A platform strategy for growth 

At the heart of any online gaming and betting operation lies the player account management (PAM) platform, the technical foundation upon which customer experience, scalability, security and overall success are built.

As the igaming market grows increasingly complex and saturated, operators are facing new and significant challenges. To maintain their edge and achieve long-term success, their platform technology must provide the proper framework and capabilities for their business growth.  

In this context, it is crucial that operators carefully consider the capabilities of their PAM platform, ensuring it aligns with their business goals and can support growth. Many igaming businesses today are facing technological and operational constraints that derive from their current platform architecture and contractual conditions, which is causing them to re-evaluate their initial technology strategies.  

This article highlights five key factors operators should consider in this regard to achieve sustainable success.  

Long-term planning 

First and foremost, it is important for operators to view the decisions they make about their core technology stack as long-term choices. Gaming businesses have many providers of content, payment solutions and other complementary services that support their brands, but they have only one PAM platform that will be the core technology hub of their operations for many years. 

With this in mind, it is crucial they make sure their platform capabilities can support the business objectives of today and the years to come. In fact, we would suggest starting with defining clear goals and work backwards to evaluate the technology requirements that are going to deliver them.  

Consider long-term goals: which markets does the company aim to enter, how quickly does it plan to scale, and what kind of customer experiences does it want to deliver? Then, they must evaluate if their core platform technology architecture, tools and development capabilities are fully prepared to sustain these objectives presently and in the future, instead of presenting technological restraints. 

Assessing the options 

At this stance, a fundamental question that tends to guide operators’ platform strategy is whether to develop the technology in-house or to license it from a third-party provider. 

The in-house model may be perceived to allow companies to build a customised platform tailored specifically to their needs. However, this requires significant investment in development resources, carries significant execution risk and requires ongoing maintenance.  

By contrast, the third-party provider model involves licensing a ready-made platform from an external vendor, offering quicker time-to-market.

This model is cost-effective, but licensing restrictions can limit the ability to quickly adapt to market shifts, enter new regulated markets and innovate with new features or integrations. 

This is where a third, hybrid option comes in. At Pragmatic Solutions, we call this option the ‘CPU model’, since our PAM platform functions as the ‘Central Processing Unit’ of our clients’ operational tech stack.

Within this model, the PAM platform handles the essential functions of their operators’ businesses while also serving as the hub for integrating with proprietary and third-party applications via APIs, providing limitless opportunities for customisation and innovation. 

By integrating third-party solutions with in-house development, this option offers a balance between customisation and efficiency.

The CPU model offers several key benefits, including lower upfront costs, quicker market entry and a shared master codebase that evolves with the needs of other operators in the network. These elements play a key role in futureproofing long-term success and enable operators to scale seamlessly. In fact, there are no limits to its capabilities in production environments

Innovation and integration 

A modern PAM platform needs to be open and API-driven, enabling seamless integration with third-party services. It needs to be flexible, allowing operators to switch vendors as needed without disrupting their entire tech stack, and robust, which ensures smooth and secure operation of core functionalities like payments, withdrawals and PAM.  

The modular approach of the Pragmatic Solutions platform empowers operators to build bespoke, highly optimised technology stacks tailored to their specific needs and market requirements.

It allows them to focus their internal development efforts on areas where they can truly differentiate, like front-end customer experience, while relying on specialist vendors for commodity services and best-in-class solutions for specific functions.  

PAM platforms built on flexibility offer endless customisation possibilities. As the igaming industry increasingly leverages innovative new technologies, such as AI and machine learning, operators need to adopt platform models that support next-gen features which provide them with a competitive edge.  

For example, access to best-in-class, pre-integrated AI tools enable them to implement these solutions more quickly and efficiently.

The impact can be considerable across many different areas – whether it is creating predictive models to forecast player behaviour, personalising game recommendations or enhancing fraud detection algorithms.

By connecting AI-driven business intelligence tools, operators can gain deeper insights, empowering them to make better data-informed decisions through integration and continuous innovation. 

Security and compliance  

Data security is more important than ever as cyberthreats become ever more sophisticated and regulators seek new levels of compliance.

Contrary to the common belief that a proprietary, in-house platform is the most secure option, the truth is that modern data security practices rely on technology and development teams staying current with the latest security protocols.

Achieving the highest levels of data protection requires integrating top-tier services and consistently adhering to security standards.

The inherent advantage of the CPU model is that each licensed platform operates within its own independent instance, typically hosted on a virtual environment like AWS. This allows operators to take control of their security policies while ensuring compliance with regulatory standards.  

As a result, operators can expand to new markets quickly and easily because the regulatory barriers to entry are no longer such a problem. For businesses looking to scale up rapidly, this is a major benefit that can be embedded into the platform technology strategy from the outset. 

Strategic compatibility 

It may seem obvious, but the importance of the relationship and shared vision between operator and platform provider can often be overlooked.

This partnership is not just about ticking off technology features; it is essential to foster a close working relationship that extends beyond the current technological landscape, focusing on the execution of long-term strategic goals. 

The alignment of objectives and thinking becomes especially important as businesses expand into regulated markets. A platform provider must be a trusted partner throughout this journey to ensure successful platform expansion. 

The crucial question at this level is: who is strategically aligned with my business objectives and has the core technology and development capabilities to forge a long-term partnership towards mutually beneficial commercial success?  

Since the resources, technical capabilities and the feature set of a platform are not static, it is important to evaluate closely the velocity of development possible by a given partner and the pedigree and loyalty of the key senior engineers involved in the lifecycle of a platform.  

Ultimately, the selection of a third-party PAM platform, as advocated by Pragmatic Solutions, is not just a choice but a strategic alliance.

We strongly advise operators to carefully consider these terms when selecting a platform provider, only selecting a vendor that aligns with their strategic goals and has tangible proof of being able to ensure their clients’ lasting success.  

Foundation for success

By carefully considering long-term business objectives, scalability needs, integration capabilities and the potential for future innovation, operators can make informed choices that better position their business for long-term achievements.  

Leadership teams can move beyond merely evaluating the technical aspects of available technology products. Instead, they can take a comprehensive, strategic approach where the PAM platform becomes a cornerstone on which future growth is built. 

Ashley Lang, CEO of Pragmatic Solutions, has more than two decades of leadership experience in the igaming industry. He is a serial entrepreneur having co-founded B2B marketing firm Green Room Media, B2B technology provider Odobo and B2C igaming operator Lottomart. He has also held senior leadership positions in established gaming companies including as a founding executive member of Mansion and a non-executive director at bet365 for 14 years.