The Next: Volume 21 with XST Capital Group

XST Capital Group presents The Next, a recurring series featuring founders, CEO’s, and key industry thought leaders to discuss the companies shaping innovation with the digital gaming sector. In this edition, XST Capital Group founder Joel Simkins speaks with Matevz Mazij, CEO of Bragg Gaming Group. This interview originally appeared on the XST Capital Group website.

“You joined Bragg in 2018 when they acquired the company you founded, Oryx Gaming. What attracted you to Bragg, and how have you seen it evolve since then?”

Bragg was an investment vehicle that acquired Oryx Gaming, and for the first two years, Bragg maintained minimal involvement in the operational aspects of Oryx. I had anticipated the possibility of concluding the earnout period; however, following a series of events and various management changes, I determined it was in the best interest of the company and the shareholders to assume a position of the Chair and later the CEO. Since then we have successfully filled all key executive roles and, in particular, significantly strengthened the commercial, finance and legal and compliance teams and improved our market position particularly in our key markets like the Netherlands, Brazil, US and Canada.

“I'd love to get some color on Bragg's current strategy. You offer a broad suite of products between your game studio and your technology solutions. Where is Bragg focusing development, and how do you see these offerings progressing?”

At a strategic level, we’re focusing on being present in key regulated markets, and that is something exemplified by our recent launch in Brazil, where we’ve quickly sewn up partnership agreements with more than a third of the market, with agreements in the pipeline which will take us to over 50% of the market. We’re pushing hard in markets like the U.S. and Canada, where we’re helping operators expand their content portfolios and providing them with proprietary, exclusive content. In terms of our development focus, we’re looking at our proprietary content, which at a business level provides us with greater profit margins than that of our aggregated and third-party content. Using our strong ethos of localization and data driven insights, we’re developing content geared around player preferences in our respective markets and bespoke content for our operator partners. Based on our current financial metrics, the percentage of our overall revenue from proprietary content is expected to increase in the coming months and years, and that’s something which is sure to aid our profitability going forward.

“Focusing on your game studio for a minute, how does Bragg balance the development of proprietary games with the integration of third-party titles to optimize your content and maximize your growth and impact?“

Primarily it’s heavily based on the current mix of the portfolio. At Bragg, when we think about game creation, we are really thinking in terms of five pillars. Those pillars are: strategic portfolio focus, analytics, portfolio segmentation, technology and partners. For me, this question falls under the scope of the last pillar: partners. In our experience, no game provider is appealing or big enough to cover the entire globe, that’s why we look for partners. It is the partners that allow us to be successful in all 30+ jurisdictions we serve. We know our proprietary content is strong in the Netherlands, the UK and the U.S markets, but not as strong in other markets, and that’s where having partners in other jurisdictions can help us penetrate these markets. For example, we have GAMOMAT, which is strong in Germany, and Sega Sammy Creation and Bluberi, which help raise our profile in wider North American markets. Our recent investment into Rapid Play, a localized content development studio in Brazil, is designed to support Bragg’s expansion in that market. That strategy is also reflected in other recent additions to the Bragg portfolio, with studios including Boomerang Studios, 4Leaf Gaming and Reflex Gaming, each chosen with a specific audience in mind.

Australian based Boomerang Studios was added to the portfolio based on their previous work in the U.S. and North American markets, and will support expansion there. Reflex Gaming, which is an established UK land-based brand, will add value to Bragg’s UK facing portfolio of brands and opportunities.

We’re not just limited to markets; the addition of 4Leaf Gaming includes a young team of industry professionals who are supporting us with content geared towards younger audiences, particularly the 18 to 24 years olds which are looking for “cool” new streamable content that can be featured on social media.

It is this segmentation and long-term planning that allows us to source new partners and maximize the value of existing ones.

“How do you navigate expansion into new global markets when it comes to evaluating regulatory demands and leveraging regional preferences to develop products that resonate with diverse audiences?“

As I said previously, we’re hugely experienced in expanding into regulated markets, we’re well aware of the sorts of regulatory demands levied on operators by regulators. This gives us the first part of the puzzle, developing compliant products and titles. The second part of this is the extensive data collection that we undertake and use to get an understanding of regional preferences. We use this information to ‘localize’ our offerings, for example using different mathematical models in different markets, models which are based on the preferences of players. We will also market our products differently in certain regions, for example in the U.S. we’ve launched with content, but are now marketing our PAM and turnkey solutions products.

