A huge amount of change across Asian markets is expected throughout 2020 states Soft2Bet, with the speed of development across the region lauded as “astonishing”.

To that end the casino and sportsbook operator group, operating with SGA, MGA and Curacao licences, recently rolled out the latest stage of its global expansion strategy after going live on the Japanese market for the first time via the launch of its AlfCasino brand.

With Latin American jurisdictions also falling on the radar for the immediate future, Boris Chaikin, chief executive officer at Soft2Bet, said of what’s in store for casino next year: “2020 will be all about regulation.

“Responsible gambling and players protection have never been more important, and with good reason. However, with it comes a challenge in itself; with such a disparate chain of regulatory markets (especially so in Europe), keeping up to date with the latest requirements and in some cases, new licensing, means that 2020 will prove to be a tough year to keep up with. 

“To stay ahead in such a regulated environment, especially given the amount of competition, companies need to evolve faster than ever to stay abreast of the latest requirements. Agility here is key, and we’ve learned from our own expansion that working in parallel with regulators to stay ahead is essential.”

I predict we’ll continue seeing a fantastic amount of change across Asia”

Adding on the firm’s outlook for the period ahead: “At Soft2Bet, we tend not to go by predictions; but rather expectations! While our focus at this stage is mostly on Europe, the exciting emerging Asian and LatAm markets seem a hotbed of activity of which we are certainly keeping abreast. 

“I predict we’ll continue seeing a fantastic amount of change across Asia. The speed at which the igaming industry has developed there in the last few years has been nothing short of astonishing. Africa and LatAm would do well to learn from their example, and we expect 2020 to see plenty of focus on these markets as they come online from international players.” 

Lauding a “historical moment” earlier this month after securing licence approval from the Swedish Gambling Authority, the group added another strand to its ever growing portfolio last week as Rabona became the sixth online sportsbook under the Soft2Bet umbrella.

Casting glances back across the year Chaikin added: “It’s been an incredibly busy year for all of us at Soft2Bet, and one that will no doubt prove to be instrumental for years to come. We’ve signed a number of significant strategic partnerships, as well as entering a raft of new markets that we’re looking forward to capitalising on in 2020. 

“Receiving Swedish regulatory approval has been a real high point. We also have a number of others licences pending for EU regulated markets that we’ll soon be celebrating. On top of this, we launched several flagship brands including Wazamba.com, as well as our latest online casino Nomini.com – which broke all company records in less than a month! We also launched Rabona.com, our first sportsbook disruptor (watch this space).”