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EXCLUSIVE: EvenBet’s Julia Panina Shares Key Insights On Online Gaming

The recently concluded Gateway To Gaming (G2G) Expo 2022 saw professionals, experts and enthusiasts from fantasy, iGaming, casino, sports, and blockchain gaming industry come under one roof. The expo that ran from 11th to 12th November 2022 in Goa, had Gutshot Magazine as its proud media partner. And we made sure to get some crucial insights from the experts for our readers too. For this, we did an exclusive interview with EvenBet Gaming’s Head of Demand Generation, Julia Panina. Here, the top boss sheds light on aspects like growing the business in a field that is highly competitive, establishing a foothold in a diverse market like India, legality of online gaming, and much more.

Excerpts from the interview with Julia Panina…

What was your professional journey like before joining EvenBet?

My whole career path, which counts for about 24 years, was tightly connected with the telecommunication and IT verticals. For about half of my professional years, I worked in one of the biggest Russian telecommunication companies. Luckily, I was among the marketing pioneers, introducing mobile communication to the wide public. Due to my educational background, I always wanted to try working in the international market. Happy occurrence brought me to an American IT company that developed primarily personal finance software. It happened to be an 8-year ride.

I was the only marketing manager in the company, resulting in high organic traffic at the AppStore, bringing the app continuously to the list of top 5 leading apps in Russian, Mexican, and Brazilian stores, and getting good sales in the US and Chinese markets. When COVID-19 appeared out of nowhere, things changed. I happened to come across EvenBet Gaming. Honestly speaking, I knew nothing about poker. However, it was an IT company working in the international market. Moreover, I felt that we were in sync with the CEO of EvenBet, Dmitry Starostenkov.

As the Head of Demand Generation, what are the key things you look into in terms of onboarding clients for collaborations?

My major responsibility is to, firstly, learn what is the most precious in our product from the client’s point of view, and secondly, translate that perception into EvenBet’s marketing materials. For me, the most important thing in marketing is to speak the same language as the customer. What I mean here is not the country language, which, by no doubt, is also important, but giving the answers potential customers want to know in the first place.

ALSO READ: EvenBet Gaming Launches Teen Patti 

What attracted EvenBet to arrive in India? 

It’s been a few years since we started our journey in the Indian market. We came at the moment when the first state allowed games of skill. By that moment, we had already possessed a mature poker product with numerous game variations and a range of tournament types. Since then, many Indian operators, such as MPL, PokerSaint, 9stacks (and others), have trusted our platform. Meeting their demand, EvenBet has developed games specific to the Indian market.

Among them are Rummy (all types), Call Break, Big 2, and just released Teen Patti. It’s a safe bet that over 50% of online Indian skill game players use EvenBet software. We have also added many valuable features to the software and enriched the back-office with the necessary tools for the effective management of the online gaming business. EvenBet has awaited an event like G2G Expo for a long time.

What are EvenBet’s marketing / advertising efforts like?

I would say we focus primarily on two things. The first one is attending gaming exhibitions. You can meet EvenBet representatives at almost any gaming event taking place either in London, the US, Brazil, Colombia, Malta, Peru, Serbia, or you name the place. We have a very wide geography – over 130 projects launched worldwide. We find that it’s necessary to build personal relationships with potential customers and share our expertise in organizing the poker business in general.

The second focus is international PR. Again, you can find a wide range of articles on behalf of EvenBet in the worldwide known iGaming websites such as CasinoBeats, Focus Gaming News, Yogonet, and others. Sometimes we publish materials in the local media of a particular country as well.

What are the kind of challenges you face in terms of competition in the Indian market?

The main challenge for us still existing in India is regulation. Though, it’s unpredictable for any gaming business in this country. However, we have seen some positive signs at G2G Expo 2022. One of them was the speech of the GLI representative. The fact of opening this agency’s branch in Delhi makes me optimistic about the iGaming future in India, not to speak of the great potential of the many-million people market in the country.

ALSO READ: EvenBet Gaming Enters Indian Market With New Skill Game ‘Call Break’

In terms of legal status for online games, what kind of a resolution are you looking for from the Indian government?

I cannot in any way dictate to the Indian government their policy regarding online gaming in India. I do understand their concerns. I also admit that there is no single recipe for all the countries in the world. However, it’s recognized in the industry that, games like poker (skill games) are, firstly, much less risky concerning gambling addiction, and secondly, require special mathematical and analytical skills together with close observation. To demonstrate the second statement is enough to say that good chess players become good poker players as well.

EvenBet won the award for the best skill gaming platform…

I greatly appreciate the recognition of the EvenBet product in India at G2G Expo. It was a big honor to be the only foreign company raising the G2G Expo stage to receive an award. We are thankful to all our Indian partners for the productive collaboration. Also, we are looking forward to attending the G2G Expo next year.

With that it was a wrap on our conversation with Panina who believes that India has great potential with respect to becoming one of the strong forces to reckon with in the world of online gaming.

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