Choosing the right country for your iGaming brand and successfully entering its market

Expanding your iGaming brand into a new country is like embarking on a journey in a foreign land without a map or GPS. You know there are opportunities, but the path is unclear, and a single wrong turn could cost you time and resources. Without guidance, you risk wandering aimlessly, missing out on the best routes to success.

Blask acts as your navigation system for market expansion. It not only maps out the terrain but also shows the smartest routes, highlights potential challenges, and steers you toward the right opportunities—ensuring you arrive at your destination efficiently and strategically.

In this article, you'll learn how to choose the ideal country for your iGaming brand and explore a step-by-step plan to dominate the market. We'll delve into how Blask can help you make data-driven decisions, understand market regulations, analyze customer profiles, and tailor your strategy for maximum impact.

Choosing the right country: replicate success or adapt to new terrain?

When planning an expansion, two main approaches arise:

1. Finding a market that closely resembles one where your brand is already successful;
2. Tailoring your strategy to meet the demands of a completely new market.

The first option is attractive for brands familiar with certain market dynamics. If you've successfully navigated a market with specific eFTD and eGGR patterns, Blask helps you find countries with similar metrics, making your expansion more predictable and reducing uncertainties.

On the other hand, Blask also enables a more adaptable strategy. For those determined to enter a specific country, Blask provides all the tools you need to customize your approach to meet local demands.

★ You can gain detailed insights into the regulatory environment, market size, and player preferences, allowing you to tailor your campaigns and products accordingly. This approach is especially valuable for brands launching for the first time.

With Blask, even your five-year-old could identify the ideal country for expansion—it's that intuitive. For professionals, this means having a powerful tool that simplifies the decision-making process, allowing you to focus on strategies that ensure success from day one.

Blask removes uncertainty from market expansion by offering precise data on key metrics such as Blask Index (market size), eGGR, and eFTD. You can track year-over-year (YoY) and month-over-month (MoM) trends or visualize the Blask Index fluctuations through dynamic charts. Whether you’re targeting fast-growing markets to capitalize on momentum or stable regions for predictable returns, Blask ensures your strategy aligns with your goals. Our granular data helps you choose the market that best fits your brand.

Step-by-step guide to successfully entering a new iGaming market with Blask.

Now that we understand the principles of choosing a country and the nuances of regulations, we can take active steps! Blask’s tools and charts will help your iGaming brand climb the ladder of success, and this article will serve as your step-by-step checklist for this adventure.

Step 1. Compile a list of suitable countries based on key metrics.

The first step in any expansion strategy is selecting the right country. Start by analyzing key metrics such as Blask Index, eFTD, and eGGR. These indicators help you understand the potential value of each market.

On the country page in Blask, sort the countries by the metric that interests you the most:  

• eGGR 
• eFTD
• YoY/MoM growth 
• Market regulatory conditions

For example, here we see that the Brazilian market is the largest in terms of eGGR and eFTD, yet it shows minimal year-over-year growth. It can be concluded that this is a well-established and stable market, making it more difficult to enter compared to the Philippines or Rwanda, which are experiencing rapid growth.

Tracking and correlating financial metrics such as eGGR and eFTD can significantly inform market entry strategies. When comparing Chile and Mozambique, it becomes clear that for a similar level of eGGR, iGaming brands in Mozambique had to attract approximately 2.5 times more players. Some brands prefer to grow by appealing to a larger player base, while others would gladly serve a much smaller but more affluent audience. The choice of approach and country ultimately depends on your priorities.

Next, select your preferred countries by checking the boxes. This will allow you to view the Blask Index chart for those countries and analyze market dynamics over the past year.  

For example, the Brazilian market is the largest in terms of eGGR and eFTD, yet it shows minimal (just a mere 1.96%) year-over-year growth. It can be concluded that this is a well-established and stable market, making it more difficult to enter compared to the Philippines or Rwanda, which are experiencing rapid growth.

