Digitain: “Acquisition remains a strong topic in Latin America, but retention is the real long-term challenge”

With the World Cup now underway and Latin America’s regulated betting markets evolving at a rapid pace, operators and suppliers gathered at SBC Summit Americas in Florida with a clear focus on innovation, retention and the next stage of growth for the region.

Among them was Gevorg Rushanyan, Head of Latam at Digitain, who discussed with Yogonet how the company is adapting its products and strategy to meet the demands of an increasingly competitive market.

In this exclusive interview, Rushanyan shares Digitain’s approach to World Cup engagement tools, the growing role of prediction markets and AI-driven experiences, and why long-term success in LATAM will depend less on acquisition and more on localization, entertainment and retention.

What were the company’s main objectives at SBC Summit Americas this year?

The event is a major opportunity for us to strengthen relationships with both our current partners and the companies we want to work with in the future.

It’s also the perfect stage to showcase our products, solutions, and the innovations we’ve developed specifically around the World Cup, especially now that the tournament has just begun.

It’s an exciting moment for us because we’re able to show the industry the work we’ve been doing while continuing to build relationships with operators, which is ultimately the most important thing for us.

What conversations dominated the event?

Without a doubt, the World Cup. Right now, that’s the number one topic across the industry. Everyone is talking about how they prepared for the tournament, the tools operators will need to stay competitive, and the innovations required to succeed during such a major sporting event.

At the same time, regulation and the evolution of regulated markets across Latin America are also dominating discussions. Markets are developing much faster than they did a few years ago, which means companies have to move quickly when it comes to innovation, products, and AI tools.

Prediction markets were also a major topic of discussion. There’s simply no time to wait for innovation anymore. In many panels, the takeaway was that prediction markets already exist and are now part of everyday life.

Companies that fail to implement new features and adopt innovation risk falling behind very quickly.

What is your view on prediction markets and how they could evolve across the region?

I think we will see different formats of prediction markets depending on the market and the audience. Some countries will embrace them more quickly than others.

In general, prediction markets are designed for younger generations. These are the types of experiences that will help attract younger audiences into iGaming. They create new forms of engagement and will motivate new generations to participate and become part of the industry.

The World Cup itself will play a huge role in that process because football remains incredibly important across Latin America.

How have you prepared your products and solutions for such a major event?

We have developed a set of tools designed to help our operators become more competitive during the tournament. For example, we offer group-stage prediction features where players can predict match results, choose which teams advance, and interact with a complete World Cup experience within the sportsbook.

Players can explore dedicated World Cup homepages, predict goal scorers, follow key match events, and enjoy a full 360-degree experience around the tournament inside the sports product.

After the World Cup generates this expected surge in traffic and new registrations, what will be important in terms of long-term retention?

The World Cup will clearly generate significant revenue, new registrations, and many first-time users entering the platforms.

But retention will depend on delivering excellent customer service, maintaining strong CRM strategies and keeping entertainment levels high after the tournament ends. Operators need to make sure users continue having exciting experiences on the platforms where they initially registered. That’s what will determine whether those users remain active after the World Cup is over.

How do you see operators’ priorities evolving across LATAM as markets continue to mature?

In Brazil specifically, operators are still heavily focused on acquisition because the market continues generating huge user volumes.

However, in the long term, retention and product quality will become increasingly important. International operators are entering Brazil and other Latin American markets with very strong technological capabilities.

If local operators do not offer clear differentiators or highly competitive tools, users may not stay loyal to those platforms over time. Acquisition remains strong today, but the long-term challenge will absolutely be retention.

Can localization itself become a competitive advantage for local operators?

Absolutely. Local companies understand their audiences much better. They know what users like, how to communicate with them, what type of campaigns resonate, what emotions to transmit, and how to create messaging that feels authentic.

When you localize properly, users feel at home on the platform. That creates a much stronger connection with the brand.