John Connelly

FINAL WORD 2021: Closing remarks

RavenTrack Managing Director Adam Rowley reflects on 2021 within iGaming, and looks ahead to 2022 for both operators and affiliates

What do operators and affiliates both have to look ahead to in 2022?

As much as video calling has been a welcome addition to the day-to-day running of the business, it will be a nice change to not have your own face staring back at you throughout

every call. With the advancements made in technology from both affiliates and providers, it’s also the ideal time to see these new products in the flesh. Next year will be our first real opportunity to showcase our platform to the wider iGaming space and we have some big plans, so watch this space.

So the one element myself and the team are really looking forward to in 2022 is getting back to face-to-face meetings, conferences and general networking events. It’s something that our industry thrives on and I am certain it is going to be a pivotal part of the industry continuing to grow.

How does RavenTrack reflect on the past year?

After such a challenging year through 2020 when the Covid-19 pandemic was in full swing, it would have been easy to have assumed 2021 was a time for recovery and taking a breather. As a lot of businesses can probably testify – that has certainly not been the case! It was important for us to build on the success we had in 2020 and I believe we have done that. The past year has been focused on gaining client feedback on our product/features and working together to not only improve, but also build new initiatives to provide further tools to increase the success of our clients.

We are lucky to have the infrastructure and technology in place to be flexible and work in multiple areas and industries, so another reflection of the past year is to always engage in new opportunities and potential new markets. Through this additional development, we also had the opportunity to grow our business further. Our team has increased by 40%, and we’re delighted with the talent and knowledge we have available to us.

How should the wider iGaming industry remember 2021?

I think the industry will remember 2021 as a tough but evolutionary year. In some ways, it has been more challenging than 2020 with the industry now beginning to move from being reactive to proactive.

When working in survival mode (as a lot of businesses had to do) in the early stages of the pandemic, a lot of plans were diverted to quick wins and ensuring revenues continued to be created. As we now begin to move out of the pandemic, it’s a time to reflect and re-engage with existing pipelines to ensure the industry remains intuitive.

Although there have been difficult periods, I do believe the pandemic has shown how entrepreneurial the iGaming industry is. Despite increased scrutiny and regulations,

we can see across the brands running on our platform that they are continuing to see success even with the increased legislations in place; and that’s down to all areas of the industry continuing to adapt and be forward-thinkers.

“ALTHOUGH THERE HAVE BEEN DIFFICULT PERIODS, I BELIEVE THE PANDEMIC HAS SHOWN HOW ENTREPRENEURIAL THE IGAMING INDUSTRY IS” - Adam Rowley

If there was one thing 2021 provided that the gambling industry could avoid in 2022, what would it be?

Again, I wouldn’t say this is specific to our industry; however, the necessity to continue developing your products has never been more appropriate than after this last 18 months. I would also encourage affiliates, providers and operators to reach out to any partner technology they are using and discuss additional features or ways to improve the technology being used.

We as a company continue to engage with our clients into recommending new features, improvements or general discussions about our platform as it is beneficial to both ourselves and the clients we have on board.