We had an exclusive interview with Soft2Bet’s CMO, Alex Gitsik. This is a special insight into the minds behind one of the leading iGaming companies.
Alex Gitsik is Chief Marketing Officer at Soft2Bet, where he leads global marketing strategy, brand growth, and player engagement across key markets. With more than a decade of marketing leadership experience, he focuses on sustainable expansion through performance marketing, sharp creative, and data-led campaigns that strengthen Soft2Bet’s position as a leading iGaming platform and solutions provider.
The Gamblest: Alex, thank you for joining us today. To start, can you describe your role in developing the Betinia × Diego Simeone campaign and your key insights throughout the process?
Alex Gitsik: Thank you for having me. The key insight is to make sure this partnership landed as more than a headline and a famous face.
In the campaign, our focus was on aligning Brand, Product, CRM, and Media so the creative idea supported clear performance goals, with customer retention as a priority. That meant connecting Simeone’s identity to MEGA mechanics by letting players imitate the legendary manager path from beginner to a legend in our new standalone football manager gamification engine MEGA11, agreeing on success metrics early, and making sure every asset stayed consistent, accurate, and compliant.
The Gamblest: What was the original strategic idea behind choosing Diego Simeone as Betinia’s brand ambassador?
Alex Gitsik: Simeone’s “match-by-match” approach fits our core message that progress is earned step by step. He’s built his career on discipline, intensity, and constant improvement, and that mirrors the gamified experience we create through MEGA, where players move through levels, take on challenges, and build momentum over time.
At Soft2Bet we have a player-first mentality when it comes to everything, from development to marketing. We always try to walk an extra mile in order to offer players something extra. Shortly after presenting the partnership to the Swedish audience, we plan to expand into other regions, such as Ontario, Canada and let even more players experience the Simeone partnership and the MEGA11 in the future. We were never looking for a big name for the sake of it. Diego is a household name, but the bigger point is that his mentality fits the product.
The Gamblest: How did you ensure that Simeone’s public image and values aligned with Betinia’s brand positioning?
Alex Gitsik: If you’re a football fan, you know Simeone’s reputation. He turns up every matchday with a game plan in place, lives for the details, and demands total commitment. If you had to choose one word to describe him, it would probably be tenacity. That match-by-match mentality is exactly what he’s built his career on.
That energy fits Betinia naturally. We want players to feel they’re building momentum through smart decisions and steady progress, and MEGA is designed to support that climb. So we anchored the partnership in what people genuinely associate with him: tactical thinking, grit, and consistency.
The Gamblest: To what extent did market research and audience data influence the final campaign concept?
Alex Gitsik: It influenced almost everything. We didn’t pick Simeone on gut feel. We pressure-tested the idea with research to understand how strongly our audiences recognized him, trusted him, and what they genuinely associate with his name.
Our data-driven approach allows us to understand what football fans are responding to right now: matchday emotion, local flavor, and personal experiences. Furthermore, knowing that 2026 will be a World Cup year makes it very important to establish a strong, authentic football fan narrative right now. That shaped the creative direction, with familiar football cues and a tone that feels close to the sport, not overly polished or corporate.
Most importantly, what we saw in player behavior pushed us to build the campaign into the product. Instead of just seeing Diego in ads, players are invited to think like him through MEGA11, with team management and tactical choices. That’s where we see the difference in engagement.
The Gamblest: What were the main challenges you faced while translating fan psychology into creative messaging?
Alex Gitsik: The tricky part was capturing that matchday intensity in a story that works across every channel, while still feeling simple once you land in the product. Sports betting moves fast, and there is always pressure to cram everything into the message. We stayed disciplined and kept it focused on progression, smart choices, and the entertainment value of football.
The Gamblest: Let’s dive deeper into the product itself. Could you explain the core mechanics of MEGA11? How exactly does it work, and what is the true value it brings to the player?
Alex Gitsik: Absolutely. MEGA11 is far more than a standard VIP or rewards program. It is a standalone football manager gamification engine that runs parallel to the Betinia sportsbook experience.
The essence of the mechanic is progression. We invite players to step into the shoes of a manager and imitate Diego Simeone’s own legendary career path, starting out as an absolute beginner and climbing the ranks to become a football legend.
Here is exactly how it is structured:
- Squad Management: Players oversee their own virtual fantasy team in the game, making tactical choices to build and improve their squad.
- Expertise and competition: Players can test their team-building expertise in Player-Versus-Player experience.
- Tiered Progression: Players earn and spend secondary virtual currency that is used to upgrade their MEGA11 team, conquer in-game challenges, and advance through clearly defined levels.
The value to the player is two-fold. First, it offers continuous, tangible rewards that they actively earn through smart choices. Second, it adds a highly entertaining, strategic layer that bridges the gap between live matches. Instead of just placing a bet and logging off, they are applying Simeone’s famous “match-by-match” tenacity to build their own legacy. It turns standard betting into a cohesive, deeply rewarding journey.
The Gamblest: What performance indicators do you consider most important when evaluating the success of this campaign?
Alex Gitsik: When you choose an ambassador of Simeone’s caliber, the campaign is already geared for success right out of the gate. His presence is incredibly inspiring and creates an instant, perfect match with our audience. We naturally track the reach and acquisition driven by that excitement, but we judge true success by what happens after the first visit. Day 7 and day 30 retention, return frequency, and session quality tell us if people actually want to come back.
The Gamblest: Based on this experience, what advice would you give to other brands planning personality-driven marketing campaigns in sports betting?
Alex Gitsik: Pick someone your audience already believes in. Football fans can smell a forced pairing instantly, so the ambassador has to feel like a natural fit. The best ones already live the habits your brand stands for which in our case were discipline, consistency, and progress.
Then build the product moments around their personality. Shape the missions, challenges, and rewards so they feel like part of that person’s story. Bring Product and CRM in early, set the KPIs before launch, and optimize quickly. A big name can attract attention, but the experience is what keeps people coming back.
