Having set out on a mission to revolutionise the way that operators think about their iGaming platform solutions, Elantil founder and CEO Jonathan Gauci explains exactly what makes the company’s so-called “strategic backbone” so unique
What was the idea behind establishing Elantil? How much planning has it taken to get to this position?
I really built Elantil out of frustration. Having spent years in the industry on both the B2C and B2B sides, I’ve witnessed how limited most of today’s platforms are. They’re slow, inflexible and filled with hidden inefficiencies. Elantil was designed to be a counterpoint to that. Instead of being a traditional, rigid system, it’s designed as a strategic backbone that gives operators the freedom, agility and control to attain their product vision.
In terms of how much planning it’s taken to get where we are today, it’s interesting. On the one hand, it’s been an incredibly fast journey. I first started talking to the other co-founders Shaun Tabone, John Debono and Clyde Vassalo around a year ago and we launched with our first client last September.
Now, just five months later, the industry knows exactly who we are and we already have a couple of other customers in the pipeline, so in that sense everything has happened really quickly. The other side of things, however, is that my vision has always been to help operators achieve their goals, so the idea behind Elantil has been an evolution from platform to platform over my entire career.
What is the vision for Elantil and what do you hope to achieve going forward?
In a nutshell, we want to remove barriers and put control back in the hands of the operator. Our aim is to redefine the existing relationship between operators, suppliers and aggregators and ultimately provide something that works more efficiently for everyone.
What we do is deliver the necessities businesses need to enhance the iGaming experience for their customers and launch in new markets in the smoothest and most timely manner possible – and the key to this is to cut out the unnecessary steps and eliminate the major pain points that come with existing solutions.
Over time, I believe this will put us in a great position to change how the industry works and revolutionise the way businesses think about their iGaming platform solutions. We don’t just want to put a new twist on what’s already out there. We’re not aspiring to be another aggregator or while-label provider that operates on a closed system, but rather wish to be seen as our own standalone solution – Elantil, a new vertical in the industry that’s unlike anything that’s gone before it.
Can you explain exactly what your platform does? Can it be integrated into other platforms? Is it only for online casinos?
There are essentially four aspects to Elantil – the OMS, the Elantil Marketplace, the Casino and Sportsbook Builder and the Real-Time Data platform. The OMS is the nerve centre of our solution and provides a flexible and intuitive way for operators to orchestrate their business. The marketplace is a true plug-and-play ecosystem where operators can instantly integrate game providers, payment solutions, CRMs and more – all without Elantil dictating terms of charging fees.
The Casino and Sportsbook builder, meanwhile, offers true personalisation, enabling operators to completely customise their front-end and develop their own gamification mechanics and promotions. Finally, the Real-Time Data Platform empowers operators to respond to player behaviour as it happens by delivering instant, actionable insights that drive engagement and increase retention.
As to whether it can be integrated into other platforms, yes – and that’s something we actively encourage. Let’s say there’s a large operator that has a brand in multiple markets. If they want to launch in a new market, they can just plug Elantil into their existing platform and we’ll do everything necessary to ensure they’re compliant in that particular region, allowing them to launch in months rather than years. Of course, we’re fundamentally an iGaming platform solution, but we don’t stop at casino – we can also support sportsbook and poker operators too.
How does your product differ from other iGaming platform providers currently in the market?
I think first and foremost, you have to look at our technology, which is hands down the best available – not just in iGaming, but in other industries too. Because of the way we’re set up, we will be able to help operators enter regulated markets in just a few clicks. They can change their requirements and regulatory settings on a surface level without having to dig too deeply into the inner-workings of the platform. We also don’t sell content like other aggregators – it’s just readily available in our marketplace and we let the operator make a contract with their provider directly.
Another key difference is that Elantil was built with the mindset of targeting different markets and because of this, we offer far more flexibility in terms of the currencies and wallets that we provide. This of course includes both cryptocurrencies and sweepstakes – or social casinos – where setting up the appropriate currencies and wallets is absolutely crucial. Not every platform solution can offer this level of depth, so that’s definitely one of the biggest USPs of our business.
As a new start-up, what is the target for Elantil in 2025?
The main goal is to continue building on what we’ve done so far from a brand perspective to ensure that the industry understands that Elantil is not just another run-of-the-mill platform, but a truly revolutionary solution that’s aiming to become a business vertical in its own right. We’re looking to have at least another three customers go live by the end of 2025, but I think once more people see the benefits Elantil offers and the industry-wide headaches it cures, that really will only be the tip of the iceberg in terms of our expansion plans going forward.
Of course, from an employee branding perspective, we also want to ensure that Elantil is an attractive place for people to work. We aim to provide a dynamic and supportive environment for all of our team members that promotes collaboration and encourages creativity. A big part of that will be continuing to recruit people at all levels of the business that share Elantil’s values and our vision for where the company is going – and with the recent additions of Nadiya Attard as chief commercial officer and Tereza Melicharkova as head of marketing, I’m confident we’re heading in the right direction.
Have you incorporated innovative technologies like AI into your platform?
AI has definitely become a major part of the iGaming industry and I believe if you’re not already putting it to good use, you’re going to get left behind. We already leverage the power of AI across multiple facets of our business, particularly within our Real-Time Data Platform, which uses advanced technology to identify relevant data that offers the greatest potential benefits to clients.
That being said, I also think it’s important that we properly define the role that AI should be playing in our industry. At Elantil, we consider AI to be a powerful helping tool rather than a replacement for human input, so although we’ll continue using it to support the areas of our business where it can have the biggest impact, we’re ultimately far more focused on the brains that will be using it!
How do you plan to differentiate your brand in a competitive market?
That’s the great thing about Elantil – we don’t have to! We’re already different by our very nature, so we just have to ensure that message gets across to the wider industry and that we back it up from a product standpoint by continuing to do what we do best – changing the game.
About Jonathan Gauci
As founder and CEO of Elantil, Jonathan is on a mission to rewrite the rulebook in the iGaming industry. With 20+ years of experience in tech, Jonathan previously held roles like senior VP of engineering at Gaming Innovation Group and CTO at Cerberus Technology. After solving complex tech challenges for industry titans like Betsson and NetRefer, he grew increasingly frustrated with the limitations of legacy systems within the industry. Now, he’s building Elantil to deliver unmatched flexibility and scalability for operators. Think of him as our trailblazer, breaking barriers and paving the way for operators to achieve true independence and innovation.
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