To understand the story of Media 24, you really have to understand Arturs’ journey. He was the company’s very first employee, joining at the absolute beginning and helping build the foundation of what the business is today. After several years as Head of Sales, he has now stepped up to lead the entire organization into its next chapter.

In this interview, we’re going to talk about that transition from first employee to CEO. We’ll discuss Arturs’ vision for evolving Media 24 from a traditional affiliate into a modern digital ecosystem, his philosophy on internal leadership and delegation, and how the company is preparing for a massive 2026.

How does coming from a Head of Sales background change the way you view the CEO role compared to someone who might come from a product or tech background?

Coming from sales, you’re always focused on the finish line. A tech person might get caught up in making things perfect or adding features just because they’re cool. I don’t have that luxury. My focus is on things that actually move us forward. I’ve spent years talking to partners and seeing exactly what makes money and what doesn’t.

We’ve had that same philosophy at Media 24 since I started as the first employee. Act fast, check the data, and improve on what works.

Coming from sales also makes me more comfortable with the human side of the business. Being CEO isn’t just about decisions. But also about selling a vision to the team so they actually want to follow you. In sales, if people don’t believe in what you’re saying, you fail. I’m just applying that same logic here.

You were the first employee in Media 24, doing everything yourself. Now that you’re CEO, how do you handle stepping back and letting your team take the lead?

In the early days, If something needed doing, I did it. But you can’t scale a company if you’re making every decision yourself. My job now is to give my team the resources and the space to lead.

We’ve always believed in growing our own talent. For example, we recently promoted our new Head of Growth and our Head of Website Operations from within. Both have been with us for years. They’ve seen the company evolve, and I trust them completely.

I’m not looking for people who always agree with me. I want professionals who understand this business as well as I do, if not better. By promoting from within, I’m surrounding myself with people who have Media 24’s mindset but bring their own expert perspectives. My role now is to clear the path for them so they can build the products that will define our next few years in the industry.

We are seeing constant core updates. How is Media 24 protecting itself against the volatility of organic search?

You can’t ever truly be prepared for a Google update if your entire strategy is based on trying to trick an algorithm. If you spend all your time looking for shortcuts, you’re always going to be chasing the ones who lead.

Last year at Media 24, we took a serious look at our approach and redesigned our product strategy. Today, we aren’t building sites just to rank well. Instead, we’re building platforms that aim to be the undeniable go-to resource for each specific market

That means we’re investing heavily in the things that actually matter to a human being, not just a crawler. We’re re-imagining our content to provide real value, doubling down on UX, and constantly improving the product itself. By focusing on the end-user, search rankings become a byproduct of our quality rather than a lucky break we’re trying to keep.

Affiliates are often seen as “top of funnel.” How is Media 24 trying to own more of the user journey after the initial click?

It’s true that most affiliates stop at the click, but we see that as a missed opportunity. We understand that acquiring a new depositor is always significantly more expensive than retaining an existing one.

We’re moving toward building actual communities around our top platforms. A user might come to us for a specific bonus, but they are likely interested in other offers or new products down the road.

To capture that, we are creating touchpoints beyond just the website. We’re building a presence on social media and other channels where our users actually spend their time. If we can stay in front of the user where it matters, then we aren’t just sending traffic to operators. We’re delivering a much more loyal and valuable player.

There are cases when operators discontinue affiliate programs or cut commission rates. How do you future-proof a business that’s dependent on those relationships?

Unfortunately, that’s just the reality of the industry sometimes. You have to accept that these risks exist. For us, navigating those shifts is part of the process of building long-term relationships. You find out very quickly who your true partners are when things get tough.

That’s exactly why we invest so much time being present. We attend a lot of conferences and industry events throughout the year to meet our partners face-to-face. By staying close to the market and our partners, we can spot the red flags early and focus on the operators who actually value a fair, long-term collaboration.

Is Media 24 looking to diversify away from pure SEO traffic? Are PPC or social media traffic on your 2026 roadmap?

For 2026, our focus is staying on what we do best and what operators actually value most. SEO traffic is still the gold standard for quality in this industry. It takes a massive amount of work and patience to earn those positions, but the quality of that traffic is well worth the effort.

Regarding becoming multi-channel. It’s a conversation we’re having, and we are definitely exploring how to expand our expertise into new niches. But it won’t happen this year. 2026 is a massive year for us because of the World Cup. All our energy, investment, and product innovation are currently funneled into making sure our platforms are the best they can be for that event. We don’t want any distractions right now.

The lines between affiliate, media company, and data business are blurring. Does Media 24 see itself evolving beyond pure affiliate marketing?

I think affiliate marketing is really just a business model. It’s not the whole identity. If you look at the most successful players in our space today, they’ve already become hybrids.

We see ourselves the same way. We are a media company because we employ talented content writers and manage a social media presence. We are a data business because we have to understand user behavior at a very deep level to stay competitive.

