CrustLab on Record Course: Adam Gontarz on Independence and the Best Year Ever

The journey of CrustLab began in a 50-square-meter apartment in Krakow, where a small team conducted job interviews around a massive wooden table in the living room. Today, in September 2026, CEO Adam Gontarz looks back at a company that has grown into a major player in iGaming technology with approximately 80 people involved. The current year promises to break all previous records as the specialization in complex software solutions for gambling operators pays off. Gontarz no longer sees CrustLab as a mere service provider but as a strategic partner helping operators break free from the dependency on large platform providers.

However, the path there was rocky. The pandemic, in particular, posed existential challenges for the young company. Since their main client at the time was heavily rooted in physical horse racing in the US and Asia, orders vanished almost overnight. Gontarz was on the verge of reducing the team from over a dozen to just three or four people. By diversifying into areas like fintech and healthcare, they bridged the crisis, but the passion remained with gambling. Today, iGaming accounts for nearly 100 percent of the business—a conscious decision against growth at any cost and in favor of deep technical expertise.

Numbers and facts

Last year, the share of iGaming business was around 90 percent; it is now approaching full alignment. CrustLab today employs about 80 people and has transformed from a team that worked exclusively for one client like Sportech in 2017 into a global partner for MGA, UKGC, and South African licenses. Particularly interesting is the economic threshold Gontarz defines for switching to proprietary technologies. He strongly recommends that operators generating around one million euros in Gross Gaming Revenue (GGR) per month consider building their own technological base.

"According to our estimates, an operator generating around €1 million in GGR per month should be thinking about it very seriously. If that operator is also growing by more than 10% annually, it should be almost obsessively considering owning its own platform or at least the elements connected with the user experience." - Adam Gontarz, CEO of CrustLab

A key aspect of the offering is the transfer of intellectual property (IP) rights to the client. This is intended to prevent so-called vendor lock-in, where operators are chained to a software supplier and, in extreme cases, do not even have full rights to their own database. Today, CrustLab uses a library of proven components that are assembled like Lego blocks to shorten development time without sacrificing the platform's individuality.

Background

The technological development in the gambling sector is moving away from pure dependency towards hybrid models. Gontarz observes this trend especially in Western Europe. It is not about immediately building the entire Player Account Management (PAM) yourself, which often ends in disaster in regulated markets. Instead, operators should have the customer experience layer—meaning the frontend, mobile apps, and business intelligence—under their own control. This allows for genuine differentiation in competition, which is often missing in standard platforms.

Interestingly, the Polish home market plays almost no role for CrustLab, as there is a lack of a private online casino market there. The focus is instead on markets with clear regulatory frameworks. Gontarz emphasizes pride in the company's Polish roots and the high quality of local developers but sees no reason to pose as a British or American company just to shine on the international stage.

Why it matters for German players

For German players, these technological developments are of great importance, even if they happen in the background. When an operator acts in Germany under the license of the Gemeinsame Glücksspielbehörde der Länder (GGL), the technology must work extremely precisely to implement the strict requirements of the State Treaty on Gambling 2021 (GlüStV 2021). This includes the deposit limit of 1,000 euros per month and the connection to the central LUGAS monitoring system.

Individual platform solutions, as promoted by CrustLab, allow providers to integrate these regulatory hurdles more elegantly into the design instead of just displaying ugly error messages. A smooth process for the 1-euro limit per game round or the mandatory breaks is only possible if the software is modern and adaptable. Players thus benefit indirectly from the independence of operators through more stable apps and better bonus systems that offer an attractive gaming experience despite the tough German rules.

What it means for GGL-licensed casinos

Casinos on the GGL whitelist are under enormous cost pressure due to taxes and compliance requirements. The threshold of one million euros GGR mentioned by Gontarz is a realistic target for many German licensees. By owning their own IP and controlling the frontend layer, German providers can optimize their cost structure in the long term. Instead of permanently giving away high percentages of turnover to platform providers, they invest in their own assets. This not only increases corporate value in a potential sale but also allows for faster adaptation to new regulatory requirements that could be adjusted by the GGL at any time in Germany.