We sat down with Otto Bonning, Head of Sales at DATA.BET, to understand the vision behind their expansion from esports dominance into sports, and what this evolution means for operators worldwide.

Why did DATA.BET choose to expand from esports into traditional sports?

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Otto: It’s a natural evolution for us. Over the past three years, we’ve built exceptional performance in esports for our clients, and now we’re ready to bring this expertise to the broader market. We have around 150 trading professionals, time-tested models, and proven capabilities – it only makes sense to expand our product offering. This isn’t just an add-on, it’s the next revolution in DATA.BET’s history.

What market gaps led you to develop a unified solution for these betting verticals?

Otto: The market lacks robust sportsbook solutions. Most operators face a choice: either sign up for a complete platform that includes everything from casino to payments, or piece together multiple providers. We identified a massive opportunity for our high-quality, plug-and-play solution that works seamlessly whether you’re a betting operator or a platform provider.

To meet this market demand and ease the integration journey, the DATA.BET team developed a Single Page Application (SPA or iFrame). Its key strengths lie in its flexibility, deep customization options – both visually and technically – and seamless integration.

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For casino operators, it’s a simple solution to add quality betting without creating additional pain. It is as simple as adding a new game provider and can be completed in under a month. For betting operators and platform providers, it’s not only an addition of high-quality traditional sports, but also premium esports coverage that will help them earn more. This is a convenient option because they can connect our Odds Feed via API, or our SPA (iFrame) to their platform.

We’re offering a high-quality, personalized solution that really works for both operators and platforms. The achievements that made us a top esports provider – performance, reliability, and ease of integration – now apply to our complete sportsbook offering.

How does DATA.BET differ from competitors when handling both esports and traditional sports?

Otto: Three key differentiators set us apart. First, our technical foundation is built by developers who excel at creating technically complex solutions that are actually easy to integrate and scale for clients. No headaches, just steady performance day after day.

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Second, we don’t just provide odds – we create them. Our in-house trading team combined with our data scientists and sophisticated algorithms, delivers consistent, high-performance margins across all sports. We work with official data sources, and our models are continuously tested and improved. This ensures we provide the best coefficients and quality feed.

Third, our betting product suite is comprehensive. Just like with esports, we’re bringing Bet Builder, Widgets, Video Streaming, and full functionality to sports and virtual. It’s not about having separate systems – it’s one unified, high-performance solution powered by our technical expertise, official data, and data science capabilities.

What problems do clients typically face before switching to DATA.BET?

Otto: Integration nightmares are, unfortunately, common in our industry. What we wanted to do was make one product and make it exceptionally high-quality from a technical standpoint, so that integration becomes seamless.

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If you’re a casino operator, you can be up and running within 10 days. For B2B integrations, we’ve seen major platforms go live in just five weeks.

Our partnership with NuBet is a great example – they chose us for our broad market coverage, fast and seamless user experience, and a strong feature set, including Bet Builder, Video Streaming, and detailed in-game Widgets. The integration was smooth and collaborative, with both teams working hands-on. As NuBet noted, feature delivery has been rapid, feedback is valued, and issues are resolved promptly, without being left hanging.

The key to success is our integration team – they work around the clock and take an extremely bespoke approach to each client. When our partners are ambitious to go live quickly, we make it happen. The speed ultimately depends on the their readiness, but we remove all the traditional technical barriers from our side.

How do you adapt your solutions for different markets, particularly emerging regions like LatAm?

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Otto: Regional differences are significant, from sports preferences to regulatory requirements. Take Brazil, for example. It’s heavily football-focused, which is why we’re enhancing our football content and securing official data rights for major leagues, including the Brazilian Série A  and other Latin American competitions.

But here’s what’s interesting: esports ranks among the top three most popular betting categories in Brazil. Since we know how to do esports, combining that with top-tier football coverage creates a perfect solution for the LatAm market. We’re not just translating our product – we’re building it specifically for these markets.

What’s your approach for operators using separate providers for esports and sports?

Otto: We focus on demonstrating superior performance in specific areas. While we respect operators’ existing relationships with other providers, we can showcase our strengths in particular sports and esports disciplines. We’re exceptional at basketball and table tennis, for instance. Our models in these areas consistently outperform the competitors’.

