GR8 Tech: Unified Payments and Local Execution Will Be Key to Winning in LATAM in 2026

March 18 & 19, 2026 at the Hilton Buenos Aires Hotel & Convention Center

In the lead-up to SAGSE South America 2026, taking place on March 18–19 at the Hilton Buenos Aires Hotel & Convention Center, Yevhen Krazhan, Chief Sales Officer at GR8 Tech, shares his perspective on why LATAM is no longer just about Brazil and where the next growth curves are emerging. The combination of agile payments, deep localization, and the operational capacity to scale without losing control is becoming the new competitive standard in the region, with markets such as Argentina and Chile showing clear signs of acceleration.

LATAM is no longer ‘just Brazil.’ In your view, which two markets are going to surprise the most in the coming months, and what concrete signals make you invest in them?

I’d say Argentina and Chile. In both, the demand is there, and what players expect from the product is becoming clearer. That’s usually when markets move faster than people think.

Argentina can scale quickly because it’s already a digital-wallet economy. If you localize the UX properly, you immediately see it in conversion, repeat deposits, and retention. On top of that, sports betting is becoming a more frequent, value-driven habit, shaped by a very strong sports culture. Football club sponsorships matter a lot there: they accelerate trust and visibility for brands that execute well.

Chile is different, but just as interesting. It’s highly connected and mobile-first, and users are already used to doing everything online, so the bar for quality is high. Players expect speed: real-time odds, live and micro-betting, instant deposits, fast withdrawals. And they tend to be more analytical than people assume, which opens the door for operators who bring a sharp sportsbook experience and casino content that feels new.

Across both markets, crypto is becoming increasingly important. Argentina is especially crypto- native, but in both places, crypto can cut payment friction, speed up settlements, and reduce reliance on traditional rails when they’re slow or expensive. That’s why we often point operators here toward Crypto Turnkey: it lets you run crypto payments and wallets alongside local methods, and localize onboarding, risk, and the player journey without rebuilding your stack.

You’ve been emphasizing going ‘deeper and wider’ in your expansion: what does premium execution in LATAM mean today—partners, product, risk, or local support?

It’s important to build a setup that can scale across very different markets without losing control of payments, margins, compliance updates, or player experience.

On the partners’ side, it starts with strong local payment and distribution allies. Payments are not an integration problem in LatAm; rather, they are a growth and uptime problem. You need coverage for wallets and cash methods where they matter, and increasingly you need crypto as a parallel track to reduce dependence on PSPs, protect uptime, and capture VIPs who prefer higher limits and faster settlement.

On the product side, premium execution is localization. That means adapting onboarding, promos, and content to how people actually play: Brazil’s immediacy, Peru’s odds/value focus, Mexico’s bonus expectations, Chile’s live and micro-betting demand, Argentina’s province-by- province realities. It also means managing sportsbook margins dynamically and keeping casino content relevant, often by bringing in stronger content from outside the region.

On risk, the bar is higher than many expect. Fraud patterns, payments behavior, and influencer- led acquisition change the risk profile by market. There have to be tight controls around bonus abuse, payments risk, and responsible gaming.

Finally, on local support, it’s speed and accountability. The teams that win here are the ones who can react fast: update configurations, adjust promos, tune margins, switch payment emphasis, and stay stable under high traffic. In LatAm, “premium” means being able to localize quickly, scale efficiently, and keep operations resilient every day.

Looking ahead to SAGSE, which part of your offering do you believe will be most decisive in 2026 to compete in the region: content, risk + trading, CRM/retention, or payments orchestration?

If I have to pick one for this year, it’s payments. Specifically, a unified wallet approach that covers local payment methods plus cryptocurrency.

LatAm is where smooth payment options are crucial. Wallets dominate in some places, cash options still matter in parts of the region, and bonus-driven acquisition in markets like Mexico only works if deposits are frictionless. When payments fail, everything fails: conversion drops, VIPs don’t onboard, withdrawals become a support nightmare, and brands lose trust fast.

Crypto makes this even more decisive. VIPs increasingly prefer it for speed, privacy, and higher limits. On our platform in 2025, VIPs drove 49.7% of casino turnover and 44.2% of sportsbook turnover. As I mentioned before, crypto also reduces operators’ dependence on PSPs, lowers transaction costs, eliminates chargebacks, and speeds up settlements, thereby directly improving margins and operational resilience.

So yes, content, trading, and CRM matter, but in 2026, the operators who win in LatAm will be the ones who can move money instantly, reliably, and locally, while offering crypto as a first- class option without adding complexity.