“Switching gears here, walk us through your process to develop the Fuze PAM system. What were the key drivers behind its creation, and how do you anticipate your technology pushing the boundaries of what's currently available in the market?“

We began this journey around four years ago, driven primarily by market demand—specifically from our platform clients and operators, something we’re always fostering. It all started with leaderboards. At the time, Fuze didn’t exist yet; it was just the leaderboard feature, which we developed and launched in direct response to operator requests. The reception was overwhelmingly positive.

From there, we realized there was potential to do more than just leaderboards. That sparked deeper conversations about engagement and gamification. We began developing quests and missions, gradually evolving from simple engagement tools to what has now become Fuze. A key turning point was a technical decision we made early on, based on client feedback: Fuze would not be built into the core platform. Instead, it would be a standalone tool with its own independent server. Looking back, that was absolutely the right call.

Today, Fuze not only enhances our platform, but also serves our HUB clients, RGS clients, and is now being offered as a fully standalone product. It’s especially rewarding to see how well it’s turned out, considering we made some of these foundational decisions without knowing exactly where the product would go.

As regards to how Fuze might push the boundaries of what’s available in the marketplace, its simple, Fuze is an agnostic, constantly updated solution which can be used as part of our wider turnkey solutions, or on a standalone basis. This gives us a great USP, in that if our clients are already established with their own platform technology, they can bolt-on Fuze with no disruption.

Additionally, new tools are being added, while our existing suite is being updated, helping us to better assist our clients.

“Bragg recently secured a significant deal with Caesars to expand the relationship and lease them your RGS technology. How are you convincing operators that your solution offers a distinct competitive advantage, and what excites you the most about this partnership?”

The iGaming industry is one that is replete with Remote Game Servers (RGS) offered by various providers, each of which is vying to deliver the most robust, versatile platform for casino operators. Caesars, for its part conducted extensive research into this market, with a thorough examination and evaluation of what is a crowded market, research which led them to determine that Bragg’s RGS stood out as the premier solution. It's a great illustration of Bragg’s reputation for delivering cutting-edge technology which is uniquely tailored to the needs of top-tier operators. Our collaboration with Caesars marks a pivotal milestone for Bragg, as we evolve our existing relationship from just being a provider of online casino content to also delivering advanced technology solutions. Through a strategic technology licensing framework, Caesars will lease and acquire Bragg’s RGS, enabling seamless integration of innovative gaming experiences.

We are working closely with Caesars’ in-house games studio team to co-develop a series of exclusive new titles while building a bespoke delivery platform that empowers their studios to independently create and launch content. This partnership not only showcases Bragg’s robust development capabilities and comprehensive technology suite but also sets a precedent for future collaborations. We want this deal to serve as a blueprint, not only for deepening our relationship with Caesars, but forging similar partnerships with other U.S. operators and demonstrating the unparalleled value of Bragg’s RGS and the expansive range of services we provide to elevate the gaming industry.

“With so many competing game studios/tech providers in the iGaming market, how does Bragg differentiate itself?”

You’re absolutely right, it is a hugely competitive market, and our biggest challenge is staying ahead of the competition. We achieve differentiation through a number of factors: localization, excellence in products, breadth of titles and a continuous commitment to innovation. And it's a model which has seen us forge partnerships with the industry’s biggest names and achieve strong positions in the world’s most competitive iGaming markets. The challenge for us is continuing this journey and creating new areas of growth as a business.

It all comes down to segmentation. Not every brand will perform equally well in every market, that’s a simple truth. Bragg’s game provider partners take a more specialized approach when dealing with specific regions. Where the brand is already strong, Bragg will help increase its recognition, while inversely, where the brand is weaker, Bragg will work to introduce the brand to players. In the unlikely event that this proves to be unsuccessful, Bragg will reduce the number of games from that provider in that market, refocusing on other more successful markets for that brand.

This is an essential part of Bragg’s core strategy and helps us build the overall recognition.

“What are your thoughts on the key forces shaping the iGaming market and what trends do you see as the main catalysts for innovation and growth?”

There are a lot of competing forces shaping the iGaming markets. We have regulatory changes and demands, new markets opening, existing markets expanding with new verticals or inversely contracting where conditions require them to do so. There’s also the protection of consumers, the addition of new technologies into the iGaming market and the continuous groundswell of innovation that has brought the industry to this point. As regards to main catalysts for innovation and growth, well we’ve got changes in player demographics, particularly as new players enter the market, with a different outlook and different demands than their forebears. We’ve also only just begun to tap the potential of AI in iGaming, and it is my belief that AI can be one of the biggest growth drivers in the iGaming market over the next decade. We’re already using AI in our Fuze™ player engagement toolset with our AI powered games recommendation system, which is having a great impact for our operator partners, but I think we as an industry can be exploiting AI far more effectively than we currently are.

