We’ve seen many European platforms that think “localising for Asia” means translating the content.

That’s why most of them fail in Asia. 

We see this all the time: operators rush in for a “slice of the Asian pie,” dreaming of millions in revenue. They translate their content, and end up with low retention. The content simply doesn’t engage players.

Users see it clearly: this “outsider” hasn’t studied the market, they are here for a short time, better not to give them our money. As a result, the operator spent money but got no customers.

The story of one operator is truly shocking: they fit the local market so poorly that any brand symbol immediately triggers mockery and criticism in the local iGaming community. Their reputation burned down in a matter of weeks. Restoring it proved impossible.

It’s no surprise.

Imagine entering the Indian market. There are more than 20 official languages and hundreds of dialects. A translation into English or Hindi automatically cuts off most of the audience. On top of that, online gambling is allowed in only a few states.

A fatal mistake is to enter the Indian market with the same set of online gaming activities that you offer in Latvia.

In India, players are all about fantasy sports and cricket. Poker or European football are the last things they will be interested in.

What works in Europe can be rejected in Asia. What works in India doesn’t work in the Philippines. And this is just a small part of the picture.

Add to this the local standards, laws, payment systems that must be considered, the unique customer journey, user habits, and the way trust in a brand is built.

Operators who ignore full localization stand no chance against the competition. Those who invest seriously in it deliver a message that local players understand, and that keeps them several steps ahead.

Yes, thoughtful localization works far better than just translating content with ChatGPT. But there are still a lot of more costly risks.

There are legal and regulatory risks, where the same thing can be allowed in one Indian state and strictly forbidden in another. Wrong wording in bonus offers, sudden changes in the law you didn’t track, violations of advertising rules — that’s one side of the coin.

How do you avoid picking an unreliable PSP that might disappear with your money in a few months?

How do you handle KYC and AML compliance specific to this jurisdiction, with no direct equivalents in other countries?

These are costly mistakes, and operators entering the Asian market make them all the time.

But that doesn’t mean the path to Asia is closed.

You can set up your entry to the Asian market differently, thought through to the smallest details. 

Our deliberate approach shows excellent results. 10 out of 10 operators saw steadily growing retention — a 2x increase each month. It is impressive.

MGL clients do not have the fear “we will invest money and lose the market,” because we partner only with trusted B2B providers in Asia and worldwide.

These partners know local laws, player habits, and the specifics of each country. They help make the product feel native to the local user.

You don’t need to build everything from scratch. You get a ready-made solution with:

• language and cultural codes,
• UX and visual details,
• payment methods and regulation,
• communication formats that inspire trust.

We take care of finding and vetting reliable partners, and you get a smooth entry into a new market, not as a temporary guest, but as an operator people trust.

The first right step is to book a consultation with our experts to find out how this approach will work for your product. To get started, contact @MGL_solutions.