Interviews
Exclusive Q&A with Phil Hubner Chief Business Development Officer at Challengermode
Retired players become media commentators, or selectors, or coaches, or the sports administrators. That is the trend in most sports.
What about esports? What do esports players do once they retire?
We have with us here Phil Hubner, the Chief Business Development Officer at Challengermode, who was a successful esports player too.
He talks about his esports playing days, his struggles to build a career, his company and the career options available of esports players in the industry.
Q. We shall begin with your esports career. How did your attention turn to esports and how it developed?
A. Like a lot of people in the industry, my introduction to gaming and esports began at a very young age. My first memory of gaming was in 1996. I was 4 years old, sitting in my 21 year old uncle’s lap, watching a screen light up with flash rockets, lasers and machine guns in Quake. And then playing my first ever casual match against my brother and my uncle’s best friend.
By 2005 I’d spent almost all of my free time playing video games, with the whole of 2004 spent perfecting my craft in DotA. That meant watching videos of the best players in the game, spending my days on IRC networks chatting with some of the top players and getting tips and tricks from them. I was part of the professional German esports organization “mousesports” which accounted for my first real experience with esports. There I managed the team’s scrimmage and tournament schedule and substituted as a player on the roster; primarily in practice matches.
A short 4 years later, Heroes of Newerth was released – the first real successor and stand-alone version of DotA. I spent my days playing at a top level, there didn’t seem to be much of a chance of making a living from esports in either game. Teams weren’t very supportive, there were no actual salaries being paid out, and the prize money wasn’t enough to sustain competitors unless they won every single tournament that ran. This was the point I decided that playing, whilst an important part of my free time, wasn’t going to be the career choice for me. I wanted to do something bigger, more impactful, and most importantly something that would allow me to pursue a full-time, paying career within this industry.
Q. Could you narrate your transition from an esports player to an industry professional? What are the challenges that you faced?
A. The first step towards making a career outside of being a player involved turning my industry knowledge into a stint in journalism. In 2010 I wrote an email to the up-and-coming esports publication ESFIWorld (now sadly defunct), arguing they should consider reporting on MOBA games like Heroes of Newerth and League of Legends. The CEO welcomed the idea and I joined the team there as a Content Director – an unpaid position – whilst finishing high school.
In 2011 I covered my first industry events – “The International”, and CeBIT, where the Intel Extreme Masters World Championship took place. I threw myself into these events, striking up conversations with the tournament operators, commentators, hosts, players and more. I recorded interviews, wrote articles, and attended after-parties – producing over 130 content pieces in a span of just 5 days. But this still fell short of “making a living” in esports. Like many people who want to turn their passion into their career, the main challenge was finding a role that could support me financially. In 2011 I was still a broke student with hardly enough money to buy food at these events. One night, our hotel room got cancelled, forcing us to go back to the hostel we had stayed the night before, who allowed us to sleep on the floor in their storage room – not the best example of a successful esports career!
But this experience did allow me to make a name for myself within the European esports industry. I wasn’t famous by any means, but I knew people. One of these people was Michal Blicharz (as of my writing this the VP of Pro Gaming at ESL Gaming) who was the man with the plan on the Intel Extreme Masters. I asked whether there were any openings for internships or junior positions within their company. Within a week I got an offer, quit school and in March 2012 – exactly a year after my first ever live esports event – I attended my first event as an intern under Michal, where I would soon become a Junior Product Manager. With a paying role under my belt, the main challenge became embedding myself fully in the rapidly growing and constantly changing industry, an industry at the forefront of digital marketing.
Moving away from the editorial side of the esports industry – In 2015 I started working with Ben Goldhaber at the time Content Director at Twitch, handling content marketing for Twitch in Europe and managing their mighty social media accounts with millions of followers. I moved to London, and shortly after pitched a new role and department to the current VP of Marketing at Twitch: International Marketing. Following this I saw many opportunities in both the rising esports industry, and the newly discovered land of opportunities that was influencer marketing – managing half a dozen streamers and influencers. This led me to my first role in Business Development in helping build up the Italian esports organization QLASH.