“Give us some insight into the roadmap for Bragg during the rest of 2025. What opportunities or partnerships are you focusing on near-term?”

Over the next 12 months, we’ve got a number of strategic initiatives in play, all of which have the aim of growing Bragg as a business in the near term. As I said in one of my previous questions, we’re focusing on developing our high-margin proprietary content and creating growth opportunities in key markets. We’re working on exploiting markets like Brazil and the U.S. as well as achieving an increased market share in major European markets like Italy, the UK and Sweden.

In addition, we’re looking for new content partner studios to grow our distribution footprints in North America and a number of Central European markets, as we have done through the additions of GAMOMAT and King Show Games to the Bragg stable. We’re developing a number of pipeline opportunities which could also grow Bragg in 2025.

From a technology standpoint, we’re working to enhance our technology profile through greater innovation, both to our existing product suite and via the implementation of new technologies and products. As you know, we collect extensive levels of data from our operator partners, data which is creating actionable insights and driving growth. We’re looking to enhance this growth further through the addition of AI and as a business we’re actively exploring how AI can reduce costs and enhance product margins going forward.

“We've been talking a lot about the short-term plans for Bragg, but I want to know more about your long-term goals. What is your vision for Bragg in the next decade, and how do you plan to achieve it?”

Bragg has a lot of potential that we’re working hard to realize. Over the long term, I want the company to become the technology and content supplier of choice to the global iGaming market. I want us to be synonymous with iGaming. But it's one thing to have a vision and another thing to achieve that goal, so how do we do that? Firstly, we increase our market exposure in our regulated markets through the agreement of partnerships with tier-one operators, using those partnerships to cross sell our technology solutions. Then we work diligently to expand our operations further through the addition of new regulated markets. As a company, our vision is to create unmatched experiences for players using content provided through our operator partners. We achieve this through consistent innovation, expansion of our content and through the creation and delivery of top-quality casino games. Lastly we are working to empower operators to launch at scale with maximum success and enhance the end user experience through powerful analytics and AI.

“When you get the rare opportunity to relax, what do you like to do to unwind and recharge?”

As you’ve said, opportunities to relax are rare when you're a CEO. When I do, I spend time with my family and friends, something which is very important to me, in that I can disconnect from my role, and focus on other things. I also enjoy basketball, and have been able to combine that with my job, in that Bragg is a strong supporter and sponsor of Kosarkarsko Drustvo Ilirija, a Ljubljana based basketball team, which is doing well in the Premier A Slovenian Basketball League.

Thank you for your time and thoughtful responses, it has been a wonderful discussion on Bragg. With all my questions for you, I'd like to offer you the same opportunity. Go ahead and ask me anything you want on the industry.

Wow, it’s rare to turn the tables. I suppose, given your experience in capital markets, I’d have to ask, what are the qualities you look for in a potential iGaming investment, and how has that changed over the years?

Thanks again for a really thoughtful and in-depth interview. I appreciate the opportunity to unpack the Bragg story and its key growth initiatives with you. Fun fact: Bragg is actually the first publicly listed company we’ve featured in our series—and we look forward to highlighting more interesting businesses we’re tracking.

While XST isn’t an investment platform today, drawing from my prior time as a sell-side research analyst, I’d note that most institutional investors remain very focused on the regulated markets. It’s still tough to justify deploying substantial capital in grey or dark grey jurisdictions given the compression in valuation multiples that tends to follow. That said, venture investors seeking 10x–100x returns are often more willing to explore unregulated markets, betting on the upside as once-taboo segments often evolve into regulated or clarified ones. Over my nearly 30 years in and around gaming, I’ve watched this evolution firsthand—whether it was Class II gaming, historical horse racing, online poker, or daily fantasy sports.

Looking ahead, I do believe we’ll see accelerated expansion of regulated online casino in the U.S., particularly as more states that previously approved online sports betting flip to iCasino. With growing state-level funding needs and recent changes at the federal level, the timing may be right for that next wave of legislation.

Matevz Mazij - Biography

Matevž Mazij founded Oryx Gaming in Slovenia in 2010, building the company into a leading full turnkey iGaming technology provider which was acquired by Bragg Gaming Group in 2018. Matevz continued to serve as CEO of Oryx Gaming throughout the post-acquisition integration period until 2021, when he moved on to join the Bragg Board of Directors. He was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Bragg Gaming Group in August 2023.