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Charlie Williams, Commercial Director at Altenar, brings with him a fantastic pedigree to ensure the global sportsbook remains at the head of affairs. So, after his appointment earlier this summer, how can he propel Altenar onto the next level? We caught up with Charlie to talk about his targets over the next 12 months.

Congratulations on being appointed Commercial Director at Altenar. What proved to be the key reason for joining the team?

Thank you – it’s exciting times! Well, first impressions really do matter, and Altenar had it all. It was that healthy blend of intelligent people, friendly atmosphere, and business potential. You can feel the positive vibe throughout the organisation that everyone pulls together to achieve greatness. Being a company that has grown exponentially in a very short amount of time, they have kept true to placing their employees at heart of the business. We are now more than 400 employees spread across the globe, yet everyone is still very much connected as one team. I’m a firm believer that well-organised human resources, coupled with a well-orchestrated business plan, is pretty much unstoppable. I feel at Altenar we have that winning formula.

Looking to your extensive experience – what expertise will you bring to the table at Altenar?

With 20+ years of experience developing businesses, you’re bound to make mistakes, but it’s really about how you grow from those lessons and move forward to help others do better in similar decision-making scenarios.

Naturally, people are at the centre of my approach – working with my team and other internal collaborators to ensure we all appreciate the purpose, contribute to the process, and together become accountable for delivering quality outputs. This practice of acting as a human API can help the business ensure alignment with its roadmap and effectively execute on the business vision.

I also like to consider myself a business technologist that can make that translation between tech and commercial. Configuring internal tools and applying smart automations that sync-up with the business’s workflows can improve efficiency, minimise frustration, and increase profitability. Likewise, analysing commercial data and truly listening to conversational data, can guide better decision making and ensure continuous improvement across the organisation. That can be everything from marketing and product to sales and delivery.

I think all of this, combined with my entrepreneurial spirit, plays to my strengths and passion of building strong relationships and driving mutually beneficial business opportunities. I’m an optimiser at heart, who enjoys building solutions that drive business growth for all stakeholders in the supply chain – from product and service suppliers to clients and end users.

With the news of Altenar being granted a Swedish licence, are there further developments in the pipeline that you can tell us about?

Most definitely. Obtaining the Swedish licence was the starting point for us to show our commitment to help combat the illicit market and promote channelisation. Altenar is fully in line with these regulatory goals and operates strictly in compliance with the local Swedish legislation – I’m sure our technology and sportsbook are going to be incredibly well received there.

Building on this, we will now more aggressively position our sportsbook solution to licensed operators in the Swedish market, and showcase the best that we have to offer. Through both our direct sales and marketing efforts, along with our strong network of strategic partners in the region, I have no doubt that we’ll be looking to increase our speed-to-market and be online very shortly.

The Balkans seems to be a key part of Altenar’s European plans. Is this a region that has a lot of potential still?

Absolutely, consider Bulgaria as an example, in terms of overall turnover and GGR, it is anticipated to be a true trendsetter for the Balkans during the next five years. There is little question that many more markets in the area will try to emulate that success.

Romania comes in second place in the Balkans and, like Bulgaria, has all the makings of a regional superpower. In the seven years since regulation, it has developed into a powerhouse with one of the fastest internet speeds in Europe and a population of around 20 million.

Croatia is unquestionably another market of importance and the crown jewel of the Balkans. First off, Croatia’s gambling business experienced a historic shift in 2021 when, for the first time, operators’ revenues from online games surpassed those from physical locations.

With a combined population of 36 million across these three markets, they represent an exciting chunk of growth potential.

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