Q. Let’s now move to your career at Challengermode. What exactly does Challengermode offer and what’s your role as Chief Business Development Officer?
A. Challengermode is an esports platform with a big focus on the grassroots levels of competitive gaming, and a vision to make esports as accessible as possible. In effect, that means we build technology that makes playing in and offering esports competitions seamless. I joined Challengermode in 2017 as Head of Business Development, where I was largely responsible for onboarding the very first partners at the company, as well as devising the company’s partnerships and business strategy. I came to this after working in a wider variety of positions around esports, from marketing and communications to product management to business development and strategy. In my current role as CBDO I draw on a lot of that experience to translate greater accessibility in esports into greater value for stakeholders all across the esports ecosystem. I also manage two key departments within the company that deal with acquiring and then supporting partners such as game developers, tournament organizers, esports teams and brands.
Q. A number of young people become esports wizards. Could you tell us the career options available to them once they hit the esports peak and start the downhill journey?
A. I wouldn’t call it a downhill journey. I think it’s more of a natural evolution to go from player to industry professional. Hopefully my previous answer goes some way to highlighting the breadth of roles that are available in the industry away from the bright lights of being a competitor!
My experiences may be a few years old now, but if you look at the esports industry today, there are a few obvious steps one can take after putting down the mouse and keyboard (or controller) and wanting to fulfill a role within the industry with the background of being a professional player. There are many living examples of players that have turned to commentary and analysis for example. Using their in-depth knowledge of their game to dissect other players’ performances.
Another route that many have gone is to become a coach. Much like in traditional sports – years and years of playing will have honed your understanding of the game, problems for individual players to overcome and will have given you a keen read on other teams, their strategies, and their weaknesses. Similarly though, this is only the correct path for the few players that in their playing careers tend to be actively engaged in strategy and tactical choices.
For those with a more entrepreneurial nature, a common trend you’ll see is the formation of a new esports team or a company within esports that solves a problem they may have uncovered during their days as a player. You’ll find many, many such examples dating all the way back even to some of the oldest esports organizations such as SK Gaming or Ninjas in Pyjamas, but even more so in newcomers such as TSM, G2 Esports or 100 Thieves.
If none of those are the right way to go, luckily the rise of Twitch and the continued success of YouTube have provided any retiring player with an outlet and opportunity to continue their careers even beyond their competitive days. For many viewers, there’s little more entertaining (and educational) than watching players who play at the top level of their game. What’s better than getting an opportunity to directly engage with, chat, and ask questions to a retired star player?
Q. From a personal point of view, what are the advantages an esports player looking for a career in the gaming industry has, compared to a non-player?
A. Put simply – industry knowledge. Esports is still a very young industry and every year more companies enter the sector than there is talent available to staff them. Professional players, retired or not, will have some of the keenest eyes when it comes to authentically speaking to the esports audience. It’s not just an audience for them after all, it will have been their life for the past few years. This means there will always be in-roads for these individuals when looking to move into the business of esports.
Many of them however will experience a heavy reality check when starting this next step of their journey: while they may have a keen understanding of the audience, they might not have many skills directly applicable to their new roles. Be these in marketing, operations, recruiting or what have you. There’s good news though: their diligence, discipline and ability to become the best at something will easily translate into other fields outside of the games they played for so long. Besides from the industry knowledge, the soft skills are easily transferable.
Q. Again from a personal perspective, is the industry welcoming enough to the esports players? Any comments on that?
A. Whenever a professional player retires, that person should be seen as a top candidate not necessarily to join your executive team and lead the charge, but at the very least someone that will no doubt be a fast learner and someone that can intently focus on whatever is put in front of them. It is up to the universities, colleges and companies in the space to provide these paths for these players; but likewise up to these players to identify and accept where they stand within a professional context, how applicable their skills are, and where they may be lacking.
I have no doubt that anybody capable of being the best out of millions of players in any given game will likewise be capable of being the best at many other jobs and tasks thrown at them; that they will learn them quickly and learn how to excel at them, and if we do a good enough job at telling the stories of former professional players and their careers, we can give hope and inspiration to current and future pro players, whilst reassuring companies that former professional players are likely to be top-tier hires if provided the right guidance and opportunity.
