It’s hard to stand out in an industry that has become increasingly competitive. Do you launch new products? Use guerilla marketing? Rebrand yourself? The possibilities are endless.
For Bad Hombre Gaming, the answer to this question lies firmly in partner relationships and a more ‘boutique’ approach to business – something that the company prides itself on.
Daria Filipska, Commercial Manager at Bad Hombre Gaming, first set the record straight by explaining that the operators she works with are not ‘clients’, but ‘partners’ first and foremost. The reason for this will become much more apparent as you read on.
But what was clear throughout the conversation was that this relationship between operators and Bad Hombre Gaming is at the core of everything.
She began: “Bad Hombre Gaming is a crypto-first platform provider. We’ve been in the industry since 2019, however we initially started out as a B2C brand. In the last 12 months, we decided to reposition ourselves as a B2B platform company.
“The reason we chose to do that was because we felt that our product can bring great value to the operators out there – especially to those that are looking for a crypto casino or crypto sportsbook solution.
“Our team comprises a number of industry veterans who all have deep knowledge of both the B2B and B2C side of the industry. All together, they have combined their passion and expertise to build an outstanding and revolutionary product.”
For Filipska, this role at Bad Hombre Gaming is not her first gaming rodeo. Starting out at Red Tiger, now a part of the Evolution Group, she has earned her stripes among the biggest names within the gaming community.
She explained that at Red Tiger, there was a familial bond between the team – something that was built on “strong friendships and strong working relationships”. It comes as no surprise that this was something she wanted to replicate in her position at Bad Hombre Gaming.
She said: “I have known people from our team for quite a while now from my time at Red Tiger. Back then, we managed to cultivate this awesome work culture; our team was like a real family, built on both close friendships and strong working relationships.
“Some of the team at Bad Hombre Gaming were involved in B2C operations. But when the company shifted its focus to becoming a B2B platform provider, I was invited to lead the commercial part of the business – covering sales, account management, partner relationships and a whole host of other business development aspects together with the management team.
“It’s been a truly fantastic journey so far. I have absolutely loved my time at the company so far, and I feel truly honoured to be a part of this team.”
Turning a vision into reality
Her time at some of the most prominent gaming companies has meant that she not only knows the ins and outs of casino platform development, but also has first-hand experience of the pain points that B2C operators face.
Filipska continued: “There’s no doubt that some people from our team have made a massive impact on the industry, and without them, igaming would not be the same as it is today. These people are obviously loved and highly respected within the gaming network.
“For our team, there has only ever been one way of running a business – and that way is one that is based on trust and respect. This approach is, by and large, the reason why our previous projects have been so successful!
“Everyone in our team has worked on both the operator side and the supplier side. We know the pain points that are experienced by our partners because we have been in that situation ourselves.
“Those experiences have really helped us gain a perfect understanding of what people are actually looking for when they approach platform providers. We also know that there is not a single platform out there whose product is fully filling that gap. So, we took a shot at making that ideal product a reality.”
To fill the gap in the platform provider market, the commercial manager explained that personalisation and flexibility is key. By keeping this top of mind, Bad Hombre Gaming is giving its operators more choice to create a brand that truly reflects their identity and one that is like no other.
“The first way that we do this is that we give our operators all of the tools to manage their casino with a no-code platform, which means that there is no front end development work involved at all. Everything you want to do on the site can be done through a ‘drag and drop’ page builder.
“This is the way that we actually allow our partners to create a unique look for each brand without having to deploy a huge amount of designs from scratch.
“The second part is that we can do it all for the operator via our managed services. Imagine an à la carte menu at a restaurant – that’s what we’re doing, but for online casinos. You’re able to mix and match what you would like for your brand.
“Whether you need someone to manage your casino lobby and control the CRM, or 24/7 customer support, or you want to make your VIP players live and breathe your casino, our VIP managers will make that happen. We provide 360 support to your brand.
“We’re trying to adapt and make our business work for our partners in the easiest way possible. We believe that these strong relationships are truly the core foundation that Bad Hombre Gaming is built upon.”
“There’s always room for more innovation”
Filipska identified that two of the major headaches that Bad Hombre Gaming’s partners experience is the ‘speed to market’ and the innovation within individual product offerings.
That delay in deploying a new feature can ultimately have a negative impact on the end-user’s experience, resulting in a loss in revenue for the operator. But the Bad Hombre commercial manager is confident that her company has a solution to this problem, sharing that the fastest deployment that the company has carried out is just two weeks.
She said: “A very common issue people face when working with platform providers is coming to a platform with a feature request or a creative idea that would be well received by their players and, in most cases, would generate new revenue streams for both the operator and the platform provider.
“But a lot of the time, these operators are being told that they have to wait for months for this functionality to be developed, and even then, there is no guarantee that it will be delivered. We’ve been there. We know how difficult this can be.
“In our industry, I feel like people always say that there is room for more innovation. But in reality, most companies minimise their risks by following a rule of ‘better safe than sorry’. But we have overcome this issue at Bad Hombre Gaming with the way we have built our platform.
“We are operator-first. We really mean that, because our entire product and feature roadmap is based on what our partners actually want to see in their casino. That applies to any bonus functionality, any player engagement feature, any demand for a specific third party integration – and everything in between.
