Dmitry Starostenkov from EvenBet about poker’s role in global online gambling

EvenBet Gaming is one of the world’s leading software providers for the iGaming industry. Slotegrator spoke with their CEO, Dmitry Starostenkov, about online poker, its regional specifics, cross-marketing with casinos and betting, and a bit about the company’s entry into the iGaming industry.

Slotegrator: EvenBet was founded in 2001. You are one of the most established and experienced companies on the market, but how did your history start and what was the initial idea behind this business?

Dmitry Starostenkov: Originally, our company focused on developing a wide variety of custom software. These included various utilities, software components, and e-commerce applications, among others. We worked on games as well, and in 2003, we were commissioned to create a poker. Looking back now, it’s a little amusing to think about it, but at the time, we took on the project with a budget of $4,000 and a timeline of just four months. Remarkably, we delivered on the project, and the product launched in 2004. By today’s standards, the quality was far from ideal, but the game was playable, and all the basic functionality worked. It was the early days of online poker, during its boom in the US, and time-to-market was the client’s top priority. As a result, they were satisfied and approved the project.

Over time, we gradually shifted away from custom software development to focus more on our own products, with poker becoming one of our key offerings. There’s a certain irony in the fact that we stumbled into the iGaming industry almost accidentally and without any experience, but it ultimately became our speciality. This year, we were even recognised as the best poker provider at the EGR B2B Awards.

S: You offer poker and poker software, from your experience which titles are the most popular among players? How does it vary depending on a region?

DS: The most popular variant has always been, and remains, Texas Hold'em. Omaha also enjoys consistent popularity. However, this is a global view of the industry, and there are certainly regional specifics.

For instance, in Latin America, poker variations with a higher element of randomness, such as the Spin & Go format, are noticeably more popular. To cater to this market, we recently added a Mystery Bounty feature to our product, where players receive a random bonus for knocking out an opponent.

Perhaps the most striking example is Asia. Poker is not a traditional game in this region, so the audience often requires a gateway through local games like Teen Patti or Rummy.

S: Is there a region where you find poker is more popular than wherever else?

DS: We can talk about Europe as the most traditional market for poker for the last 10 years. However, here poker represents an established and stable niche. There’s a sizable and active player base, but it would be hard to describe it as a rapidly growing market.

The U.S. has an undeniably massive poker audience, but it remains largely untapped due to legal restrictions. Online poker is only permitted in several states, and there are challenges with interstate traffic. At the same time, this situation creates favourable conditions for social, club, and sweepstake poker to thrive.

In Latin America, the most active poker markets at present are Mexico and Brazil. In Asia, India stands out as a key player. Poker is also extremely popular in South Korea and Vietnam, which hosts massive live tournaments in its few legal land-based casinos.

S: What is the demography of poker lovers? Is there a specific age group, for example, that enjoys poker the most?

DS: Five years ago, I would have said that the core poker audience was millennials and middle-aged individuals. However, the demographics are rapidly shifting, largely due to the emergence of new markets. The previous core audience is gradually fading: people are simply getting older, with family and work commitments increasingly taking priority. In their place, younger and more casual players are stepping in, for whom poker is primarily a form of entertainment. This shift has led to changes in formats and approaches by operators.

The gender composition of the audience is also evolving rapidly. Twenty years ago, poker was predominantly a male-dominated game, with men making up around 95% of players. Back then, there were frequent instances of discrimination against women in poker. As a response, various women-only poker clubs, leagues, and dedicated tournaments emerged. While this issue hasn’t been entirely resolved, the proportion of women among players has grown significantly since those days.

S: Do you notice an overlap between poker audiences and other casino games players? Can you list types of games that have an overlapping audience with poker?

DS: Poker is a complex intellectual game that requires learning how to calculate, mastering various strategies, and understanding how to counter opponents' tactics. Additionally, poker players compete against each other rather than against the casino. Casino games, on the other hand, operate on entirely different mechanics and demand different skills and approaches. It is important to differentiate between the dynamics of poker players transitioning to casino games and vice versa, as the audience overlap works differently in these scenarios.