Q. What are the potential roles and positions in the gaming industry that particularly suit esports players?
A. Using some of the roles I mentioned previously as examples, commentators and analyst roles lend themselves well to the kind of esports competitors that are naturally charismatic and have an ability to speak concisely. Players choosing to go down this path are often at the mercy of the audience. When it comes to coach roles oftentimes this is a natural fit for team captains, those who have been on the frontline in leadership positions before have an understanding of what different team members need and how to handle group dynamics.
Many retired players have found ways into game balance and later game design teams either for the very same games that they were once competitive in, or for new games in the same, unexplored genre. After all, who understands MOBAs better than someone who has played one for tens of thousands of hours?
Ultimately what roles in the games industry that suit esports players depends greatly on the player themselves. What skills they have and what interests them. There are myriad roles out there for players with a solid industry knowledge base to get involved across art, design, marketing, communications, business, finance etc. It all comes down to what they want to do.
Q. Finally, as someone who has experienced it from both ends of the spectrum – as a player and then as an industry professional – what are the changes you would like to have in the esports vertical in the future?
A. What may be missing today is a safety net catching and training those players that don’t fall into the categories I’ve mentioned above. Those that aren’t as entrepreneurial or self-driven, and those that maybe want to step one further step away from the game itself than a role as a commentator, analyst, coach or game designer would allow them to. I’d like to see more organisations taking responsibility for the futures of their current talent. Not just for the sake of the competitors themselves, but for the sake of the industry as a whole.
Interviews
HIPTHER Community Voices: Interview with Attorney-at-law and founder at Kancelaria Adwokacka Dr. Justyna Grusza-Głębicka
With over a decade of experience in legal proceedings and a focus on gambling regulation and anti-money laundering compliance, Dr. Justyna Grusza-Głębicka is a leading voice in navigating the legal complexities of the gambling sector. In this interview, she shares her insights on the effectiveness of current safe gambling campaigns, the growing influence of social media in promoting illegal gambling, and the urgent need for regulatory reform in Poland.
Do you believe current awareness campaigns about safe gambling are working? What more should be done to educate players?
I do not have detailed analysis or data to confirm whether they are truly effective. However, the problem still exists. First of all, I am contacted as a lawyer by players who feel deceived by gambling operators. Players report violations regarding responsible gambling (for example, offering gambling to individuals who show clear signs of addiction) or in the area of AML (disregarding the fact that someone is gambling from another EU country when the operator does not hold a license there). Moreover, the media reports numerous cases involving the exposure of children to gambling – for example, by placing slot machine like devices in amusement parks or introducing gambling like mechanisms into video games accessible to minors. These violations are numerous, so clearly more can be done. To better educate players, influencers and social media platforms should be involved in the campaigns. These are currently the most effective tools for reaching people.
What are some common ways illegal gambling sites reach Polish players today? Are social media platforms a big part of the problem?
Social media plays a significant role. Influencers are actively involved in promoting illegal gambling and are very effective, especially as role models for younger generations. The live streams they conduct are difficult for enforcement authorities to monitor, and links to illegal casinos or poker sites are often shared in the comment sections during those streams. Currently, there is a trend of creating closed groups on platforms like Facebook, WhatsApp, or Signal, where players are encouraged to participate in illegal gambling and persuaded of its attractiveness. Big Tech companies like Google and Facebook are not helping in the fight against illegal gambling, as they allow such operators to advertise and be promoted through SEO.
Is the current legal system strong enough to go after these middlemen, or does it need updating too?
It is very difficult to prosecute gambling operators that offer services in Poland but are based abroad due to international legal obstacles. However, the current legal system does include tools for prosecuting intermediaries. Article 110a of the Fiscal Penal Code states that anyone who advertises gambling games in violation of the law or benefits from such advertising is subject to a fine. Additionally, under the Penal Code, there is a provision for aiding and abetting a prohibited act. Organizing gambling games without the required license is a criminal offense, and in such cases, the penalty for aiding and abetting is the same as for the principal offender. Aiding can be attributed to virtually anyone who supports the perpetrator in committing the offense.
