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Itai Zak, Executive Director of iGaming at Digicode and former CEO of SBTech, the tier-one sportsbook and technology provider acquired by DraftKings in 2019, also serves as CEO of Gemstone Interactive, a boutique solutions partner for iGaming operators. A veteran executive and long-time advocate of player-first innovation, he offers a sharp look into the future of iGaming. With a history of guiding major brands through expansion and transformation, Zak is not someone who follows trends for the sake of activity. In his view, the real battleground for long-term growth is not how many markets an operator enters but how deeply they engage in the ones they already serve. His question to operators is direct and strategic: Where are you truly winning, and why?
Let’s explore the deep-market strategy powering sustainable growth, blending financial realism, adaptive tech, and real-time personalization into a focused vision that favors precision over presence.
Why Global-First Is Losing Ground
Just a few years ago, a successful operator was often defined by their geographic footprint. Launching in multiple regions created the illusion of momentum. But today, market saturation, regulatory fragmentation, and rising player expectations are exposing the limitations of this model.
Itai Zak explains that, “Europe was once a centralized opportunity. Today, it’s ten different countries with ten different frameworks.” From a compliance and cost perspective, this has created operational bottlenecks. Each jurisdiction now requires bespoke workflows, regulatory reporting, responsible gaming oversight, and even tailored user experiences.
Worse, players have evolved. A “universal” interface or product no longer works across markets. In emerging territories such as Brazil and India, success depends heavily on how well an operator adapts to cultural preferences, local payment systems, and region-specific content.
The Rise of Deep-Market Strategy
What we’re witnessing is a strategic shift from volume-based growth to depth-based dominance. There are 4 main drivers behind this pivot:
1. Fragmented Regulation Requires Granular Commitment
The days of a single gaming license acting as a passport are over. Today, compliance is not just about legality; it’s about infrastructure. Operators must build and maintain localized compliance engines to keep up with rapidly evolving standards. “What works in Sweden will likely fail in the Netherlands. Operators need dedicated regulatory teams per region.”
2. Player Experience Is Hyperlocal by Default
Consumer expectations are shaped by local context. Nordic players prefer richer desktop UIs and immersive casino features. In contrast, Indian players expect mobile-first simplicity and local payment flows like UPI. LATAM regions are seeing explosive growth, but only for operators who integrate payment rails like PIX and deliver Spanish/Portuguese-tailored content.
Uniformity no longer means scalability; it means irrelevance.
3. Efficiency Beats Vanity Expansion
There’s a growing recognition that it’s better to be exceptional in one market than average in many. Deep-market strategy prioritizes:
- Higher Lifetime Value (LTV)
- Increased retention
- Lower Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)
- Improved regulatory predictability
4. Retention Is the New Growth Lever
Global growth might bring short-term user acquisition, but retention requires local trust, familiarity, and relevance. The deeper your market understanding, the more likely you are to convert players into loyal customers.
Is Global Expansion Dead?
Not quite. What’s emerging is a hybrid model – global infrastructure combined with hyperlocal execution.
Basically, this dual-layered approach is “a shared chassis with localized controls.” Operators need scalable back-end platforms – compliance engines, CRM systems, bonus engines, but allow for front-end freedom. Local marketing, payment, and content teams execute based on what actually works on the ground.
In practice, this means:
- Platform consistency at the core (RGS, risk, KYC, CRM)
- Market-specific UX/UI, payment flows, and offers
- Country-level dashboards to monitor local KPIs
- Flexible brand architecture to launch sub-brands per market
Knowing When to Deepen vs. Expand
There is a straightforward framework to determine whether it’s time to grow outward or dig deeper:
Expand if:
- You’ve fully optimized LTV in your current markets
- Your infrastructure can absorb additional regulatory complexity
- You have access to local partners or brands in the new region
Deepen if:
- Your retention or conversion metrics are below industry benchmarks
- There’s untapped potential in localized features or payment integrations
- Local competitors are outperforming despite a smaller reach
This lens helps operators avoid reactive expansion and instead invest where sustainable growth is most likely.
The Digicode Approach: Local Autonomy, Central Control
At Digicode, we’ve seen this shift firsthand. The operator clients are no longer asking for “just another multilingual skin.” They’re asking for:
- Modular platforms that can launch and manage multiple brands with independent rulesets
- Configurable compliance per market
- Local bonus engines that adapt to regulatory constraints
- Player lifecycle tools tuned for cultural buying behavior
What powers this? Our ability to separate back-end scalability from front-end customization, giving operators speed, control, and precision as they go deeper into high-performing markets.
Final Thought: Strategy Is Local
The market is maturing. The future of iGaming isn’t about being everywhere, but being someone to someone in specific markets. The brands that win long-term will be those that go deeper than their competitors are willing to, speak to players with cultural fluency, and build infrastructure that adapts intelligently.
Itai Zak put it simply: “Don’t ask how many countries you’re in. Ask where you’re winning and why.”
If local precision is your next competitive edge, Digicode’s experts can help you deliver it without losing control of the big picture.
The post Hyperlocal vs. Global: Is the Future of iGaming in Deep-Market Strategy? appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
