QTech Games – Exclusive Op-ed ahead of SBC Summit Rio with David Camacho, Account Manager for LatAm markets at QTech Games
QTech Games is all packed and set for the SBC Summit Rio this week. In only its second year, it has already become Brazil’s largest industry event, with last year’s inaugural edition surpassing 4,000 delegates, precipitating its move to a new, much bigger home this February at Riocentro Convention Centre, which covers an area of 50,000 square metres and will host over 15,000 delegates.
International opportunity
LatAm, of course, maps a wider patchwork quilt of potential breakout markets that remain rich with possibilities and present us with opportunities to build on our international expansion. And naturally, given the location, Brazil’s unfolding landscape will be front of mind for many at SBC Summit Rio. However, we’ll also be looking beyond Brazilian borders this year and are already active in Mexico, Chile, Colombia and Paraguay.
Just take Colombia, the first LatAm country to specifically regulate online gambling back in 2016, it remains a progressive jurisdiction with widely permitted product and a moderate tax regime. It’s an increasingly attractive market which grew 20% last year, with several new high-profile entrants, including Kaizen and Stake, who will now compete against a host of established local champions. On the other hand, let’s have a look at Mexico, where Caliente has long been the dominant operator, alongside the likes of Playdoit who are more casino-focussed. Between them, they would currently have over 90% market share – and Caliente would clearly control the lion’s share of that cake. Still, considering Caliente operate their own TV channel and sponsor 13 or 18 Liga MX football teams, perhaps that’s hardly surprising! Yet, even here, there’s huge scope and no-one is warding off an international assault nor the continued growth of less established local operators. In short, wherever you set your scene, this is a continent where no leadership position can be taken for granted, at least in terms of market share.
To which end, you’ll find me and the QTech Games team present and five tradeshows in 2025, with SiGMA Sao Paulo (7 April); GAT Expo Cartagena (28 April); SBC Americas (13 May); GAT Expo Mexico (28 Aug) still to come. Reach out to me directly to book a meeting or request a demo of what our platform can do for you.
Innovation for the market
Making it in this evolving ecosystem requires agile strategizing, coupled to tech innovation, and happily these are two cornerstone philosophies of QTech Games which have enabled us to grow our footprint from being the number-one aggregator in Asia to becoming the leading game distributor for emerging markets worldwide. Our latest innovation on the tech front has been the launch of QTech Hybrid, which is now affording players in LatAm a seamless switch from traditional retail to digital and back again. QTech Hybrid is a software service that joins up QTech Games’ online lobby, a land-based (retail) management system, and a state-of-the-art integrated AMS (Agent Management System) to manage both retail outlets and agents. This allows operators to scale their brick-and-mortar operation online. QTech Hybrid simplifies transactions by enabling deposits, withdrawals, and gameplay while allowing access to players both in-store and on personal devices.
For the player, the net result is that they can now enjoy all the games from the comfort of their own home, or on the move. QTech Hybrid offers a new style of gameplay, allowing players the option to play at physical terminals or on their mobile devices and seamlessly transfer their progress across multiple devices. And for the operator, there now no need for expensive terminals, as QTech Hybrid runs on cost-effective computers/tablets. In short, It’s ideal for operators looking to extend their reach across multiple platforms, providing the flexibility to operate both land-based and online through the AMS. And that’s precisely the multi-channel model which LatAm has been crying out for.
Indeed, we’ve already rolled out QTech Hybrid to immediate acclaim in Africa (a fragmented territory with many similarities to LatAm) where we won two notable gongs for innovation and best online casino provider at the 2024 Sports Betting East Africa Awards. And this hybrid solution is also now live with a new client in Chile which is great to see. It’s another instructive proving ground for the LatAm market in a country which is now making great strides in gaming after years of inactivity.
Significantly, QTech Hybrid now integrates QTech Games’ leading casino software with terminal hardware, allowing seamless gameplay between mobile and terminal devices – and runs efficiently on affordable computers and tablets, eliminating the need for expensive terminals and enhancing omnichannel scalability for operators.
New Tech demands a new Tech Hub
Towards the end of 2024, we also established a breakthrough Tech Hub in Malaga on the south coast of Spain. Its initial aim is to establish two key operational units (a Connect Team to facilitate supplier integrations; and a QTech Hybrid Team to support our aforementioned retail solution) to drive software development and bolster services for its global partners. This exciting hub brings additional capacity to QTech Games’ tech function, aligning for better connectivity with existing teams based across Asia, Europe and Hispanic markets in LatAm.
It will also allow us to ramp up our tech org more quickly and cement the foundation to ensure we always stays ahead of any innovative trends or requirements in technology. Malaga itself ranks among Spain’s safest and most desirable in which to live. The move also demonstrates our commitment to building on our stable base by innovating and staying ahead of the market trends for our partners. And we are investing in this hub to ensure we are constantly delivering cutting-edge tech as a key part of our overarching strategy to remain at the forefront of new technology, innovation and new product development. On the personnel side, we’ve also assembled a crack customer service team of Spanish and Portuguese speakers, who can provide fluent solutions to customer queries in record time.