Do you think most Polish players know whether a site is legal or not? How can they check this easily?
Research shows that only 38% of players know how to identify legal gambling websites. The legality of a gambling operator or website can be verified on the official government website: podatki.gov.pl or in the Register of Domains Used to Offer Gambling Games in Violation of the Law. However, the data indicates that it’s not that straightforward, as more than half of the players lack this knowledge.
What advice would you give to a player who has been scammed by an unlicensed online casino? Is there any legal step they can take?
First, I would advise reporting the crime to the authorities, even at the risk of personal liability, as this may be mitigated. In Poland, participating in foreign (unlicensed) gambling is punishable, so players also bear legal responsibility. Second, players can send payment demands to the entities responsible for organizing the illegal gambling, including payment institutions, although this approach may be ineffective. Under civil law, players are only protected when it comes to claims arising from legal gambling. Criminal proceedings are generally a better path. It’s also possible to seek protection through courts within the European Union.
And finally—do you think Poland is heading in the right direction when it comes to regulating online gambling? What are realistic changes you hope to see in gambling laws in the next year or two?
The last amendment to the Gambling Act was in 2016, so quite a bit of time has passed, and the world of modern technology is advancing rapidly. It is definitely time for change.
Recently, there has been an active debate on the future of gambling regulation in Poland – both within the industry and at the governmental level. A meeting of the Parliamentary Team for Free Market was organized under the topic: Illegal gambling in Poland – Diagnosis of problems in enforcement and proposed solutions, which I had the pleasure of attending. At the end of 2024, a new department dedicated to the gambling sector was also established. These may be signs of coming change.
The most visible demands include the liberalization of online casinos, which are currently under a state monopoly, and a shift from turnover tax to GGR. I believe that liberalizing the online casino market is a realistic development. Poland is struggling with a large grey market in gambling, and experiences from other EU countries show that allowing previously unlicensed operators to operate legally yields positive outcomes in this area.
Focusing on less headline-grabbing reforms, I would point to the need for improving the process through which the Ministry of Finance determines whether a particular game qualifies as gambling, currently, this process is quite costly. In general, facilitating better communication between the industry and the regulator would help avoid many misunderstandings caused by unclear legal provisions.
The post HIPTHER Community Voices: Interview with Attorney-at-law and founder at Kancelaria Adwokacka Dr. Justyna Grusza-Głębicka appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
At this year’s MARE BALTICUM Gaming & TECH Summit in Vilnius, NuxGame joins as the official TECH Trends, Innovation & Marketing Stage Sponsor – bringing with them not just cutting-edge technology, but a fully integrated platform built to help operators grow smarter, engage deeper, and stay ahead in a fast-evolving industry.
We caught up with Denis Kosinsky, Chief Operating Officer at NuxGame, to talk about personalized retention, real-world tech upgrades, and how the company is redefining success in a crowded marketplace.
Denis, thank you for joining us! Can you start by introducing yourself and telling us more about your role at NuxGame and the company’s core mission?
Thank you great to be here. I’m Denis Kosinsky, COO at NuxGame. My job in this game is to make sure the product doesn’t just work — it wins. That means constantly solving problems for operators, especially in fast-moving and emerging markets, and building solutions that are not only flexible but built to adapt to whatever the iGaming world throws at us.
At NuxGame, we power the engines behind some of the most competitive casino and betting brands worldwide. We partner with 140+ game providers across dozens of markets, delivering a modular platform that supports everything from game aggregation and payment systems to CRM and bonus engines. I work across product and operations to make sure our partners can launch fast, grow sustainably, and offer the kinds of player experiences that drive real retention not just short-term engagement.
In today’s industry, it’s not enough to be functional — you have to be responsive, scalable, and smart. Our mission at NuxGame is to give operators a platform that evolves with them — whether they need a turnkey launch or custom integrations — and to act as a real partner, not just a tech vendor. Because the way we see it, if our clients win, we win.
Retention is one of the hottest topics in iGaming right now. How can modern operators plan for a successful retention-first strategy?
