GMB - In first place, we would like you to introduce Yolo Investments to the Brazilian market.
Evert Einroos - Yolo Investments is a venture capital (VC) fund focusing on strategic investments into the gaming, fintech and crypto-currency markets. We’re based in Tallinn and have AuM (assets under management) in excess of €250M to-date.
Yolo initially started out as the investment arm of the Coingaming Group (which operates the Sportsbet.io and Bitcasino.io brands) but has since then expanded to become a fully independent venture capital firm. The Brazilian market has always been very close to our hearts. A good example of our paixão is in our sponsorship of Flamengo, which started back in 2019.
Why would you recommend to invest in gaming companies and how to analyze firms in development in this segment with good prospects of profitability?
The gaming sector is a natural fit for us as we have been active in this space for a long time as an operator, supplier, aggregator and most recently, an investor. This has enabled us to gain a lot of experience and a deep understanding of all the aspects of the industry. In contrast with some other VCs, we have an active and hands-on approach to investment, and like to contribute to the growth of our investments both financially and strategically.
I believe that the key in identifying good prospects is a happy customer. We’re constantly using data analytics to assess and benchmark the customer engagement of the products that we’re interested in. In our experience, if the customer is truly satisfied with the product everything else will most likely fall into place.
Why did Yolo Investments choose Caleta Gaming to establish a long-term partnership?
We really like the guiding principles driving Caleta Gaming, such as having a very talented and passionate local team, solid in-house technological framework and always prioritizing the ability to scale and innovate. Caleta has already proven itself as one of the most popular game design companies in Latin America. I believe that with their experienced team, innovative game portfolio and some support from Yolo (e.g. leveraging our distribution network), there is a good chance to replicate that success all around the world.
Caleta’s GP5 platform is revolutionizing the game development industry by enabling quick and flexible development of new games based on latest market trends in an efficient way.
We also see Caleta as a valuable addition to our ecosystem, providing quality content to our operators. A good example of this was a very successful launch of an exclusive game, “Gamdom Strike”, which Caleta developed for one of our other investments, Gamdom.com.
Do you have similar partnerships with other gaming companies around the world?
Yes we do. We have invested into six other very promising game developers, including OneTouch, Kalamba Games and Green Jade Games. Each is focused on different markets and niches, making these investments complementary. What makes Yolo special is that we are looking at the wider gaming ecosystem and how each part of the supply chain can be optimised. Thus, in addition to the game developers we also have operators, such as CasinoDays and Megarush, an aggregator (Hub88) and a sportsbook feed provider in our portfolio. By connecting all these investments together, we aim to create complementary strategic value for the whole ecosystem.
What, in your opinion, can Caleta Gaming offer to exceed Yolo Investments' expectations regarding the agreement established between the two parties?
To be fair, we set very high expectations for all our investments, but I am very optimistic about Caleta in the next 6-12 months. I think all the pieces are in place to support continuous exponential growth (e.g. new engagement tools, access to global aggregators and promising new releases).
What analysis do you make of the Brazilian gaming market?
It’s no secret that the Brazilian market has received a lot of attention from leading operators, especially over the last few years. It is a very important market for us and we believe it will continue to grow at a fast pace. Competition will get tougher, as Brazil is considered one of gaming’s final major frontiers, and we expect the market to mature relatively quickly.
Brazil does not yet have regulations for gaming activity. Was this a factor that could have prevented the signing of an agreement with Caleta or, on the contrary, was the possibility that the country finally legalizes the sector an additional attraction for the alliance to materialize?
As mentioned, key factors for our interest in Caleta were solid technological foundations and a promising team led by Fabiola and Paulo. I believe that Caleta is well positioned for the regulation and it could offer excellent growth opportunities.
What do you expect for the future alongside Caleta Gaming and with the Brazilian market already regulated?
I believe the future will be even brighter for us, with many more opportunities that we can take. We have very high aspirations for Caleta as it has great products, supported by one of the best teams in the industry, and enables us to increase our presence in the Brazilian market even further.
Source: Exclusive GMB
