Edmond Ghulyan, Chief Product Officer on Sportsbook and Centrivo Product Solutions at Digitain, chats to SBC News ahead of the kick off of the FIFA World Cup next week. Ghulyan outlines that the tournament may be more unpredictable than before but that flexibility in platforms will be essential.

The expanded World Cup format brings more teams and more matches. Is this mainly an opportunity for operators, or does it create concerns around competitive balance?

It is a major opportunity, but only for operators prepared to adapt. More teams mean more fixtures and more engagement windows, especially during the group stage, which becomes a volume-driven phase. The knockout rounds, meanwhile, will concentrate the biggest audiences and strongest margins, particularly as FIFA’s structure keeps top-ranked teams apart until the later stages.

The real advantage lies in flexibility. Features like Advanced Cashout, Early Payout, and Group Stage-focused mechanics help keep players engaged across the entire tournament, not just during headline matches.

With more unfamiliar teams involved, what challenges will operators face when pricing markets?

There’s definitely more uncertainty this time around. With more teams coming from Africa, Asia and CONCACAF, operators will be working with less historical data than they’re used to. Some companies will probably play it safe with pricing and margins, but if markets become too conservative, players notice that quickly. The challenge is finding the right balance between risk management and keeping markets attractive.

That’s why flexibility matters so much. Operators need tools and data that allow trading teams to react quickly instead of depending completely on one static model.

With the World Cup so close now, what final preparations can operators make to ensure they are ready for the tournament?

At this stage, it’s really about making sure everything is stable and ready to scale. Operators should already be stress-testing their platforms, preparing market templates in advance, and making sure trading and support teams are fully covered across different time zones.

It’s also important to review promotions and bonus mechanics carefully because tournaments like this can create unexpected exposure during surprise results. The last thing any operator wants during a World Cup match is dealing with platform issues instead of focusing on the player experience.

What activities does Digitain have planned around the World Cup?

We introduced several new features specifically for this World Cup to make the experience more interactive and flexible for players.

That includes Bore Draw Money Back,  Two Goals Ahead / Early Payout, Super Sub, and a broader Group Stage Experience that keeps engagement going throughout the tournament.

One more feature that is worth mentioning is Digitain’s AutoBet. Since matches will happen across very different time zones, players can set their preferred odds and conditions in advance, and the system places the bet automatically once those conditions are met, even if they’re offline or asleep.

What are the biggest challenges that operators face during this World Cup, and how is Digitain best-positioned to help them overcome these challenges?

The biggest challenge will probably be managing scale while still keeping the experience personal and seamless for players in different regions. Operators will be dealing with huge traffic spikes, different betting behaviours across markets, and major timezone differences at the same time.

Digitain helps by giving partners stable infrastructure, flexible trading tools, and engagement features that make it easier to adapt throughout the tournament instead of taking a one-size-fits-all approach.

The US, Canada and Mexico location may pose time zone issues for European and Asian audiences. What will operators have to do to ensure high levels of engagement?

Time zones are one of the biggest challenges during a global tournament like the World Cup, but smart product features can help operators manage them effectively. Strong pre-match market coverage allows users to place bets well before kickoff, while features like AutoBet let players set odds and conditions in advance so bets are placed automatically.

Regional personalisation is equally important. Player behaviour differs across LatAm, Asia and Europe, so operators need localised CRM communication, notifications, and promotions to keep engagement high across different time zones

Finally, any World Cup Predictions?

With the expanded format, I think we’ll definitely see some surprise stories during the group stage. More teams means more unpredictability, and that’s part of what makes tournaments like this exciting. But once we reach the knockout rounds, experience usually matters, so I still expect the biggest football nations to dominate the later stages. That mix of surprises early on and huge clashes later is probably the perfect scenario for both fans and operators.

More than anything, we expect this World Cup to remind everyone why it is the biggest event in football. It’s not just about the matches, it’s about the emotion, the atmosphere, and the moments people remember for years. Because it only happens once every four years, the excitement around it is always on another level.