, it’s an enabler rather than a replacement. The operators we work with want control, transparency, and compliance and AI needs to fit that framework, not disrupt it.
New/different verticals are changing the industry in 2026 - we have slots streaming, prediction markets and sports/casino hybrids. How do you view the trend towards developing new and different gaming content?
When it comes to new and emerging verticals, whether that’s slots streaming, prediction markets, or hybrid products that blur the lines between sportsbook and casino I see this as a natural evolution of the industry rather than a revolution. Innovation in content and engagement is essential, particularly as younger demographics come into the space with very different expectations. However, not every trend translates into a scalable, regulated, and commercially viable product. Our role as a platform provider is to enable experimentation without compromising stability. That means giving operators the tools to plug in new content types, test them, and scale what works. The real opportunity and our role isn’t in building these verticals ourselves, but in being the infrastructure that allows our partners to capitalise on them efficiently. In that sense, flexibility and open architecture are more important than chasing every new content trend.
How big is the World Cup for Comtrade Gaming? Given your specialism is not in sports, how big is the acquisition opportunity?
The World Cup is always a major moment for the industry, and 2026 will be no exception. Even though our core products isn’t sportsbook, the acquisition and engagement uplift that comes from a global event of that scale is significant across the entire ecosystem and ultimately the platfrom has to handle the load, all bets and settlement hit the wallet in the platform. What we typically see is a halo effect-players acquired through sports often cross-sell into casino, and that’s where we play a critical role. For our operator partners, the challenge is not just acquisition but retention-how you convert that spike in traffic into long-term value. That’s where our platform, bonusing tools, and player lifecycle management capabilities come into play. So while we’re not directly competing in the sports vertical, we’re very much part of the value chain during events like the World Cup, supporting operators in maximising the opportunity.
Finally, which regional markets will be the most significant for Comtrade Gaming this year - and why?
Regionally, 2026 is shaping up to be another pivotal year. Europe has always been a strong market for us, but with the new client migrations we currently have in progress, we will enter at least 5 new markets in the region.
We have also signed clients with operations in Ontario and they have plans to enter Alberta. We don’t cherry-pick when it comes to specific markets; if we work with an operator, we will support them in all jurisdictions they want to enter.
Operators in Europe are looking to modernise legacy systems and improve efficiency, which aligns well with our modular, API-driven approach. And then there are emerging opportunities in markets like Africa, where mobile-first adoption and regulatory progress are creating new openings, albeit with different commercial dynamics.
So overall, the theme for us in 2026 is focus. Focus on the right partners and the right product investments. The industry will continue to evolve-new content, new technologies, new regulations, but the fundamentals haven’t changed. Operators need reliable, flexible, and scalable platforms to compete effectively. They also need a partner that consistently delivers on what they promise. Unfortunately, this is quite often lacking when it comes to platform companies, but that is where we benefit, and where our clients benefit the most when they have found us.
Interview originally featured in Global Gaming Insider. Read the full interview here.