The overlap when poker players move to casino games can be assessed as ranging from moderate to high. Certain formats successfully combine these distinct gaming experiences. For example, side games or mini-games are effective at engaging players. A common scenario is when a player folds pre-flop and, instead of waiting idly for the next hand, opens a mini-game to spin a roulette wheel or play slots. Some of our clients generate revenues from these mini-games comparable to their poker revenues — even though this income comes from a poker-centric audience, those who specifically came to play poker.

Conversely, the transition of players from casino games to poker is much rarer. Achieving this requires deliberate cross-promotion efforts.

S: And what about betting? Do you find that these categories of players overlap or are they different?

DS: When it comes to betting, its audience is much closer to poker than to casino gaming. Both betting and poker demand similar skills from players. Additionally, these verticals share a strong focus on community. Poker is inherently a social game, and betting provides an excellent platform for player interaction. Bettors are often sports enthusiasts, leading to lively discussions and the formation of communities around shared interests.

Poker, too, is considered a sport in many countries, where it is officially recognised as such. Overall, there are numerous points of intersection between these two worlds. Numbers prove it: for example, the latest report of the French regulator ANJ shows that 68% of poker players also make bets on sports.

S: If the audience is similar, do you see a potential in cross marketing and cross selling? Would you recommend online casino operators to focus on this type of promo and why?

DS: As mentioned, for online casinos looking to attract players to poker, cross-marketing is essential. It requires joint promotions, shared bonuses, and interactive quests. For example, linking casino games with poker through a unified rewards system can motivate poker players to explore both options.

In contrast, with betting, the effort needed for cross-marketing is minimal. Often, it’s enough to simply inform the audience that poker is now available as an option within the platform.

S: Talking about cross-promotion, are there any methods of increasing revenue and how do they work? Can you give us examples of what operators could introduce to boost their marketing?

DS: For operators offering multiple gaming types and looking to grow poker revenues specifically, flexible cross-promotion tools are crucial. Based on the experience of our clients, challenge-based quest mechanics work exceptionally well. For example, a player logging in daily to play poker might earn free spins as a bonus, incentivising consistent engagement.

Effective marketing tools must be tailored to the specific audience. For instance, in Europe, complex bonus systems with deeply integrated gamification are highly effective, as players often respond well to engaging and strategic promotions. In Africa, where poker audiences are still emerging, simplicity is key. Basic and easy-to-understand bonus systems resonate better with players who are new to poker.

S: What other marketing tools do your games offer? Which are the most popular?

DS: Our product provides a broad and diverse range of marketing tools, including bonuses, leaderboards, rakeback, and more. One of the most in-demand features is the referral system, which motivates players to invite their friends into the game by rewarding them for doing so.

However, the most popular tool by far is the agent system, which we've developed extensively to meet its high demand. It features a tiered agent model with 12 levels, offering flexibility and scalability for agents.

We recently introduced Clubs as the unique B2B product, allowing players to access private club games and classic cash poker games from a single web client. It offers omni-channel functionality that works seamlessly across both desktop and mobile devices. Clubs can also be considered a form of marketing tool. Club owners take an active role in player acquisition and engagement, effectively becoming their own mini-marketing hubs.

S: Do you think working with an aggregator is beneficial for cross marketing?

DS: Absolutely. While there might not be extensive research on this specific topic, three years ago we shared anonymised data from our partners across various regions who had integrated our poker offering into aggregators alongside betting projects and fantasy sports. Within the first year, these partners were generating millions of euros in rake revenue alone.

That said, there’s one crucial consideration: the aggregator’s API must support cross-promotion between different game types. This means enabling a unified user profile, a single wallet, and seamless access to multiple games. When these elements are in place, poker can operate at its full potential, driving greater player engagement and revenue across the platform.