What makes a brand strong when most operators offer similar products and advertising is increasingly restricted by regulation? This question was addressed by three industry professionals with different backgrounds: former 888 CEO Itai Pazner, Casumo CEO Francesco Postiglione, and Edge Marketing Institute co-founder Paul Rees.
What Makes a Strong Brand
🔵 According to Pazner, a brand is built through every point of contact with the player: payout speed, support quality, product fairness, and the overall user experience.
🔵 Rees describes a brand as a way to reduce perceived risk: players are more likely to trust a well-known operator than an unfamiliar one.
🔵 Postiglione believes that trust is created through a consistent product experience, including responsible gambling tools and strong compliance practices.
Why Advertising Alone Is Not Enough
🔴 Advertising budgets remain one of the most important tools for building a brand.
🔴 However, advertising campaigns are becoming increasingly similar. If the logo were removed, it would often be difficult to identify which operator the campaign belongs to.
🔴 Advertising therefore helps players remember a brand, while their actual perception of it is formed after the first interaction with the product.
How Brand Strength Is Measured Today
🔵 Postiglione suggests focusing not on brand awareness, but on player retention: if users return, the brand is doing its job.
🔵 Pazner believes that branding requires long-term investment and recommends allocating at least 30% of the marketing budget to it.
🔵 Player research and customer feedback are becoming just as important as advertising campaigns themselves.
What Is Changing Next
🔴 Artificial intelligence is accelerating product development and making it easier to replicate competitors' successful solutions.
🔴 Regulation continues to restrict operators' advertising opportunities.
🔴 Against this background, brand trust is becoming an increasingly valuable asset because it cannot be built quickly or copied together with the product.
Conclusion
In recent years, competition in gambling has shifted from a battle between products to a battle between brands. Long-term competitive advantage is built through brand awareness, accumulated user experience, and trust. A brand remains one of the few assets that cannot be quickly replicated, even when competitors are able to copy the product itself.
🔵 According to Pazner, a brand is built through every point of contact with the player: payout speed, support quality, product fairness, and the overall user experience.
🔵 Rees describes a brand as a way to reduce perceived risk: players are more likely to trust a well-known operator than an unfamiliar one.
🔵 Postiglione believes that trust is created through a consistent product experience, including responsible gambling tools and strong compliance practices.
Why Advertising Alone Is Not Enough
🔴 Advertising budgets remain one of the most important tools for building a brand.
🔴 However, advertising campaigns are becoming increasingly similar. If the logo were removed, it would often be difficult to identify which operator the campaign belongs to.
🔴 Advertising therefore helps players remember a brand, while their actual perception of it is formed after the first interaction with the product.
How Brand Strength Is Measured Today
🔵 Postiglione suggests focusing not on brand awareness, but on player retention: if users return, the brand is doing its job.
🔵 Pazner believes that branding requires long-term investment and recommends allocating at least 30% of the marketing budget to it.
🔵 Player research and customer feedback are becoming just as important as advertising campaigns themselves.
What Is Changing Next
🔴 Artificial intelligence is accelerating product development and making it easier to replicate competitors' successful solutions.
🔴 Regulation continues to restrict operators' advertising opportunities.
🔴 Against this background, brand trust is becoming an increasingly valuable asset because it cannot be built quickly or copied together with the product.
Conclusion
In recent years, competition in gambling has shifted from a battle between products to a battle between brands. Long-term competitive advantage is built through brand awareness, accumulated user experience, and trust. A brand remains one of the few assets that cannot be quickly replicated, even when competitors are able to copy the product itself.