At this stage, you have a list of suitable countries along with key data about them:  

• Blask Index — market size.
• eFTD — the number of new first deposits made by players.
• eGGR — the amount of money earned by iGaming brands.
• Market regulation status — whether you need to obtain licenses and if it's possible to operate there at all.

Step 2. Conduct an in-depth analysis of the iGaming market in each country.

Once you have narrowed down your list of countries, delve deeper into each one on its individual country page.

At this stage, you can observe the fluctuations of the Blask Index chart over time and manually set specific time periods for a more detailed analysis of the Blask Index, eGGR, and eFTD. The charts on the Market Overview page help you assess the market’s state: whether it is declining, growing, or stable. Your task now is to choose the country that best aligns with your preferred strategy.

We strongly recommend first analyzing the Blask Index chart over its entire history to identify the global trend of the iGaming market in your chosen country: is there growth, decline in interest, or is the market stable?

Next, select dates that feature moments you consider to be abnormal or particularly interesting. For instance, examine what happened in the iGaming industry during the COVID-19 restrictions, compare the Blask Index chart with political events in the country, and observe how players reacted to significant sporting events, as this will give you some insight into what to expect in the future.

The data in Blask is updated hourly and is available with granularity ranging from hourly to monthly, allowing you to track everything from short-term effects to long-term and permanent consequences.

Step 3. Examine the demographics and preferences of players in detail.

Once you've identified your preferred countries, Blask’s Customer Profile feature helps you dive deep into the demographic and behavioral characteristics of players in each market. This data allows you to tailor your marketing strategies, products, and promotions to better align with the preferences and needs of local players.

Start by exploring key factors:

• Age: Blask provides detailed age distributions, helping you understand which age groups are most active in the market. For example, younger audiences might respond better to gamified experiences and mobile-first platforms, while older players might prefer more traditional gameplay or desktop-based platforms.
• Income levels: Understanding the economic status of your players allows you to design bonus schemes and promotional campaigns that resonate with their spending habits. Higher-income players might engage more with VIP programs, while markets with lower average income levels may respond better to smaller bonuses or free-to-play models.
• Employment status: By analyzing whether your potential audience is mainly employed, self-employed, or unemployed, you can predict their gaming habits and the times they are most active. This insight helps optimize campaign timing, ensuring your marketing efforts reach players when they are most engaged.
• Player motivations: Understand whether players in your target market are driven by competition, casual fun, or a desire for social interaction. This allows you to tailor your messaging and features to match their primary motivations. Blask has separate data for casino and betting motivation.

Additionally, Blask offers insights into:

• Types of entertainment: Understanding the breakdown of popular gaming categories—whether it’s betting, casinos, slots, poker, or virtual sports—allows you to craft the right mix of entertainment for your target audience. Some markets might have a strong preference for sports betting, while others might be drawn to virtual sports or online poker. Tailoring your product offerings based on this data ensures your brand stands out by delivering exactly what players are seeking.
• Touchpoints for brand discovery: Blask helps you uncover how players in your target market typically discover iGaming brands. Whether it's through search engines, social media platforms, affiliate marketing, or word-of-mouth, knowing the key touchpoints allows you to focus your marketing efforts where they’ll be most effective. For example, in some markets, affiliate marketing may be the dominant channel, while in others, social media influencers could play a pivotal role. By optimizing your presence in these channels, you can capture the attention of potential players and boost your brand’s visibility.

Whether it's creating localized campaigns, choosing the right bonuses, or optimizing gameplay features, Blask provides the insights you need to build a connection with your players and enhance your brand's appeal in the new market.

Finally, Blask understands the situation regarding problem gamblers in the country. Our data reflects the number of players prone to excessive gambling and betting. The greater the number of problem gamblers, the more your brand needs to implement mechanisms for player self-restriction and closely monitor the offers in your advertising materials.

Step 4. Monitor the dynamics of iGaming brands within the chosen country.

Once you've identified your target market and gathered insights into your audience, the next step is to understand the competitive landscape.

