In iGaming, losses are usually measured in numbers: an offer didn’t perform, a GEO didn’t convert, the unit economics didn’t add up. However, there are also issues that rarely make it into reports, such as a link going down, a parser failing, or an API getting updated. Traffic continues, but revenue stops. As the market grows rapidly and technology evolves, these vulnerabilities are becoming more frequent. Even isolated incidents can lead to significant business risks if not detected in time. In the new edition of Expert Talks, we spoke with Evgeniy Taran – Product Owner at Already Media – about how to build a resilient technical infrastructure in iGaming that can control both internal processes and external factors.
We’re living in an era of AI and automation, which enables affiliates to operate much more quickly online. Higher volumes can be achieved in less time with fewer resources. This accelerates the market and intensifies competitiveness. It’s now easier to generate large amounts of content and cover a broader semantic range. So those who win are the ones who can analyze data, scale processes, and effectively manage that growth.
Another major factor is Google updates. While they used to happen every few months, they have become much more frequent over time. Today, requirements can change overnight. This instability directly affects how our services operate, especially those that rely on SERP parsing. For example, the same query in the same GEO might return 10-12 results in the morning and 30+ by evening.
These shifts affect decision-making and the accuracy of our internal tools for analyzing search results, both for clients and within our own team. As a result, planning becomes less predictable and requires a much higher degree of flexibility.
We built our entire infrastructure in a modular way, so each component is responsible for its own area, such as traffic management, revenue tracking, expenses, and analytics. In the past, the system was more monolithic and compact. However, as the company grew and our challenges became more complex, we began rebuilding it.
Since different teams within the company have their own processes and needs, we needed a flexible system that could adapt to various scenarios, not just a single unified solution. On the one hand, this makes development more complex. On the other hand, it allows us to design for scalability from the start and evolve the infrastructure in multiple directions. At the same time, we maintain a balance. There are shared operational processes, but the data within the system is strictly segmented. Teams don’t have access to each other’s information.
However, this setup can be adjusted when needed. For example, about six months ago, two previously separate units decided to collaborate on several projects. We enabled targeted data sharing and expanded their access. The original architecture wasn’t fully designed for this, but we adapted quickly and found a solution. As a result, the system remains scalable. We can flexibly manage internal resources without losing control or compromising security, isolate failures, and prevent them from spreading across the entire infrastructure.
We regularly deal with this. For example, a layout may change and the parser stops working. Or, a partner updates their API, and the data starts coming in incorrectly. It’s impossible to avoid situations like these completely because they’re outside our control. The key is to detect them in time. Until a problem is identified, it’s almost as if it doesn’t exist, even though the business is already losing money.
That’s why we’ve built a monitoring system that tracks data anomalies. Given the number of partners and projects we work with, all information is centralized. We have dedicated channels where errors and failures are automatically reported. From there, it’s simply a matter of assigning the right specialist and resolving the issue quickly.
In most cases, it’s not the product itself, but rather the processes surrounding it. To avoid wasting time on routine tasks, we automate them and establish clear rules for operational workflows. As a result, everything runs faster and more consistently, and the business saves resources.
There are also technical issues on the website side. External disruptions can cause links to stop working, resulting in lost traffic. Earlier this year, for example, Cloudflare experienced a global outage, and in some regions, websites became completely inaccessible. We monitor and document all such incidents and develop action plans for the future. Currently, we have fallback solutions in place, such as redirecting traffic through our own systems to minimize losses when failures occur.
Almost all new features go through a mandatory access validation stage. At Already Media, we have an essential internal rule: if a feature is present in the system, there must be a flexible management method for it — allowing it for certain users while restricting it for others. This applies to everything, including data exports, visibility of specific modules, and editing permissions. Access can be configured very precisely so that users only receive the permissions they need.
To simplify management, we use predefined access presets for different roles. Juniors, for example, get a basic level of access, while mid-level roles receive expanded permissions. This makes the process clear and easy to control. We also have a centralized access management module that allows us to quickly grant or revoke access to specific services, which is most commonly used when someone changes roles or leaves the company.
Separate accounts are also created for client-facing products. All data is encrypted and stored securely to ensure that sensitive partner information remains protected. In essence, our technical infrastructure allows us to configure and adjust access levels and functionality based on current needs.
Sometimes, the discussion phase can become a bit blurred. I try to consider all potential risks from the beginning, including those that stakeholders might not initially think of. While this slightly extends the scoping and technical planning stage, it ultimately saves time by preventing situations where the product must be rebuilt from scratch, which often multiplies development costs.
Having this kind of foresight and alternative scenarios in place helps avoid losses in revenue, time, and partnerships. It’s important that both sides trust each other and are confident that agreements will be upheld.
In iGaming having just a Plan B isn’t always enough. Personally, I feel much more comfortable when the team has a Plan C, even if it’s never needed.
First and foremost, a scalable infrastructure. You might be handling 1 000 websites today, 10 000 tomorrow, and 100 000 a week later. With the rise of AI and content generation tools, this is a very real scenario. Your system must be prepared to handle that level of growth.
The human factor is something we can’t fully eliminate. That’s why personal responsibility matters just as much as technology. At Already Media, everyone understands how their actions impact the overall result and pays close attention to detail. We document key processes through guidelines and checklists to help reduce the likelihood of errors from the outset.
Speed of response is another critical factor. The faster the team identifies an issue and starts resolving it, the less impact it will have on traffic, analytics, and overall revenue.
We use multiple layers of testing, including load testing, smoke testing, and penetration testing, to identify vulnerabilities in database, page, module, and service access. And this isn’t a one-time effort. It’s a standard quality practice.
First, a business analyst defines the task and its expected outcome. Then, we break it down into user stories and pass it to the development team, documenting everything along the way. Once the feature is ready, a QA engineer tests the entire functionality across different user roles. This helps prevent situations in which certain features are accidentally exposed to the wrong users.
During discussions of every new feature, we also conduct a mandatory pre-check to assess the potential impact of its implementation on existing functionality. Only after that do we move forward with development. This ensures the system remains stable and reliable.
All QA engineers work with checklists to track which modules and elements have been tested and to regularly revisit them under new conditions. In recent years, we have actively used automation. Automated tests help cover risks that are difficult to anticipate manually and support overall system stability. We also regularly perform live checks to monitor the performance of the websites we work with. Even if the websites are not owned by us, maintaining traffic quality and stability is a priority.
Today, resilience isn’t about the absence of failure. It’s about the ability to quickly detect, isolate, and minimize its impact. The truth is that risks are inevitable. The real question is how manageable they are within the system. When a business has clear visibility into its processes and understands where issues might arise, it won’t lose control of the situation. This is why monitoring and responding promptly to any anomalies play a critical role.