Dave Hickey: Where are the Next Big Opportunities in 2025? 

Dave Hickey, WA.Technology Commercial Director 

iGaming Express Interview

Which markets do you envisage the biggest opportunities for growth in the rapidly evolving iGaming space?   

WA.Technology primarily focuses on frontier markets - this is where we truly shine. One market that is particularly important to us is Brazil. From 1 January 2025, the whole landscape in Brazil has changed entirely, with operators and suppliers now required to navigate new regulations.  

This will be complex as brands will not only need to ensure that they are compliant with new requirements, but with fewer brands, the competition will be even more fierce. As a result, the way in which operators interact with players will be totally different, too. I envisage player engagement and retention will be a major focus in the next twelve months. 

The regulation of the Brazilian market has been highly anticipated by the wider industry; I am exceptionally proud of the work that our team has carried out to ensure we have been ready for this opportunity from day one of the market going live. They have done a fantastic job in ensuring that we are compliant with the new regulations introduced by Brazil’s regulator and that we are well-positioned to provide comprehensive support to our existing partners, as well as prospective clients who may be looking to enter this nascent, highly valuable market. 

Looking at the wider Latam region, there are huge opportunities for growth in Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru. These markets have certainly piqued our interest. We are very excited to see what opportunities they will hold over the next few months. 

Africa is also going to be a major focus for WA.Technology. But we cannot treat this as one homogenous region; each individual market across the continent is unique. Regulations and player preferences in Tanzania are very different to those in Kenya, for example. 

We have a team in Africa that allows us to stay informed on the trends taking place across the region; we are getting to know each country in much greater detail, which gives us better insights to refine our products to local partners across the region.  

Are there certain products or verticals that you believe will be a focal point over the next 12 months? 

On the sports side, we’ve seen an industry shift towards player props markets. Bet Builder revolutionised the sports betting industry, and with our Pick’Em Player Props, we hope to take that one step further. We’re seeing a greater focus on recreational, social-led betting, and I think our Pick’Em Player Props is the perfect product to complement that. 

Pick’Em Player Props is already hugely popular with our partners. It offers an exciting hybrid of player props and fantasy sports. For operators, this can also be plugged into their existing website as a standalone or as an addition to our platform.  

On the casino side, I think everyone wants to know what the next ‘crash game’ will be. Crash games have been a major disruptor in the casino space; they blend simplicity with a highly engaging experience that players seem to love. We are seeing a lot of correlations between casino games and mobile gaming. Games studios are taking much more inspiration from mobile gaming, as we’ve seen with games that require a few taps or those that are highly gamified.  

In 2025, we will create plenty more exciting and innovative products in-house across our revamped platform. So, stay tuned for some exciting new developments!  

What trends or shifts in the iGaming industry are most influencing your strategic priorities?    

I think the most influential factor will be market developments and regulations. To ensure that we’re ready to capitalise on these new markets, we will develop more features and products in-house and streamline the integration process. This will remove the technical burden for our partners, allowing them to focus on what they do best: engaging with players.  

By fine-tuning our products and adding functionalities such as biometric identification to our platform, we can ensure that our partners can meet the specifications of each market they enter.  

There are some key questions that will certainly influence our strategy in 2025: Are we operationally ready to enter a new region? Do we need to refine or fine-tune our products to meet the compliance requirements? What do our clients want/need from us in those regions?  

It’s futile for any gambling brand to enter a new region if it can’t meet the regulatory standards set by each regulator. If we take Brazil as an example, this means carrying out many different integrations, achieving the GLI certification, and ensuring we meet the highest possible regulatory standards. We managed to achieve that, and even better, we are powering two of the fifteen groups that received full authorisation to enter the Brazilian market! 

These legislative developments hugely influence our company roadmap, as they should. Often, gambling companies focus on introducing the new ‘shiny’ product, but that’s not much use if you’re not set up to operate in a particular region. Fortunately, we’ve achieved both – we offer innovative products while also providing a solid foundation for our partners to expand their global footprint. 

What can you tell us about WA.Technology’s plans for 2025? Where will the company be focusing its attention?    

We’ve already hit one major milestone for 2025: entering Brazil. I’m very proud of what we have already achieved there, and I believe we will continue to foster a solid network of partners across Brazil as the market continues to open up. Our reputation for excellence, local knowledge, and best-in-class technology puts us in a prime position for success in 2025. 

In the next 12 months, we will make big moves in Mexico. We have three partners launching there in Q1, with more planned for later in the year. 

We also have partners ready to go live in Africa. For this region, we need to take market dynamics into account, from payment methods to technical specifications and player preferences.  

Each country presents a different challenge, but our boots-on-the-ground knowledge and extensive experience in this region are helping us stay in tune with local trends.   

As the industry continues to become more saturated, how does WA.Technology plan to remain ahead of the curve?   

The iGaming industry has certainly changed over the last few years, with many more platform providers flooding the market – most of whom are offering very similar products. But what sets WA.Technology apart from the crowd is our laser focus on building long-lasting relationships and providing unmatched support to our partners. 

We don’t see the operators using our platform as clients; we see them as partners. We are there for every step of their growth journey into new markets, and their feedback enables us to refine our platform, ultimately creating the most localised, personalised products.  

Our team draws upon our extensive experience in each market to help our partners navigate regulatory changes, better understand player preferences, and adapt their offerings to capitalise on new trends. 

Technology has also been a key defining factor for us. Over the last 12 months, we have been finetuning our product suite and upgrading our platform to ensure we deliver the best possible experience for our partners.  

We offer a full spectrum of iGaming solutions, all under one roof. Spanning sports, casino, affiliation and fantasy sports, as well as our flagship turnkey WA.Platform, we have all the tools to take our partners’ business to the next level. That, I believe, is something that really sets us apart from the crowd

Read the full interview at iGaming Express.

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