“Whatever it is that our partners want, we will develop our platform together with our operators. This is also the reason why I don’t personally like to refer to them as ‘clients’. With the way that we run our business, they are not clients. They are partners that we trust to lead the business together with us – an approach that I believe is very rare.”
A boutique approach to business
With such a bespoke approach to product development, this does mean that Bad Hombre Gaming has to be more selective about who it partners with.
However, Filipska explained that this more ‘boutique’ approach to casino platform development means that the operators remain at the forefront of every product, feature and solution – enabling companies to also scale even further.
“We are, indeed, being very selective with who we take on board,” Filipska continued. “Since everything we do is based on the goals and vision of our operators, it’s always great to have that trust and shared passion across all of our projects. Our team is incredibly passionate about every single brand that we launch with.
“As well as the product, we also offer a full service to manage a casino for an operator. When someone approaches us with this creativity and a strong vision to launch something exceptional together, we’re obviously happy to take them on board.
“That collaborative approach isn’t necessarily common practice in our industry. So many platforms do offer a service to manage a casino brand for you. But the way that they do it is very different – especially when it comes to the white label solutions. You are very limited in what you can do. If operators require a more bespoke product, they often end up paying way over the odds for that platform to be delivered.
“By partnering with Bad Hombre Gaming, operators gain full control over any data, APIs and features that are created on the platform. By doing this, Bad Hombre Gaming is not limiting any company from growing. Instead, we only encourage operators to take full control of their business once they grow big enough to do that.”
We revel in our partners’ success
It goes without saying, but if your partners are happy, they’re going to keep coming back to work with you.
For Bad Hombre Gaming, keeping its partners happy also means ensuring that they are not limited from signing other ‘third-party’ agreements. Filipska shared that by not blocking its operators from such partnerships, it can differentiate itself from other providers in the market – whilst also suggesting that more industry collaboration is a good thing.
“We believe in our partners’ success. We are never afraid of our operators going into separate business ventures – in fact, it’s great to see new and amazing companies popping up. It shows that this industry is growing at a rapid rate, and Bad Hombre Gaming is glad to be a part of that. We’re not worried about any competition, we know that our product is a testament to our key values!
“There is a massive gap for platform providers in our industry. I feel that many companies are just out there to make money, and in some cases, don’t give as much attention to their actual product and the growth of the operators using their platform. They don’t want to allow start-ups to grow. But in our case, we’re much more than that. We place more emphasis upon growing that relationship.”
“This really is the way you grow as a company. Even on a personal level, you can’t ever grow if you limit yourself. This applies to business. When you take those risks and you remain open to new opportunities, this is when you can truly flourish. This is an attitude that I have really noticed in our team. We are extremely open minded.
“Of course, there are times when we see ideas that may seem too much – we do have some limitations. We’re not in a position to fly to the moon tomorrow! But it’s great to see that things are moving in a very different direction from what other platform providers are doing.”
Crypto-first
The conversation soon turned towards Bad Hombre Gaming’s decision to position itself as a crypto-first platform provider. As we all know, cryptocurrency has been the subject of numerous discussions both within the gaming community and in other industries across the world, with many turning their eyes towards the digital currency as a means of strengthening payment transparency and security.
For Bad Hombre Gaming, it was in fact the difficulties associated with traditional banking and payment methods that prompted the move towards the crypto space.
Undoubtedly, cryptocurrency has acted as somewhat of a metaphorical ‘painkiller’ when it comes to the payments issues that operators face. Then on top of that, some prefer to avoid managing a corporate structure independently, which prompts them to reach out to platforms for a white label solution.
Filipska continued: “It’s common practice that operating under a white label model limits operators in so many different ways – whether that be design choice, operating within a certain script, or even lack of personalisation. Platform providers can also impose unjustifiable, high fees and ban their operators from working with third parties – which, to me, is absolutely ridiculous!
“On the payments and banking side of things, these pain points are the reason why we chose to be a crypto casino platform. In our view, cryptocurrency alleviates a number of these issues. When it comes to operating under a certain umbrella of being a white label, we decided to make a business decision not to separate terms such as white label and turnkey.
“For us, it’s only a matter of having a separate legal structure or operating under our licence. And that’s it. You’re not limited in any way to make your brand unique – both from a design and functionality stand point. You don’t have to wait for a month to get things deployed.”
The road ahead
It would be unfair to ask Bad Hombre Gaming to predict what 2023 holds for the company, because who can realistically say what is going to happen in the space of one year? But we asked anyway.
Filipska was confident that these next 12 months will be Bad Hombre Gaming’s “best yet”, with numerous products and developments lined up for its partners.
She said: “This year, our focus has been heavily placed on our product. As well as having the most popular crypto casino engagement features, we also have a very extensive roadmap featuring general updates and functionalities that will allow our brands to absolutely skyrocket with us. We’re going to bring real flexibility to our product, meaning that no two brands that launch with us will be alike.”
But as well as the jam-packed production schedule, it was apparent that Filipska has her sights firmly set on further expansion and growth for the company, concluding: “There’s a lot to expect from Bad Hombre Gaming in 2023! We’ll be adding so much more in the next 12 months – so I can only imagine where we’ll end up in the next year! The moon, maybe?”