GMB - With what expectations does 2021 begin, after a year to forget?
Johnny Ortiz - We started the year with great enthusiasm. 2020 was an extremely difficult year. Like all companies, the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic dismantled our plans and we had to adapt to a new reality in record time. Despite all the bad things that the past year has brought, I couldn't be prouder of how we handled the situation. It is at a difficult time that the true value and strength of companies and their people are valued and, at Zitro, we start a new year more united and stronger than ever.
Is Zitro better prepared than before to deal with outbreaks or the continuation of the pandemic? Will there be a change in strategy?
During the past year we have all learned a lot about things that until then we did not really care about. At Zitro, we have implemented all the necessary measures to protect our employees and their families, and for sure some of these measures will remain for a long time. So, yes, of course, now we have more information and, therefore, we are much better prepared than in March 2020 when the first wave came in full force.
However, our goal has not changed at any time. Our mission remains to provide players with unparalleled experiences based on the latest, most profitable, and successful products in the gaming industry. This is our real reason for being and it is what has motivated us all this time.
What projects / ideas is Zitro working on to launch this year?
In all these months, we have never stopped our factory of ideas. We have created a battery of new products that are even better from the iconic Zitro games that are already triumphing around the world. What we have created now will far outweigh anything players have seen in a gaming room and, I am convinced, will provide operators with powerful tools to quickly recover their pre-pandemic revenue levels once the situation improves and the rooms can open normally. We won't be able to control the “when” of this moment, but we can control the “with what” and I couldn't be prouder and more excited about the fantastic games that will soon be on display in the best rooms in the world.
Do you believe that the penetration of online gambling will increase while the land-based will maintain its limitations on public entry?
I believe that the COVID-19 pandemic acted as a catalyst for technological change. People who were still reluctant to use digital media for their usual activities, such as online shopping or Internet banking, to name a few, were forced to do so. Many of these people were seduced by its advantages, changing their consumption habits, certainly forever. In the field of gaming, this is no different and has led to an increase in consumption of online games. However, the imposition of social distance only confirmed what we already knew: that people like to go out, discover new things and, above all, share with others.
For this reason, casinos and face-to-face gambling will never cease to exist. Both the physical and the online models will coexist, each to satisfy different needs. That is why we have invested in the digital business for a long time at Zitro, but now we have given a new impetus, increasing investment with the creation of ‘Zitro Digital’. This business unit will be in charge of offering our most popular games, such as Link King, Link Me or 88 Link, to online casino operators, while expanding our offer in the social gaming segment, where we already operate two World of Bingo apps, exclusively dedicated to video bingo games, and Let's Win Up, which offers video bingo games and video slots. We will be launching a spectacular new app soon. Stay tuned!
Do you think that this year in Brazil there will be a definite takeoff towards a regulated gambling market? Will Zitro's presence / investment grow in the country throughout 2021?
I do not know when the moment will come when Brazil will approve the regulations, so necessary for the country, within the scope of the gaming at once. What I am convinced of is that that moment will come. And when it arrives, Zitro will, for sure, be completely prepared.
Source: Exclusive GMB
