iGP CEO Jovana Popovic Canaki insists entering newly regulated markets such as Peru is a risk the company is willing to take, despite the various challenges presented.
Since launching in 2016, iGP has achieved impressive growth, extending into verticals such as lottery and crypto within the last couple of years.
In November, the company announced it had gained GLI-19 certification for its core platform solution, with iGP highlighting the move will aid its ambition to expand into regulated markets.
LatAm is a key target for the company, especially with a number of markets regulating online or taking steps to do so.
One such market is Peru, which launched its regulated online market in 2024. iGP entered the market earlier this year, in part thanks to their newly GLI-19-certified status.
Entering such a market comes with risks, however, especially with the newly regulated Peru market facing a somewhat unexpected 1% consumption tax on the value of every bet.
But for Canaki, she and iGP focus on the opportunity, rather than the potential perils of entering a newly regulated market.
“Who doesn’t risk, doesn’t drink champagne, I like to say,” Canaki tells iGB. “Peru, yes it’s new, and there of course are some risks in [regulatory] changes, and uncertainty, but it’s worth it.
“It is risky to get into the new regulation before it settles down. But I’m pretty sure that it will pay off.”
A calculated Peru entry for iGP
One way of mitigating the risk of failure or of facing high costs and expansive competition, is ensuring iGP works closely alongside operator partners, something Canaki believes will prove a competitive advantage.
“One of the keys here is obviously not working by ourselves,” Canaki continues. “When it comes to Peru, we are not isolated. We cannot go [solely] as iGP into Peru. We need an operator.
“It’s a joint effort with our clients who obviously have at times a faster response from the market, more insights than us from the other side of the world. We work as 100% equal partners. This is what sets us slightly apart and will definitely help with addressing anything new and any uncertainty coming out of Peru.”
Despite stakeholders warning the 1% consumption tax could prove hugely problematic, Canaki explains Peru is still an exciting market for gambling companies thanks to its history of land-based gambling and wide acceptance of betting.
The attractiveness of Peru as a market inevitably means lots of competition, although Canaki is confident iGP will come out on top.
“Good competition is something that pushes you, pushes you forward and pushes you higher,” Canaki adds. “Obviously, there are quite a few really good companies that we consider competitors, specifically in the Peruvian space.
“[But] we didn’t see it as a downside, because we firmly believe that our tech, our products, and our expertise of how to use those products, and combine them together with the operator vision, are going to make any operator win over any competitor.”
Other LatAm opportunities for iGP
Aside from Peru, Canaki also references Chile as a potential expansion market in the future.
Chile is currently in the process of regulating online gambling, but progress has been slow, with the bill currently stuck in the Senate. Canaki says iGP is keeping an “eye and a half” on what is happening in the market.
Localisation is an aspect that many have cited to be crucial to success in LatAm, and it’s central to iGP’s strategy in the region.
Canaki believes it is necessary to have a physical presence in LatAm. IGP already has an office in Venezuela, and she says getting more boots on the ground in the region is on the company’s radar to truly localise.
“Localisation is important in any market,” Canaki says. “First of all, we don’t look at LatAm as a market. South America has many, many countries, and some of them are so large that there has to be localisation even between the regions of that specific country.
“We do it through two different sources. One is obviously our internal teams that do gap analysis and understand what the offering is and in a specific part of the country or region.
“But then also a big role is played by the operator, the guys and the teams that are on the ground that understand the player inside out, understand their behaviour, understand what they want to see, what they don’t want to see.”
When asked if the next two years will be just as transformative, Canaki replies: “Yes, but in a different sense. Branding we’ve done. On who we are, we’ve done values, mission, vision, strategy.
“The transformation in the next two years is going to be about expansion, growth and taking that position that we believe, with our expertise and with our tech and with our products, we deserve.”
Despite regulatory uncertainty, iGP believes early entry into newly regulated markets such as Peru can deliver long-term rewards.