Acquisition gets the headlines, but retention builds the business. In today’s iGaming landscape, where player acquisition costs are rising, a retention-first strategy is not optional — it’s essential.
At NuxGame, we equip operators with tools that drive sustained engagement: dynamic segmentation, real-time reward engines, personalized bonuses, and gamification systems that go beyond basic loyalty points. Operators using our tier-based achievements and contextual campaigns have reported up to 22% higher 30-day retention and 12% increases in average revenue per user (ARPU). Our platform also supports real-time feedback loops, so operators can adapt instantly to player behavior.
Retention starts with understanding the player — what they want, when they want it, and how they engage. It requires more than just reactivations; it’s about creating an ecosystem where players feel progression, personalization, and value. At NuxGame, we don’t just give operators the tools — we help them build the strategy, map the journeys, and monitor the data to retain players longer and increase lifetime value.
NuxGame has recently upgraded its foundation with technologies like Vue 3 and Kubernetes. How do these improvements translate into better day-to-day performance and results for casino operators?
Technology upgrades aren’t just backend improvements — they directly affect player satisfaction and operator results. Speed, stability, and scalability are what keep users engaged and operations running profitably.
By moving to Vue 3, NuxGame delivers a faster, smoother front-end experience with better responsiveness across devices — crucial for mobile-first markets. On the backend, Kubernetes allows us to scale platform services dynamically, ensuring high uptime, faster deployments, and better fault isolation. Operators benefit from reduced latency, quicker updates, and minimal downtime — especially during high-traffic events or promotional pushes. These upgrades aren’t just technical milestones — they’re business enablers. Operators using our upgraded stack report improvements in player session length, bounce rates, and overall platform stability. It gives them the infrastructure to support growth, launch faster, and deliver a modern user experience that meets rising player expectations. At NuxGame, we build tech that directly improves performance where it matters: in daily operations and long-term retention.
From Pronto Paga to crypto, payment flexibility seems to be a major focus. How is NuxGame adapting to global demand for diverse, seamless payment options, and what kind of impact does this have on player satisfaction and market reach?
Payment flexibility is no longer a bonus — it’s a necessity. Players expect to deposit and withdraw using the method they trust, whether that’s a local e-wallet like Pronto Paga or a decentralized crypto wallet.
At NuxGame, we’ve built a modular payment infrastructure that supports over 250+ global payment methods, including fiat gateways, local bank systems, crypto, and Web3 wallets. We partner with PSPs and KYC providers across different jurisdictions to ensure fast, secure, and compliant transactions. This flexibility directly impacts conversion rates — platforms offering localized and crypto payments report up to 35% higher deposit completion rates and a significant reduction in churn during onboarding and cashout.
It’s not just about supporting more payment methods — it’s about adapting to player expectations in every region. Whether it’s high-growth Latin American markets with strong demand for local cash-based systems or Gen Z users entering through USDT wallets, our goal is to give operators the tools to match payment preferences with minimal friction. This increases trust, shortens time-to-play, and opens the door to new markets.
Trust is crucial in this industry. What does your recent GLI-19 certification and Jumio integration mean for operators looking for both compliance and performance?
Operators primarily want peace of mind — that’s a fact. GLI-19 certification shows that our platform is tested, secure, and ready to meet regulatory demands across multiple jurisdictions. But compliance alone isn’t enough. That’s why we’ve integrated Jumio, with the aim of making KYC faster, safer, and easier for both players and operators. This kind of trust is similar to a good Wi-Fi: you don’t notice it when it’s working, but everything runs better because of it. If the signal’s strong, you stop checking it. At NuxGame, trust is built-in, so operators can move forward without second-guessing.
Let’s talk about gamification. From custom missions to tournaments and loyalty programs, how are these tools reshaping the player experience and operator revenue models?
Gamification is paramount: it transforms activity into habit. It’s the difference between a one-time visit and a reason to come back tomorrow. Instead of players dipping in and out, they start setting goals (and reaching them). This upgrade brings major advantages to operators. Players who feel progress are more likely to stay longer, get a taste for new content, and spend more over time. Such features as missions, loyalty programs, and dynamic campaigns can guide players naturally without pressure. And such tools as our Achievements feature can make that experience even more supportive, especially during onboarding. When players feel seen and rewarded, they engage more — and that leads to higher earnings. Gamification isn’t decoration anymore. It’s how serious operators make gameplay a business strategy.