What sets QTech Games apart
All of these innovations and new foundations would be for nothing, however, were it not for our underlying proprietary platform and a willingness to work in genuine collaboration with all our partners, no matter their size, to achieve mutual goals. Constant dialogue and responsiveness allow us to organically enhance our platform in ways that generate palpable gains and create diversified revenue streams. What works in one market won’t necessarily work in another, even if it’s next-door. So, collaboration is essential for capitalising on specific market demands and embracing innovations that drive growth (e.g. local data that empowers our fine-grained recommendation engine; or rolling out a four-window interface for engagement) while also negotiating evolving technical challenges.
In short, we’re always trying to improve our platform’s functionalities to optimise performance. And by gathering, observing, and refining raw data, we can identify and capitalise on emerging trends. Effective collaboration also involves understanding the relationships within the data and developing strategic plans to action and take advantage of those insights.
At the end of the day, by way of comparison, we are now generating more revenues for both the providers and operators than anyone else on the market. This affords us a unique position relative to our competitors and moves the aggregation game away from often getting embroiled in ongoing discussions about the rates.
Elsewhere, we’ve also added new languages to our website – French to cover the francophone countries of Africa, while we have also now Brazilian-Portuguese alongside our existing Spanish capacity for LatAm.
Core competencies
When bidding to stay ahead in the shifting slots landscape, QTech Games has typically advised our game-studio partners around three core tenets:
Synchronicity: focus more on creating cohesiveness in games and ensuring that the value proposition as a whole is well-communicated through the features we decide to utilise.
Leadership & support: QTech Games is constantly encouraging game developers to evolve and change as we learn more about the industry and what works, what doesn’t, and in which markets. After all, cultural preferences, not to mention regulation, speak specifically to the games our platform promotes in any given region.
Volatility: augment and vary the volatility spectrum. Many games offer quite similar experiences from a maths-modelling perspective. QTech Games’ broad suite of games leverages varied maths models to broaden their appeal to different players in diverse markets.
Volatility has perhaps been the biggest emphasis in recent history, though, due to a seemingly insatiable quest for the big win. More on that below, including crash games whose universal popularity is scaling new heights in LatAm. However, it is always wise to remember that hard-gambling, almost binary, volatility cannot forever be the chosen course. It’s not responsible, nor sustainable for most. And in any case, any igaming trend is like a pendulum: it’s going to swing back in compensation once it goes so far in one direction, making more room for those who want lighter-hearted “fun” in their gambling experience, more visible RTP so that your dollar, or real, lasts longer, alongside some clear and well-structured bonuses.
Crash Games
The rise and rise of crash games has been led by Spribe across developing territories, but above all across LatAm and Africa. Must-have market pacesetter, Aviator, perhaps provided the catalytic moment in what has quickly become a vital segment of any operator’s igaming portfolio. This niche domain routinely punches above its weight and has almost become its own mini-vertical.
Needless to say, the innovation and popularity behind crash games stems from a unique user experience to other games inasmuch as it is interactive. Accordingly, players have become active participants, and have to make a decision to cash out at the right time. This offers a feeling of control and provides a mixed betting and video-slot experience which has appeals to all demographics but particularly millennials.
These games combine engaging aspects of video games and social gaming alongside “smart” gamification features, making for a deeper, more immersive journey. Indeed, the shared communal aspect of watching a crash game unfold and deciding or debating the optimal time to cashout generates vicarious kicks and excitement for anyone watching, enhancing the overall experience. Elsewhere, well-curated gamification features, such as live leaderboards and rewards, boost online “hangtime” and foster friendly competition between friends and even perfect strangers.
This fast-game format is no craze with a limited phase. Instead, it will thrive, not just survive, thanks to its quick-fire thrills that satisfy audiences demanding something different from your traditional slot titles. Consequently, at QTech Games, we moved swiftly to keep our portfolio in the vanguard of this relentless industry demand. We now have 15 such providers with their own unique takes on this niche. And even in early 2025, we’ve already gone live with more, spearheaded by Aviatrix – we’re always adding something fresh. To which end, on the Aviatrix release, we also launched an exciting multi-provider crash game tournament series for our operator partners and their customers, who were hyper-engaged by the diverse selection on offer.
QTech Games is all about offering our operator partners and their players the best entertainment experience, and these games combine the enthralling graphics of video games and social media with “smart” gamification features, making for a deeper, more immersive journey. But exciting gameplay coupled with pure playability is invariably the key. And by combining video-game-level visuals with the latest maths models for improved gameplay that hits the right end of the volatility spectrum, this fresh format of risk is here to stay in the digital gaming space, and also offers cross-sell opportunities between sportsbook and icasino, especially after the success of the Copa America last summer, and the ongoing domestic campaigns across this football-mad continent.
Even in this newly-regulating space, crash games have already firmly bedded in – led by Aviator and Mines which represent roughly 50% of all casino revenues in Brazil. That’s a staggering stat which again underscores the opportunity. However, one last factor in this riveting crash games story will be how such games are influencing slot innovation (you guessed it, they already are), and even the land-based migration to retail to opportunity. It’s also important where you set your scene, especially in emerging markets where more niche versions need to be designed in order to attract regions prioritising low data consumption and lightweight operations, alongside features including auto-betting and cashout options.
