Greg Penkov: “Blask is all about removing uncertainty and letting companies innovate on solid data foundations”

Greg Penkov, a seasoned professional in the iGaming industry, recently joined Blask, a cutting-edge data analytics company. Blask focuses on providing real-time market intelligence to help businesses innovate globally. With a mission to cover over 100 markets, Blask aims to revolutionize how companies approach emerging markets and deliver localized insights.

Q: Greg, what is the first thing that has made an impression on you joining Blask’s team?

I’d say the vision of Max, Dmitry and the entire team. I’ve been working in this industry for several years now, and the lack of high-quality, real-time data has been one of the biggest roadblocks. Lots of people have complained about this, but the Blask team has come up with a tech-driven solution that is already changing the way companies are run. That’s a huge accomplishment, and we’re only just getting started.

On a day-to-day basis, it is really invigorating to be alongside so many creative and driven people, who believe in the concept and are working tirelessly to deliver it. The energy is truly inspiring!

Q: Blask is currently prioritizing global expansion, bringing its powerful data analytics product to different jurisdictions. How do you think the company can immediately benefit from this strategy?

People talk about iGaming being a genuinely global industry, but in reality, most are focused on the same handful of established markets. This is damaging to our sector as a whole because it means a lot of emerging markets aren’t getting the attention they deserve when it comes to product, marketing, player customisation and much more.

Blask’s mission is to change that by bringing real-time, granular iGaming market intelligence to the entire world. We want the most creative people in this industry to use Blask data to deliver locally focused innovation to markets that simply aren’t getting it right now. That’s a large part of the world and a huge opportunity for those willing to take the time to understand the nuances.

That’s why we’ve pledged to cover more than 100 markets globally by the end of the year, with the eventual aim of providing our data for the entire world.

Q: Is there a demand for the specific services that Blask is providing right now, and how do you see partner businesses benefiting from a partnership with your company?

Absolutely. We’ve been in early access mode for the last few months and it is clear there’s demand for the real-time market intelligence Blask is providing from across the industry.

The interesting thing for us, even this early on, has been the different profiles of users and how they are finding new value in the product. It is obviously a powerful tool for operators benchmarking in different territories and exploring new market opportunities. But we’re also seeing affiliates, providers, investors and consultants finding unique ways to leverage our data.

We expect this trend to accelerate as we add even more functionality to Blask. Over the coming months, we’re rolling out a huge amount of new content, including game studio and game performance metrics, a comprehensive sports calendar, bonus and promotional data and an affiliate database. We want Blask to bring value to every corner of the industry.

Q: What do you see as the biggest challenges to your next chapter of business growth?

We need to shift the mindset. One of the big ironies of the gambling industry is just how risk-averse it is. There’s too much fear around trying something different, and that can stunt innovation.

Blask is all about removing that uncertainty and letting companies innovate on the solid foundations of up-to-date, relevant data. But for this to work, there needs to be a change in approach. We understand why many companies play it safe, but there are so many opportunities out there that trying something different is going to be rewarded more often going forward.

Currently, we still see businesses approaching emerging markets in Latin America, Africa or elsewhere with a European-centric perspective. We understand why that is, but we don’t believe it’s offering the best experience to the end-user. Blask can change that, and we want to show everyone how it’s done.

Q: Blask prides itself on leveraging data analytics to provide partner businesses with insights that keep them one step ahead of the competition. How do you think data analytics will change in the future, and how is Blask prepared to keep pace?

A big part of this is the artificial intelligence we are using to gather the huge amounts of data on Blask. That already covers more than one billion data points, and obviously it is impossible to operate at that scale manually.

We’ve focused on building robust models that can deliver on the scale our users demand. We’re obtaining millions of data points using open-source intelligence, and then analysing these via computer vision and natural language models. It means we are able to paint a unique picture of the global market.

AI has massively accelerated the pace of change in data analytics. And we aren’t here just to keep pace; we’re here to set the pace.