´We thrilled to start appearing at in-person tradeshows:´ Lucie Svandova Kadlecova, Mancala Gaming

We finally met again in person at ICE London. What is the importance for the company of being present at this show?

We launched Mancala Gaming in 2020 in the middle of the pandemic, when all events were canceled, and the world was adjusting to a new normal. All of these facts made it incredibly challenging to get exposure for our brand and games and introduce ourselves to industry professionals as a new game provider. That's why we are thrilled to start appearing at in-person tradeshows where we can talk to people, present our games and let everyone experience the talent and good vibes of Mancala Gaming as a company. ICE London is one of, if not the biggest gambling exhibition in the world - we simply couldn’t have missed being here.

What novelties have you prepared for this occasion? What have you exhibited at your stand and what was the highlight?

ICE 2022 was all about getting our brand out there, gaining exposure, and presenting our portfolio as a consolidated product. We knew that there would be attendees from many countries and with many interests, so we wanted to have our whole portfolio available for each person to find the game that best fits their preferences.

After the last two years, due to the pandemic, we had to make changes and adapt both personally and professionally. How does the company face this "new normal" we are living right now?

We’ve spent the pandemic and multiple lockdowns working on our processes and establishing a smooth flow that allows us to work efficiently as a team whether we are in the office or at home. We found many upsides to the situation – for example, once we improved our workflow, we were able to start hiring industry professionals from all over the world and not be limited to hiring in-house talent. Mancala Gaming is based in Prague, Czech Republic and it is a bit more challenging to find industry professionals located here, because most of the industry talent is in iGaming hubs in Malta, Cyprus, Gibraltar etc., so opening up roles for remote team members has been a real game-changer.

Online gaming is becoming stronger every day worldwide. What are the opportunities that arise, what are the benefits? Do you think that online gaming could be competition for land-based gaming or a complement?

We strongly believe that online gaming should complement land-based gaming. The two options offer entirely different experiences, each with their own advantages and drawbacks. The popularity of each depends largely on the player, and the experience they are after. In the end, it will be players who decide which form of gaming will thrive in the future. That is, of course, hoping that there won’t be any more lockdowns to make the decisions for them.

In what markets is the company already established and what are the markets is it aiming to enter soon?

As of right now, we have a strong presence in the CIS market and Latin America. Both have proven to be a huge success for our games, and we’ve grown a solid fanbase in these markets. Looking at the future, we have our eyes set on Spain, Italy, USA, and Canada. Although the regulations in these areas are much stricter, there is a huge potential to grow and really put our product out there.

Brexit has been decisive for many companies when making the decision to participate or not in this edition of ICE London. How have you handled this issue? Is it an important issue when deciding to be present here?

For us, the fact that Brexit happened hasn't really had any influence on the decision whether to participate or not. ICE London has always been an industry staple event of highest quality that brings benefits from both business and exposure perspective. We’ve been planning to attend the event since our launch, so Brexit hasn’t had much of an impact on our decision, as we knew that this would be one of the best opportunities to truly gain exposure for Mancala Gaming and present our portfolio to potential future business partners.