PIN-UP GLOBAL has grown rapidly, which is rare for the iGaming industry. In her recent interview – focusgn.com/marina-ilina-pin-up-global-regulation-should-be-developed-by-market-players-in-cooperation-with-the-government, Marina Ilina, the holding’s CEO, shared her thoughts on the processes within PIN-UP and the industry trends at large. How do they maintain their leading positions? Read on to find out.
The Secret of Growth: PIN-UP Main Focus
At the very beginning of her recent interview, Marina Ilina emphasizes that the iGaming market is constantly changing, even if, on the surface, it seems that nothing serious is actually happening. The industry is intense and fully technology-driven, which is why all the players should never stop their growth and should keep searching for new, better solutions. That’s the foundation of the PIN-UP strategy. The holding is developing new products and growing in technology. That goes for geographical expansion, too. The team has expanded the portfolio greatly due to the investment fund, so now PIN-UP is present in two more large areas of the market.
Shift from Ecosystem to Holding: The New Era of Growth & Innovation
When asked about the changes that PIN-UP GLOBAL has experienced within the last year, Ilina highlighted the shift from the ecosystem model to a holding company. PIN-UP adopted the ecosystem format in 2021, and though it served it well at the beginning, it became too widespread not to lose its relevance over time. Ilina notes that unlike the “ecosystem”, the holding model isn’t just another label in the iGaming market. It’s the structure that fully describes and reflects the role, function, and overall framework of PIN-UP.
Moving to the holding model reflects our essential values like transparency and dependability, Illina comments. PIN-UP is going to obtain multiple licenses and certifications in the near future, which will enhance the competitiveness of the solutions offered to partners worldwide. This is essential given the holding’s strong current focus on the B2B sector. They already offer innovative, high-quality products powered by cutting-edge technology and creativity. However, it’s not only about that. Ilina notes that it’s also boosted by years of experience and deep industry knowledge.
Another interesting point to discuss is how PIN-UP approaches challenges, difficulties, and setbacks. It’s all about the attitude, they say. Mistakes are the stepping stones for future improvement, advancement, and innovation, a perfect opportunity to learn and grow.
Beyond Just a Good Management: Essential Qualities for iGaming Success
The leader is the one who sets the direction for the entire holding. They must understand why they are moving this way and not the other. Of course, that direction must be chosen according to the financial goals, the market’s competitiveness, the competitive advantages that a company may get, and current and future regulations.
For PIN-UP GLOBAL, the planning period is a two-year period. As noted by Marina Ilina, PIN-UP could create plans for a longer time, but that doesn’t make much sense considering how rapidly the industry is changing. Still, within the 2-year time frame, all goals are already set. When you know a specific purpose, you work specifically to achieve it. Everyone is part of the team, and everyone works to meet a common final goal.
The idea is to be open and honest and encourage integrity. That’s why the holding makes every effort to create a working environment where every team member can communicate openly, transparently, and be straightforward in the best sense possible. Of course, something can always go wrong. But if we spot a difficulty, we address it immediately and improve the situation whatever it is, Ilina says.
Regulatory Restrictions: What Could Be Improved
It’s no secret that iGaming regulations have become even tighter in quite a wide range of countries. When asked about that and how she sees the potential improvement of the regulatory process, Ilina clearly distinguishes between how things would work in an ideal world and how they work in reality.
She says cooperation between the authorities and top iGaming market players would be a perfect solution. In reality, however, things work differently. Governments often prefer to imply further restrictions, which basically results in two things — businesses either go into the shadows or leave the country.
The most important things to consider when developing regulatory policies are taxes for iGaming operators, taxes for customers, and the gray market. However, in many cases, governments just set mandatory deductions for operators, supposing this will be better for the country. Often, it’s not.
The thing is that both operators and players often opt for gray market solutions. The most interesting case now is the case of Brazil. Gambling may be legalized there soon, and the way it will be legalized and the specific regulations implied will determine how businesses will see this market. They will either enter it if the terms are favorable or not enter it if they are not.
Adapting to Regulatory Requirements: Solutions by PIN-UP
The holding, however, is still focused on developing solutions that can be easily localized and customized by a specific company in accordance with their market-specific conditions. They include all the features, from the implementation of responsible gambling policies to knowing your client policies and more specific needs and demands of the businesses. In particular, PIN-UP GLOBAL develops software for marketing, customer service, loyalty programs, and communication with clients that can be easily adapted to a local market. Needless to say, such an approach will attract franchisees all over the globe.
Innovations & Technology as Part of PIN-UP Growth Strategy
PIN-UP GLOBAL aims to distribute products that will help iGaming operators boost their efficiency, improve the UX, and grow further. The holding has also divided all its products into multifunctional platforms that will meet every partner’s specific needs and requirements. For instance, CRM, marketing, and client retention services are available, and a big affiliate solution is already being developed. The holding doesn’t plan to stop there, though. Soon, all-in-one a fundamentally new and more efficient product covering such important aspects as anti-fraud and risk management will be released.
