Eeze CEO Lai Fatt Chiang on Why Distribution Decides a Market Entry | Exclusive Interview with iGaming News Today
Lai Fatt Chiang has spent more than two decades building gaming businesses across Asia-Pacific, starting on the land-based side, and is now CEO of Eeze.
In an exclusive interview with iGaming News Today, he named the mistake he sees companies make most often when they enter a new market, and it is not the one most teams plan for.
The product is not the problem
“One of the biggest mistakes companies can make is assuming they have already got the right product before they have really understood the market,” Chiang told iGaming News Today.
Every jurisdiction has different regulations, player preferences and commercial dynamics, he said, and taking the time to learn those differences is vital. But the part worth pinning up is what comes next: having a strong product matters, and so does having the right route to market.
“Distribution is often the difference between success and failure.”
Eeze has put money behind that view, investing in partnerships with companies including BetConstruct and EveryMatrix to reach operators more efficiently and scale in new markets. As the company pushes further into Latin America, particularly Brazil and Peru, Chiang said combining local understanding with strong partnerships will be the thing that holds up over the long term.
Compliance as an enabler, backed by headcount
Chiang put compliance on the growth side of the ledger rather than the cost side. “We see compliance as an enabler of growth, not a barrier,” he said.
That is a claim plenty of suppliers make, so the number behind it is worth noting. Over the past 12 months, he told iGaming News Today, Eeze has doubled the size of its legal and compliance team to support the business proactively as it enters new regulated markets.
His reasoning is commercial rather than defensive: that investment lets the company spot opportunities early and move into evolving regulatory landscapes with confidence. Long-term success, in his account, comes from earning the trust of regulators, partners and players.
What else Chiang covers in the exclusive interview
- What working across land-based and online taught him about which principles carry over
- The single question he says he applies to every decision about leading a team
- Where he expects AI to matter most across automation, product development and customer experience
- Why he thinks the danger with AI is the assumption that it replaces people
- How he leads teams across different countries and cultures
- What he says strategic partnerships actually do for a supplier entering a new market
The full exclusive interview with Lai Fatt Chiang is published on iGaming News Today.