NuxGame is also taking a practical approach to blockchain. Can you share an example of how Web3 or token-based systems are already improving transparency, fairness, or loyalty in your platform?
Blockchain can help with three big things: fairness, clarity, and loyalty. We’ve already built tools that let operators offer provably fair games, so players can see for themselves that the results are legit. On the loyalty side, we’re working with token-based rewards that don’t just vanish like typical points. Players can use them later, and that keeps them engaged. It’s basically giving players something they own, not simply borrow. We are not here to make Web3 sound fancy: we are here to use it where it makes your iGaming service stronger and keeps players happy. Simple as that.
You’re enjoying some major recognition in the industry’s global Awards scene – including winning “Best Platform Provider 2025” at the SiGMA Eurasia Awards and being shortlisted in multiple key categories at our Baltic & Scandinavian Gaming Awards, as well as the AffPapa iGaming Awards. What do these milestones say about where NuxGame is headed next?
Awards are great to receive, but receiving them is not where our focus lies. Awards are proof that our platform is bringing real results for operators. Winning “Best Platform Provider” at SiGMA Eurasia and being shortlisted across several major awards tells us one thing: the work we’ve been doing is being noticed. It means that software is trusted, and we’re moving in the right direction. But we’re only picking up speed. These turning points motivate us to go further, and we’re focused on building even more impactful solutions. Recognition tells us we’re on the right path, but the future is about staying useful, flexible, and fully focused on what operators need next.
Meet Denis Kosinsky and the NuxGame team at the MARE BALTICUM Gaming & TECH Summit 2025 on 27–28 May in Vilnius.
🔗 Register now to explore tech innovation, platform excellence, and the future of retention-first iGaming.
The post Retention, Recognition & Real Results: How NuxGame Powers the Future of iGaming appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Finrax steps into the spotlight as the official Lanyards Sponsor at HIPTHER’s MARE BALTICUM Gaming & TECH Summit 2025 in Vilnius, bringing with them a next-gen crypto payment gateway and a bold vision that extends far beyond payments.
We sat down with Konstantinas Balakinas, CEO of Finrax, to discuss the future of AI in finance, the real-world potential of blockchain beyond the buzzwords, and how Finrax plans to bridge fintech innovation with eCommerce and beyond.
Konstantinas, thank you for joining us! Can you please introduce yourself to our readers, and share more about your professional background and role in Finrax?
Thank you — it’s a pleasure to be part of this conversation, especially as Finrax steps into a more visible role at this year’s summit.
I’ve been working in the financial industry since 1999, mostly in regulated environments. The bulk of my career has been in consumer finance, where I had the chance to grow several companies from the ground up and eventually guide one through the process of securing a specialized bank license. That experience taught me a lot about how to build resilient financial infrastructure — and how to adapt when the rules, tools, and expectations shift.
My interest in AI came later. I had a first-hand look at its practical impact while working with a Lithuanian EMI that was really leaning into AI-driven operations. That sparked something — and eventually led me to study AI for Business Analytics at Turing College, where I’m currently sharpening both technical and strategic understanding of how AI can reshape financial services.
At Finrax, I serve as CEO and Chair of the Management Board in its Lithuanian entity. Our mission goes beyond crypto payments — we’re focused on building real utility for digital assets in a way that businesses can trust and adopt without friction.
How do you see today’s AI solutions? Can they be truly predictive, like “modern oracles”, or are we still in the realm of reactive technology?
AI today is generative AI — especially large language models (LLMs), which have made impressive progress in producing human-like text and anticipating user intent. So in a technical sense, yes — these systems are predictive, but not in the way many assume. What they predict is not the future itself, but the next statistically likely word or phrase based on patterns learned from massive datasets. That creates the appearance of intelligence, but not true comprehension.
