Q&A with Ohad Narkis, CO-founder of PlayOJO

Why did you choose Mexico for the latest LatAm market in which to launch PlayUZU?

We believe that Mexico has the potential to become one of the largest and most vibrant online casino markets in Latin America and a place where our PlayUZU brand and the unique player experience that we offer is a great fit. The market ticks a lot of boxes in terms of viability – it has a large population of 130+ million people, a diverse media landscape and sensible marketing regulations – which will allow us to hit the ground running and start to drive awareness and generate market share from day one. We are already live in other LatAm countries and will use the lessons we have learned in these markets to really make a splash in Mexico.

What opportunities do you see in Mexico and how does the market compare to others in Latin America? 

The biggest opportunity for us is that there is a strong appetite for online casino and video bingo among Mexico’s large population but to date, the majority of online gambling brands live in the market have mostly catered to sports betting. PlayUZU is 100% focused on casino and bingo which makes us confident that we will be able to deliver a superior experience to players looking for a place to enjoy slots – we stock more than 3,000 in our lobby – table games, live dealer and, of course, video bingo. The focus on a more casual games offering also will allow us to target a different audience and seek advertising opportunities in less crowded media places.

How have you localised PlayUZU for the Mexican market? What can players expect when playing at the casino? 

So PlayUZU is the Spanish-language version of our flagship PlayOJO brand. This means the entire casino has been fully translated into Spanish and we also have a dedicated Spanish-speaking customer support team. In addition to this, we have localised the game lobby with slot content from providers that have proved to be popular in other Latin American markets.

It goes without saying that our live casino lobby is loaded with titles that have Spanish-speaking dealers and we have also added a wide range of video bingo titles from providers such as Zitro Gaming and Ortiz Gaming to meet the high demand we expect for these games. This will allow us to differentiate, as to date not many operators have added video bingo titles to their lobbies so this is an area where we can stand out from the get-go. We are also operating a fully localised peer to peer bingo product which we’re confident will do very well in MX. We are leveraging our experience from operating as a successful UK bingo site to Mexico, which is a much less crowded bingo market and we are confident that together with our casino proposition PlayUZU will become the default destination site for casual players in MX.

While PlayUZU has been fully localised for Mexico, players can expect the same fun, fair and transparent experience that has made PlayOJO and PlayUZU household names in markets around the world. This includes no wagering requirements whatsoever.

How are you driving awareness of the PlayUZU brand in Mexico? Will you be using the same marketing tactics as in European markets? 

We plan to be aggressive with our marketing activity, as we have been in the other markets where we are active. In Mexico, this will include above the line campaigns, and we have already joined forces with two TV media companies so that we can really go big from the moment we launch. This includes plans for a bespoke PlayUZU TV show! We will also be running social media and paid media campaigns, as well as other marketing activities. Initially, campaigns will focus on educating players but with the same fun and entertaining approach that we have used in other markets.

What are your plans for the wider LatAm market?

We believe that Latin America will become one of the largest online gambling markets in the world, so it is a region that we are monitoring very closely to identify opportunities for PlayUZU. We are already in the advanced stages of securing a licence in Buenos Aires city, Argentina, through a joint venture with a local partner. The market has only just opened up, so we are really keen to enter and leverage the first-mover advantage.

We are also keeping a close eye on Brazil but to date, the focus has been on sports betting and it remains unclear whether online casino will be included in enabling legislation. If we see strong indications that it will be, then we will certainly make a play in the market.