The Main Focus of Innovations at PIN-UP
Marina Ilina notes that there’s no doubt that automation will be the market’s and the holding’s main focus in the near future. The main idea is to replace human labor and simplify everything from the interface to the iGaming experience at large. It’s all about speed and convenience. That’s how operators will be able to retain more and more customers. Software engineers can get really creative when developing such solutions, while the end client gets an ultimately easy-to-use, up-to-date, and 100% effective product. The games themselves, however, must be presented in all varieties possible. There must be simpler options with basic design and gameplay, as well as more advanced options with legitimately deep mechanics to reach out to all the target audiences.
Role & Potential of Cryptocurrencies and Blockchain
The popularity of cryptocurrencies and blockchain is growing. No wonder many companies try to integrate them into their businesses, but Marina Ilina shares an interesting opinion on such financial and technological advancements.
She fully recognizes the role and the big potential of this field, but as she notes, the audience is still not ready to adopt those technologies, at least on a full scale. The holding keeps an eye on the situation, considering all the shifts in the market development and opportunities for integrating new financial solutions. Still, as noted by Marina Ilina, PIN-UP GLOBAL is more focused on traditional payments at the moment. The potential is huge, and the players only need to wait for the right time to gain a serious competitive advantage.
Cybersecurity: A Challenge or an Opportunity?
Cybersecurity is one of the most important challenges in iGaming. Marina Ilina says it’s not just a challenge but the key function of their products. The holding develops solutions that aim to fully protect partners’ and clients’ data, minimize all potential risks, and, most importantly, address all existing threats immediately.
PIN-UP GLOBAL itself uses an advanced multi-level protection system. All team members work using workstations, while the products are both developed and operated in strict adherence to all safety rules. The security system is constantly being updated and modernized using cutting-edge open-source and commercial technologies. Staff training is also one of the key points — forewarned is forearmed, so this policy allows for avoiding problems before they even appear on the horizon. If something important happens, the issue is addressed immediately.
PIN-UP & Startups: Sparkles that Might Change the Industry
PIN-UP keeps looking for new approaches and new ideas. Marina Ilina says that they won’t stop doing it but also addresses some challenges of this specific type of business activity.
She notes that sometimes, that’s just the idea. Ideas, however, should go with financial models — that’s how they can be transformed into a real solution that will be equally beneficial for the holding and the end customer. PIN-UP reviews a few hundred applications a year, and some of them seem really promising and well-planned from any perspective, including a financial one.
Ilina says that they are currently focusing on new approaches to marketing, traffic and affiliate programs, and scalable platforms. Those ideas are used to the fullest to boost teams’ creativity and give a fundamentally new outlook on the old challenges.
PIN-UP Approach to Maintaining Leadership
Being an award-winning brand has many benefits, in particular, a strong reputation and recognition. But keeping up to that high status may be challenging as well. Marina Ilina was asked how the holding was going to maintain its high position, and in her answer, she mostly focused on unrealistic goals.
Setting up unrealistic goals is normal for us. We just do everything possible, and in the end, still achieve it, Marina comments. PIN-UP develops high-quality products and sees difficulties as a challenge and a way to grow further. That’s how new revolutionary ideas are born. The only way a good business can stop growing is when the manager lacks motivation due to tiredness or overall frustration. That, as Marina Ilina notes, won’t happen to PIN-UP in the foreseeable future.
Discussing the Potential Ban on the Industry
During the interview, Marina Ilina was asked a rather interesting question. What if iGaming is banned everywhere simultaneously? CEO of PIN-UP GLOBAL, however, didn’t seem to be surprised or confused. She said that the holding would still have high-quality software that could handle huge projects all over the globe. They also have very competitive anti-fraud, traffic, and customer retention solutions. So, in such a scenario, the holding would go to the e-com market or right to a big fintech because the banking market is quite similar to the iGaming sector.
Planning for 3-5 Years: Will There Be New Products?
When asked about plans in the 3-5 year frame, Ilina reminded me that the holding doesn’t make such long-term because they will hardly turn into reality. Of course, they will hardly come true not because of inconsistency but because of the rapidly changing market. Still, she admits that they will definitely see strong competitors and will develop great products and well-thought-out financial plans to address those challenges.
Future Dominating Trends
But what about the industry at large? Again, Ilina is sure that the human force will gradually be replaced by top technology solutions. Ultimate optimization, customizations for every customer, and enhanced security will be the keys to success. Also, there’s no doubt that mobile usage will become even more widespread, and the same goes for blockchain technology. After all, it’s all about accessibility and convenience.
How PIN-UP Will Surprise the Market
Obviously, Marina Ilina wasn’t ready to share all their secrets. But she sums up the key points in the conversation, mentioning that the anti-fraud development definitely would be one of the holding’s main focuses. AI and ML will certainly be used to achieve the best results possible, and optimization is also seen as a way to boost the system and prevent any problems for clients and partners. Also, Marina says that the all-in-one, one-size-fits-all customizable solution is expected to be realized, becoming the number one tool for iGaming, banking, e-commerce, and other growing global market sectors.