This distinction is essential. As Carl Bergstrom and Jevin West explain in The Bullshit Machines, LLMs can sound coherent and authoritative while having no actual grasp of truth. They generate content that feels convincing, regardless of whether it’s accurate or logically sound. That’s not a flaw — it’s how they’re designed.
One should approach these tools with both optimism and caution. Today’s AI still sits within the boundaries of Artificial Narrow Intelligence — excellent at specific tasks like pattern recognition, anomaly detection, and content generation, but still a long way from Artificial General Intelligence, which would reason and adapt like a human across any domain. And Artificial Superintelligence, capable of recursive self-improvement and independent thought, remains firmly theoretical.
So, while we admire the capabilities of today’s generative AI, we don’t mistake fluency for understanding. These are powerful tools — but not oracles. The real challenge is using them responsibly and building systems around them that make sense in the real world.
What are some practical ways AI is and could be integrated into Finrax’s crypto payment platform? Are there use cases you’re already exploring or see as promising?
I see three core domains where AI tools offer real practical value — not just for Finrax, but for any fintech building towards efficiency, scale, and regulatory clarity.
The first is internal productivity. AI works well as a personal assistant for employees — helping with everything from drafting emails to summarizing documents or generating code. Off-the-shelf tools like ChatGPT are already useful for this, but their impact depends heavily on how well people know how to prompt them. That’s why custom GPTs are especially promising: they allow us to build tailored assistants with topic-specific knowledge and clear task guidance. For instance, an onboarding specialist might use one to walk through a compliant KYC checklist, while a developer could use another to generate smart contract boilerplate or debug Python scripts.
The second domain is AI agents — and this space is moving fast. These systems handle automated, rule-based workflows, often collaborating with other agents to move tasks along. They’re more constrained than LLMs, but more reliable when used within predefined rules. For a crypto payment platform like ours, agents could eventually assist in payment routing, compliance alerts, or even technical monitoring — anything repetitive that benefits from low-latency automation.
The third area is pattern recognition, where AI’s value is most proven. We see strong potential in using it to support fraud detection and ML/TF screening — not to replace human oversight, but to enhance it. Spotting unusual activity, flagging anomalies, or refining transaction scoring — these are all areas where AI can quietly but meaningfully improve risk management.
That said, we’re also realistic about the limits. With the EU AI Act now on the horizon, every integration has to pass the test of explainability, compliance, and accountability. Any system we deploy will need a clear inventory, GDPR alignment, risk assessment, and, in some cases, staff training. We’re already looking into how these rules will apply — especially as we explore the potential of agent-based systems.
So yes, we’re enthusiastic — but we’re moving deliberately. We’re not building AI from scratch, but we are actively exploring how to apply it in meaningful ways — both internally and within our services. Our business development team is already using tools like ChatGPT in their day-to-day work, and we see real gains in productivity and clarity. That’s the direction we’re leaning into: using AI where it helps people do their jobs better, not just to check a box.
Finrax has built a strong reputation for reliability and speed – processing crypto payments in under a minute. What differentiates your platform from other solutions currently available on the market?
Reliability is the real star here. Speed is expected in blockchain-based systems — but combining that speed with stability, predictability, and regulatory clarity is a much harder problem to solve. That’s exactly where Finrax delivers.
We’ve built a platform that doesn’t just move fast — it does so in a way businesses can actually depend on. We offer fixed-rate settlements to remove volatility, giving partners certainty about what they’ll receive. That’s especially important in high-volume environments, where financial precision matters just as much as transaction speed.
Compliance is also baked in. Every transaction goes through full AML/CTF screening, and our onboarding and monitoring standards are designed to meet the expectations of regulated businesses. That’s not a side feature — it’s part of our foundation.
And while many of our clients have international operations, we’re careful to operate only where we’re permitted to do so. With MiCA coming into force, we’re preparing to scale responsibly, aligned with the new rulebook.
So yes, we’re fast — but more importantly, we’re reliable. And in this space, that’s what truly sets us apart.
What opportunities do you see in the field of eCommerce for a crypto-first payment provider, and what role could Finrax play in shaping the future of online payments?