The industry has evolved significantly. The best companies have evolved too. At Media 24, we don’t want to be put in a box. We are a digital business that uses an affiliate model to monetize. But our actual value lies in our content, our product, our data, and our ability to reach an audience better than anyone else.

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In a data-driven era, short-term player extraction is a losing game. Lars Kollind, Business Development Director at VeliTech, discusses the shift from anonymous poker rooms to real-time ecosystems, revealing why the most profitable operators are those who prioritise sustainable player lifecycles over “dark patterns”

Lars, you’ve seen the industry evolve from the early poker days to the current platform-led era. What is the biggest difference in how we view ‘the player’ now compared to 20 years ago?

Twenty years ago, the player was largely anonymous and the experience was relatively contained. You logged in, played and the risk was limited to that moment. Today, the player exists in a fully connected, real-time environment where every interaction is tracked, optimised and personalised. The experience is faster, more immersive and much more data-driven.

We’ve moved from simple player activity to managing a full player lifecycle, but that shift changes our responsibility. We’re no longer just offering games, we’re shaping behaviour over time.

In the past, responsible gambling felt like a legal disclaimer at the bottom of a website. Why is that “compliance-first” mindset dangerous for the industry’s long-term growth?

A compliance-first mindset creates a false sense of security. It turns responsibility into a checklist rather than a design principle, and this means you can meet every regulatory requirement and still fail the player. Because the real risks are not in the rules, they’re in the experience itself. The speed of the game, how rewards are structured and how frictionless the journey is all play a much bigger role than a disclaimer or a limit setting screen. If those elements aren’t designed responsibly, compliance alone will not protect the player or the business in the long run.

It seems your belief is that responsibility sits in the systems operators and technology providers build. Can you give a concrete example of how a poorly designed system fails a player, even if the operator has good intentions?

A common failure is when all safeguards sit at the end of the journey. A player can deposit easily, play continuously and only encounter friction once certain thresholds are triggered.

At that point, the system is reacting rather than preventing. Even with good intentions and the right tools in place, the design has already allowed the player to move into a vulnerable position. Responsibility needs to be built earlier in the experience. It has to be part of pacing, visibility and interaction design, not just alerts and limits after the fact.

VeliTech sits at several layers: game provider, aggregator and platform. How does having control over the content (VeliPlay/Heaven of 7) allow you to bake in safety features that a standard platform provider might miss?

What makes our position unique is that we operate across several layers of the ecosystem, so we aren’t just looking at responsibility from one angle. At the content level, you can influence how games are designed and how players experience them. At the aggregation level, you gain visibility across a large volume of games and player behaviour, which allows you to identify patterns that would otherwise go unnoticed. At the platform level, you can enforce decisions consistently across the entire environment. When those layers are connected, responsibility becomes systemic rather than fragmented. It’s no longer dependent on a single tool or intervention but embedded across the full player journey.

When we talk about data in responsible gambling, people often think of spreadsheets. How can we use real-time data to intervene before a player even realises they’re at risk?

Data should not only be used for reporting or analysis after the fact. Its real value is in real-time application. You can detect changes in behaviour as they happen, whether that is increased session intensity or a shift in betting patterns. This allows you to intervene earlier and more intelligently. The goal is not to stop the player, but to guide them before they reach a point where control is lost. That is where data becomes a tool for sustainability rather than just conversion.

There is a tension between thrilling game design (like crash games) and safe gaming. How do you challenge your game designers to create excitement without relying on addictive “dark patterns”?

There is a tension between excitement and responsibility, but it’s also where good design comes in. Engagement does not have to rely on manipulation. Strong game design should be built on transparency and clear player experience, not on mechanisms that push players beyond their intent. If a game depends on speed, confusion or psychological pressure to retain players, it’s not sustainable. The real challenge is to create engaging experiences that respect the player’s control. That’s where long-term value is created.

Operators are often afraid that strict safe gaming tools will hurt their bottom line. With your 20 years of experience, what would you say to a CEO who is worried that responsibility will drive their VIPs elsewhere?

In the short term, it might look that way. But over time, the opposite is true. A player who burns quickly may generate strong revenue initially, but they’re not sustainable. A player who is managed responsibly will stay longer, engage more consistently and provide value over years rather than days. The real question is not whether responsibility reduces revenue, but what kind of revenue you want to build. Sustainable growth always outperforms short-term extraction.

If you could change one thing about how the industry currently discusses responsibility at the regulatory level, what would it be?

The industry still focuses too much on who is responsible instead of how responsibility is implemented. Regulation tends to measure outputs such as limits and disclosures, but it doesn’t always address how systems are designed. That’s where the real impact lies. If the conversation shifts toward system design, including game mechanics, platform architecture and the use of data, we can create a more consistent and meaningful standard across the industry.

The post Beyond the Burn: How Systemic Responsibility Drives Long-Term ROI appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.