Mario Ovcharov, CEO of UltraPlay.

Mario Ovcharov is an online gaming executive delivering innovative betting products to the iGaming industry. Firmly positioning UltraPlay on the global gaming market as the leading esports odds and platform provider and consolidating the company’s 10 years of experience as a turn-key betting supplier.

This year UltraPlay celebrates its 10-year anniversary. In what different ways has UltraPlay grown over the past 10 years?

UltraPlay’s 10 year anniversary is a special moment for all of us in the team, but it’s also a time to reflect on our journey on the market. We have established UltraPlay as one of the leading B2B iGaming providers.

Still one of the most important growth is in the team. The company has started from the bright vision of UltraPlay’s founder Dariy Margaritov and now employs around 100 people. Not only that, we have the right resources and access to hire the best people with whom to lead the industry and grow our network of trusted partners.

With every passing year, we added something new to our existing products or expanded our portfolio. We started mainly as a sports betting B2B provider. I am proud to say that our business journey includes two very significant breakthroughs in the industry. First, allowing online operators to integrate Bitcoin as a payment option enabling fast and secure betting since 2011. Second, we were one of the first to present eSports as a new and profitable business with pre-match and in-play odds. Since then, we have collected 11 awards acknowledging our efforts, hard work, and dedication towards eSports.

At ICE London this year, we are going to present our latest developments or what we have been doing over the last few months. An enhanced and unrivaled sports product that will further extend UltraPlay’s leading position as a turn-key betting solutions provider. Unlike other solutions, the UltraPlay platform allows fully customizable events, markets, margins, limits, market lines, and the ability to fully tailor sports content for end-user needs. All of this means that we give unprecedented flexibility and complete content control to the online operators.

UltraPlay is a turn-key betting solutions provider, but above all, it is known for its leadership in eSports. What do you think has changed in eSports betting over those years?

We started offering betting on eSports in 2014, first only with pre-match odds on the three most popular games – CS:GO, Dota 2 and League of Legends. Right after that, we were the first to live trade CS:GO, which was a great moment for our team. We recognized its great potential and becoming the best eSports betting provider turned into our main goal. Now, with many years of experience behind our backs, we strongly believe that eSports will have a greater role in the following years. The fundamental reason for that is the new audience of players that wants to bet on eSports. It will become vital for any competitive brand to stay relevant in today’s market.

What do you see as the biggest accomplishments for UltraPlay over these years?

Our common vision for progress and distinctive business approach leads us forward. Building this business which evolves extensively with every product integration or new partner aboard makes us what we are today. Our organization is a strong bond of people looking in one direction towards success.

Having in mind your achievements, what goals do you set for the new decade?

We have clients in Europe, Asia, North, and Latin America. We expect to grow further in terms of market penetration and the number of partners over the next following years. However, our focus will remain on developing and innovating the advanced betting solutions that we offer to the iGaming industry. Innovation in our industry is something that we need to endorse on a daily basis. At UltraPlay, we allow new ideas to spread from our employees to our partners, which I believe is one of the key factors to our story of success.

The interview has been published on 5 Star Magazine January 2020.