Mexico: A Market with Opportunities for Ready Play Gaming

"Mexico is especially interesting to me because it is a market with a long history in gaming, where operators with a very strong track record in retail and a digital operation that continues to evolve coexist. That makes the conversations different: you're not getting to explain what the online casino is, you're talking to companies that know the player very well and are pretty clear about what they expect from a provider."

That's why my goal at SiGMA was very specific. I wanted to understand what is working today within their casinos, where they are seeing room for new formats and, above all, what a provider needs to have to become a relevant partner and not simply another name within a catalog."

The evolution of content offerings in casinos

"For Ready Play it was also an opportunity to show a proposal that goes beyond the traditional slot. We have slots, bingo and casual games, and I was especially interested in seeing the reaction of Mexican operators to faster and different formats.

And there was one thing I really liked about the meetings: several conversations quickly went from "show me the games" to "how do we integrate." For someone who works in business development, that difference speaks volumes."

"I think we're entering a stage where the problem is no longer getting content. Content is superfluous. An operator may have thousands of games available, and even then, a relatively small portion ends up concentrating a large part of the player's attention.

So the conversation is changing. The question is no longer just "how many games do you have?", but "what do you have that can work with my players and what are you going to do to make that content visible?

That's where I see one of the most interesting changes for suppliers. It is no longer enough to integrate, deliver the games and wait for results.

Product, distribution and commercial strategy have to work much more together".

Casual games and new experiences for players

"I also see room for formats that break the traditional casino navigation a bit. The player is used to increasingly immediate digital experiences, and casual games fit very well into this evolution: easy-to-understand rules, quick sessions and a different experience from the traditional slot.

For Ready Play this is especially relevant because we do not depend on a single vertical. Slots, bingo and casual games allow us to work on different player profiles and, above all, to talk with each operator about what can work within their own audience instead of offering exactly the same formula to everyone.

And there is another point that for me is fundamental: speed. In this industry, a good opportunity can lose strength if too many months pass between the commercial conversation, the contract, the integration and the go-live. I increasingly value the structures that allow you to have a good conversation and quickly turn it into a product available to the player."

From business contact to game integration

Finally, what do you take away from this edition of SiGMA North America: a new business opportunity, a strategic contact, an idea to develop or a trend that could impact the company?

"I take business. But, above all, I take away conversations that advanced much more than I expected. Some meetings that began talking about product ended up talking about integration, distribution and concrete next steps, and for me that is the best result that a fair can leave.

I also take away very valuable information. When you have several meetings with operators and platforms in the industry in a few days, you start to identify patterns: what they are asking for, what they are struggling to find, what formats arouse interest and where there are problems that are not yet well resolved.

That information is as important as closing a deal, because it comes back with us to Ready Play and helps us decide where to put the commercial focus and also what feedback to pass on to the product team.

Mexico also confirmed something important for our strategy: there is room for new providers, but entering a casino is no longer enough. The real challenge is getting the content to work once it's in.

That's why, for me, the work after SiGMA is even more important than the fair. Now it's time to turn those conversations into contracts, the signatures into integrations, and the integrations into live games.

That's where a business opportunity really becomes business."