Volodymyr Saratovskyy: "We believe the best partnerships are built on results, not promises"

NeverEnding's Head of Business Development, Volodymyr Saratovskyy, reflects on the company’s first year and the journey from starting from scratch to establishing a growing presence in the iGaming landscape. For Saratovskyy, the philosophy has always been to start small, build trust and let results speak louder than promises, an approach that continues to shape how NeverEnding works with its partners. As Saratovskyy puts it, "we let the product and the results do the talking.

Q: NeverEnding is approaching its first anniversary. What has happened in the past year, and did you see your company arrive at a place where you wanted it to be in its first stages of growth?

We are pretty close to where we wanted to be. On the product side, things moved more or less as planned — 15 titles, 70+ integrations, and go-lives in around five days.

What surprised me was how much of the first year was actually about building trust rather than just building games. Operators don't usually decide to onboard a new supplier with only a few games based on the product specs alone. They do it once they see that the company has a clear plan, the product keeps getting better with every release, communication is professional and your word means something. That part took a little longer than we expected in the roadmap, but looking back, I'd say it was worth every week of it.

Q: Your company has set out to achieve a lot - you have addressed industry-wide issues such as lobby fatigue, leveraged classic games versus modern releases, gauged what works best, and recently focused on another issue: slot latency. Does fixing these "specialist" issues actually resonate with your partners and their players?

Honestly, I think they resonate just as much as the big headline issues. Nobody signs a deal just because we say we're solving lobby fatigue or slot latency. What really matters is the impact these things have on the actual player experience and, ultimately, on the operator's numbers.

Operators deal with these challenges every day. That's why we try to work proactively — to understand where potential problems can come from and improve the product and technology before they affect the operator or the player. I think that's what makes these "specialist" issues relevant: they may not always be visible, but they can have a very real impact on performance and player experience.

Q: NeverEnding success will not least depend on how the company can forge partnerships with Tier-1 operators. Could you detail your approach to securing such alliances, and whether they have an immediate impact on your product positioning?

We don't try to win Tier-1 operators with a big pitch deck. We prefer to start small — a limited rollout, one market, a few games — and let the results speak for themselves.

Tier-1 operators have heard every promise before, so for us it's more important to show that we can deliver: good communication, reliable execution and consistent results. Once we've built that trust — it's much easier to expand the partnership. And yes, having Tier-1 operators on board definitely helps with product positioning, but it's not an overnight change. Every successful partnership adds credibility and makes the next conversation a little easier.

Q: NeverEnding has a good number of partnerships already, and you have been growing your geographical footprint. What jurisdictions are you now looking to break ground into?

We don't really limit ourselves to a specific list of markets. We're testing and building our presence in different parts of the world and we tend to scale where we see strong potential and a good fit for our product. One of the advantages we have is the way our team approaches portfolio development. We pay close attention to what players respond to across different markets and we use that feedback when deciding what to develop next. So far, the response has been encouraging. Our games are being well received in quite a few different corners of the world, which gives us confidence that we can continue expanding our footprint rather than focusing on just a few specific jurisdictions.

Q: Was there something in the iGaming industry that only became apparent after NeverEnding opened doors?

We’re not newcomers to the industry, so we had a pretty good idea of the challenges we might face from the start. What surprised us, though, was how much communication, approvals and clear ownership can affect the speed of a partnership. Sometimes these things have a bigger impact than regulation or technical complexity.

That’s actually a big part of what my team does — we try to build bridges between different departments on both sides and make those first steps as smooth and easy as possible. I think we’re doing a pretty good job at that and it definitely makes the communication with our partners much easier later on.

Q: You have recently leaned into partnerships with Hub88 and SOFTSWISS - how is this helping you?

They’ve definitely helped us reach operators we probably wouldn’t have reached directly, especially in our first year. And in some cases, working directly with an operator simply isn’t technically possible, so platforms like HUB88 and SOFTSWISS become an important part of the process.

The other big advantage is the time it saves. Building those relationships one by one can take years, while these partnerships help us reach a much wider audience much faster.

Q: Could we talk about your plans for your second year in operations? Where will your focus lie moving forward? Do you have other specific areas worth addressing?

The first year was mainly about building the company and proving that our approach works. In the second year we want to grow without losing what has worked for us so far. That means continuing to grow the portfolio, keeping the same attention to testing and quality and building stronger relationships with our key partners rather than trying to work with everyone in a rush.

Internally, one of our main focuses will be keeping communication and response times with operators fast as we grow. I think that’s very important and something we don’t want to lose as the company gets bigger.

Q: Is there anything specific you wish to tease for the months to come?

Yes, definitely. We have a few things coming up that I can’t talk about just yet, but there are some interesting partnerships in the pipeline that should help us reach even more operators.

And it’s not just about partnerships. Our tech team is also working on some nice surprises — new games and some interesting features that I think people will enjoy. So, yes, there’s quite a lot to look forward to over the next few months. We’re excited about it and hopefully we’ll be able to share more very soon.

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