Martin Stålros: “We have a lot of faith in North America”

We catch up with Martin Stålros, Relax Gaming’s recently appointed CEO, who served nine years on the job as COO and has been a trusted insider and decision-maker, presiding over some of the company’s biggest successes in the past decade. In his new job, Stålros will focus on growth and push the company towards new and emerging markets, with North America a big part of Relax Gaming’s immediate plans. Read through the full interview with Stålros and see what is in store for Relax Gaming next.

Q: Martin, you are now at the helm of Relax Gaming after 9 years on the job as COO. What has changed in Relax Gaming since you joined?

In terms of what’s changed, I’d have to say everything and nothing! Clearly, we are a very different company from the one I joined nine years ago. In that time, we have grown from a modest team of 30 people to one that’s now almost reaching 350. What’s truly special is that we have somehow managed to stay true to the ethos and vision of Relax, despite our impressive growth.

We all strive to be proud of the work we do. It’s this ethos that encouraged me to join Relax all those years ago, and I feel that our DNA hasn’t changed at all over the years.

Q: You mentioned that when you arrived at Relax Gaming, the team was 30 people, and it has since grown to almost 350. What has necessitated this staff expansion?

Relax Gaming is a company that’s always in a state of positive transformation. We are consistently adding talented people to our workforce and have been extremely fortunate to not only grow within our own vertical, but to successfully move into new ones.

In the last decade we’ve launched brand-new product verticals, be that our Dream Drop Jackpot, poker, bingo, or our aggregation business. Any time we’ve entered one of these new verticals we have made a commitment to ensuring that we hire the most talented people with the right skillset to ensure that we overcome any challenges and be the very best we can possibly be.

Although increasing our headcount from 30 to 350 has meant a lot of new faces, we have managed to be extremely efficient given everything we have achieved in the period.

Q: Growth has been a central focus of Relax Gaming’s efforts under your predecessor, Simon Hammon. What are your immediate priorities for Relax Gaming for 2024?

Naturally, growth will continue to be a key area of focus for me as CEO, as without growth we are not moving in the right direction. We have a plan laid out for several areas of opportunity.

We see potential in several regulated markets, both in traditional and in emerging ones throughout Europe. We also have a lot of faith in the North American market and we’ll continue to explore that area as it continues to flourish, as we have already demonstrated.

Keeping the Relax Gaming DNA at the center of everything we do will also be a key focus for me. That DNA is what has gotten us to where we are today and I’m confident it will help carry us towards an even more successful future.

I also hope we will continue to be easy to work with, be proud of the work we do, have fun and create long-term partnerships.

Q: Where does Relax Gaming stand in North America and the burgeoning iGaming sector in the region?

We have only really begun to dip our toes into the region, but I can confirm that we like what we see so far. We have strong ambitions for the market in the next three years, both in relation to building strong partnerships with operators, as well as getting our RLX Gaming brand recognised by players.

We are also actively working towards entering more states such as Pennsylvania and Michigan, as well as monitoring future opportunities.

Q: Do you foresee any challenges coming from regulatory or market changes and how are you planning to address them?

I’m sure there will be challenges along the way, but honestly, I see that as a good thing! Timelines can be hard at times, but any company that has been part of the industry in the last decade will tell you that being adaptable to change based on regulatory requirements is a must. We have the bandwidth to handle a regulatory curveball from time to time.

But at the end of the day, this is the way the industry is moving and over time it’s going to end up a much more sustainable model for every part of the business.

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