How Mastering Your Own Vertical Matters More than Ever

A particular kind of restlessness runs through our industry. Attend any major event or read the trade press, and you won't have to look far to find someone expanding into a new vertical, launching a new innovation, or repositioning itself to keep up with an emerging trend.

We are an industry that never stands still. Everyone is always trying to get ahead in one way or another, and it’s understandable. Markets mature, regulations change, margins tighten and the need to find a new source of growth is always there. Sometimes, though, we can get so ahead of ourselves in a rush to diversify that we forget to get better at what we do best.

Maintaining Focus

This very idea sits behind our approach at Kiron Interactive. Diversification is not wrong, far from it. Done well, it is a legitimate growth strategy, and one we have pursued ourselves in the past. However, alongside that ambition, we have always believed in the value of strengthening in our key areas, and not losing sight of our flagship offering: virtual sports. In an industry and market that is defined by constant change, serving genuine expertise in a category is one of the most underrated competitive advantages a supplier can have.

Virtual sports itself has also changed with the times. Technology has evolved, and players' expectations have evolved with it. What was once dismissed by some as just a filler product is now established as a strong standalone content offering and a dependable retention tool for operators.

We have monitored those changes closely and have, alongside some of our competitors, helped to shape the experience and drive those changes. This is a position we want to continue to stay in, operating as a supplier that is not driven by change, but as one who is driving the change.

Owning Your Space

This is often the difference between being a supplier who owns a vertical and an operator who operates within one. Ownership within a vertical means understanding it deeply. To know what players are looking for, what your operating partners need and how regulation is shaping the product.

At Kiron, this kind of position within the virtual sports space has taken years to build. As a team, we have decades of experience working in the vertical. We have established relationships with operators, built foot holds in regulated markets and have been able to anticipate and keep up with player trends.

This also means constant improvement. We are always working to perfect our virtual sports offering and to ensure we are offering some of the best virtual products on the market. When a new market enters, we want to ensure we understand what players are looking for from virtual sports there, get our compliance infrastructure right, and build strong ties with operators before going in unprepared because there is a gold rush.

Keeping Ambitious

We are far from standing still. As a company, we are more ambitious than we have ever been. We are just more focused, with our ambition being much more pointed in one direction and that is to offer the best experience in the vertical we specialise in.

Constant change has created pressure to keep announcing something bigger and bolder. This is great, and it will keep driving our industry forward, but the companies that are going to continue to do well long-term are those that can combine this sense of momentum with genuine depth and expertise in the areas they operate in.

The market often rewards novelty in the short term, and consistent quality in the long term. Our commercial value at Kiron is built on being the supplier an operator turns to when they want to work with what good looks like in a vertical. This kind of reputation is built through discipline and a consistent presence in a vertical.

The key to long-term success in our industry is not to move fast and break things; it is to move with the most purpose. This is the approach we have taken with Kiron and will continue to take as we grow.