Blask provides valuable data on how established brands are performing and how they’re positioning themselves, helping you identify opportunities and potential gaps in the market.

Blask allows you to view the top-performing brands in the country based on market share, eGGR, eFTD and YoY/MoM growth. This helps you assess the strength of competition and identify whether the market is dominated by a few key players or spread across many smaller brands. If a few brands hold a large portion of the market, entering with a unique offering may be necessary to differentiate yourself.

Look at how other brands are marketing themselves. Are they focusing on high-rollers, offering aggressive bonuses, or targeting casual players with a fun, light-hearted approach? Understanding their messaging and branding can help you decide how to position your own brand for success—whether you should match their strategy or stand out with a completely different approach.

★ Pro tip: Blask has the capability to sort iGaming brands by the date on which data collection began, which usually coincides with the brand’s market launch. We recommend exploring younger brands that have managed to secure a notable position and continue to grow. By doing so, you can conduct your own investigation and examine their marketing materials and product offerings to replicate the successful strategies they employ.

We can clearly see that in March 2024, the Winmatch brand took actions that led to rapid growth. Examine the events that took place during this time, as well as all the advertising campaigns of this brand. If something worked for them, it could work for you too!

Fortunately, with Blask, you have access to statistics and trends for all iGaming brands, ranging from the largest and most well-known to the newcomers that have just entered the market.

By understanding the competitive dynamics, you can better position your brand, refine your offerings, and develop marketing strategies that capitalize on opportunities others may have missed. Blask provides a full view of your competitors' activities, ensuring you stay informed and ahead of the game as you enter a new market.

Step 5. Keep track of your own brand and stay ahead of the competition.

Once your iGaming brand has successfully launched in a new market, the work doesn’t stop there. Continuous monitoring and optimization are key to maintaining a competitive edge and adapting to market shifts.

To begin with, use the Blask tools to assess your position in the market. Let's say you have captured 1% of the market share; take a look at the eGGR and eFTD metrics of other brands with a similar volume. Your goal is at the very least to match their performance.

You don't even need to manually search for similar brands! Blask will automatically show you the closest competitors to your brand and create graphs to illustrate your competition.

Additionally, compare the data from your internal analytics with the information from Blask, particularly from the Customer Profile page. This will help you determine if you are reaching the right audience and identify potential for growth.

Let’s assume that in your country, the iGaming industry primarily attracts individuals aged 25-34, but your existing audience is predominantly 45 and older. In this case, you are missing out on a significant portion of the market, which presents a tremendous growth potential. By adapting your marketing efforts or introducing new products that appeal to younger audiences, you can tap into this vast opportunity.

By using Blask to continuously monitor and refine your operations, you’ll ensure your brand remains competitive in the long term. Staying ahead of the competition means constantly evolving, and Blask gives you the tools to do just that.

Navigate through new markets with confidence!

Entering a new country’s iGaming market is a complex journey, but with the right tools, you can navigate the challenges and find the most promising paths to success.

Blask equips you with comprehensive data and insights to guide every decision, from selecting the ideal market to understanding local regulations, analyzing customer profiles, and tracking competitors. Whether you’re replicating success in a familiar market or venturing into new territory, Blask ensures your strategy is backed by solid data and real-time analysis.

The iGaming landscape is constantly evolving, and staying ahead requires both flexibility and the ability to adapt quickly. By following the step-by-step guide outlined in this article, you’ll be able to make informed choices that align with your brand’s goals while staying ahead of the competition.

With Blask, you not only gain insights into the present but also position your brand for future growth in this dynamic industry.

Frequently asked questions.

Unlock your iGaming potential with Blask!

Blask empowers you to make data-driven decisions, optimize marketing strategies, and drive significant GGR increases by providing unparalleled clarity about the iGaming market and your performance.

Curious about our precision? Discover our article "What is Blask?" and how Blask's cutting-edge technology is transforming iGaming analytics.

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