Crypto is here to stay — and with that in mind, we’re building the tools to help eCommerce businesses accept crypto as naturally as they would any traditional payment method. Our goal at Finrax is to provide plug-and-play solutions that allow online stores across the EU to accept payments in stablecoins or major cryptocurrencies without having to rethink their entire checkout process.
The opportunity goes beyond retail. We see strong potential in industries like logistics, aviation, luxury, and of course, gaming platforms — areas where cross-border payments, speed, and transparency really matter. That said, everything still depends on how quickly users adopt crypto in their day-to-day transactions.
What gives us optimism is the direction regulation is moving. With MiCA coming into effect in the EU, we’re finally getting a clear rulebook — and that’s exactly what’s needed to build trust. Once customers know that only licensed, properly regulated providers can offer these services, it changes the perception. It brings structure to the market — and with structure comes wider adoption.
At Finrax, we’re preparing for that shift. We don’t just want to be ready for the future of payments — we want to help shape it in a way that’s both efficient and trusted.
As the world becomes increasingly automated, how do you see Finrax maintaining a balance between innovation and user-centric service, especially amidst the fast-evolving tech and regulatory landscapes?
Automation, at its core, is about efficiency — but that doesn’t mean we lose sight of the human side. In fact, I’d argue that smart automation should strengthen customer-centricity, not weaken it.
At Finrax, we see automation as a way to free up our people to focus on what actually matters — understanding the client’s real needs, solving problems, and making sure the experience feels consistent and supportive across the board. It also helps us align internal processes more clearly, so that we’re not sending mixed messages to clients. That’s often where customer frustration begins — not with the technology, but with the gaps between systems and people.
Another benefit is the ability to understand customers more precisely. With better data and well-designed workflows, we can respond faster and more accurately, without adding friction.
But none of this can come at the expense of trust. As regulations like MiCA, GDPR, and the EU AI Act begin shaping the environment, it’s clear that automation must be explainable, compliant, and ethically sound. For us, innovation isn’t just about what’s possible — it’s about what’s responsible. And we see that as a competitive advantage, not a constraint.
You’ll be joining the panel “Beyond the Hype” at MARE BALTICUM, discussing blockchain and AI applications in finance and governance. What are you most looking forward to sharing with the audience – and what do you hope to take away from the conversation?
A lot of the hype around AI comes from not really understanding how it works — and I think it’s important to go back to the basics. Most people still assume these systems “know” things. But in reality, large language models are built by training on massive volumes of data — much of it containing human bias, errors, or even outright misinformation. They don’t reason. They predict. They break down language into tokens and map those tokens across hundreds of abstract dimensions — far beyond how we perceive space — then generate output that mimics meaning, even if it’s not grounded in real understanding. But it’s not grounded in fact unless you make it so.
Even the best models will produce an answer to almost anything — even if that answer is fabricated. That’s why we see hallucinations. Unless you know how to prompt properly and critically assess the output, the result might sound confident while being completely off. This is why I always say: at this stage, AI should be seen as an assistant, not an authority. The human must remain in the loop — and at the top.
That said, the future isn’t bleak — it’s exciting, if we use these tools responsibly. One example that stands out to me is what Stripe recently did. They trained an AI model not on words or code, but on tens of billions of payment transactions. The model learned the “language” of money — identifying how payments behave, how fraud patterns look, and what hidden connections exist between different data points. The result? They went from detecting 59% of sophisticated card testing fraud attempts to 97% — almost overnight. That’s not just a technical win — it’s a complete shift in how we think about structured financial data.
So on this panel, I’m hoping to bring two things to the table: first, a grounded reminder that no model is infallible, and second, a practical optimism. AI has the potential to make finance faster, smarter, and safer — but only if we stay thoughtful about how we design, train, and regulate it. Humans should come first — but we don’t need to fear the future if we build it wisely.
Meet Konstantinas Balakinas and the Finrax team live at the MARE BALTICUM Gaming & TECH Summit 2025 on 27–28 May in Vilnius.
🔗 Register now to learn more about blockchain-powered finance, crypto innovation, and the real tech shaping tomorrow’s payments.
The post Modern Oracles & Smart Payments: Finrax’s Vision for Blockchain, AI & Beyond appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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