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The key is showing operators that consolidating with DATA.BET simplifies their operations and improves its margins and player experience. We work within the frameworks of our partnerships while finding ways to add value that others can’t match.

What’s particularly valuable is feedback from clients who initially were signed for esports, then also expanded to sports, and saw better performance than they had with their previous supplier.

What betting trends are you most excited about, and how is DATA.BET preparing?

Otto: The continued growth of live betting is transforming our industry. Players demand more engaging, responsive experiences – everything needs to happen in real-time. This is where our esports heritage gives us an advantage. Esports taught us that speed, accuracy, and synchronization are non-negotiable.

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We’re building products where odds and game statistics visualization are timely matched. There’s no tolerance for a broken streaming feed with 30-second delays while odds update faster – that ruins the betting experience. Our unified approach ensures everything works together seamlessly. Widgets, Video Streaming capabilities, extensive markets – all synchronized and working as one cohesive system.

What’s the core message you want operators to understand about DATA.BET?

Otto: Simple: Betting that works. Stress-free, hassle-free, high-performance.

We deliver a fully functional, customizable sportsbook solution that adapts to your needs. Want to launch a new brand? Easy. Expanding to new markets? We have templates ready. Need to change your entire look and feel? It’s just a few clicks.

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Our promise is steady performance, day after day, with all the tools you need to succeed. In an industry full of complexity, we’re the solution that works.

DATA.BET continues to expand its presence globally, with particular focus on emerging markets in Europe and Latin America. Their unified sportsbook solution represents a significant evolution from their esports roots, bringing the same performance-driven approach to traditional sports betting.

Christos Zoulianitis was recently installed as the Chief Commercial Officer of ENJOY, the industry’s newest kid on the block, which is already building a reputation for developing deeply memorable iGaming experiences that resonate with operators and players alike.

We caught up with the former Playson exec to find out how Enjoy aims to differentiate itself with its Slots and Live Game Shows portfolio, and why its experienced and diverse team is well positioned to make a major impact in the global iGaming industry.

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Christos, what excites you most about joining Enjoy?

The most exciting part of joining ENJOY was the opportunity to build again something new — from the ground up — by combining the team’s extensive and diverse expertise with my own. Together, we have the power to shape fresh formats, blending the best of slot and live game development. It’s incredibly inspiring to be part of this journey and create a proposition even greater than what you’ve done before.

From a top-management perspective, it’s also thrilling to witness the team’s rapid evolution. We move fast, we grow daily — and we thrive on momentum. Every milestone we hit is not just a testament to our pace, but to our purpose. I can say that we are a very strong team that shares the same ambition of building exceptional experiences, and I believe that is the most important factor of our future growth.

Talk us through Enjoy content offering, what sets it apart from existing competition within the market?

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At Enjoy, we’re focused on one factor above all: quality. Our core principle is simple — quality comes first. We create timeless slot games, but at the same time we are introducing a new experience of live game shows.

We have the market’s knowledge of what players like to play within a game and keep coming back. As I usually say, we focus on the post-entertainment factor, which is the feeling you receive after a game session ends. Because that feeling translates into long-term player loyalty in our games. What truly sets us apart is our team mindset and experience — we know exactly what works and how to do it right.

The live dealer space is a very competitive space – how has the company ensured its live game shows are appealing to operators and players?

The reason for starting to develop Live Game Shows is to redefine what live game entertainment can be through the creation of unique, next-gen Live Game Shows. Our Live titles merge the excitement of real-time interaction with the dynamic mechanics mix of slots, roulette, and wheel-based games, offering a hybrid experience that appeals to both traditional and modern players. Stepping into our studio feels like entering an entirely different universe. From the moment you walk onto the set, you’re transported into a world that rivals top-tier TV productions.

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Our mission is to make players feel truly inside the game. A good example is the unique zoom-in effect we have implemented into our latest blockbuster Enchanted Forest, which makes the player feel like they are walking inside the forest of this magic studio.  So, whether you’re spinning the vibrant Wonder Wheel, diving into the mystical vibes of Enchanted Forest, or experiencing the luxury of x320 Roulette, each of our game shows offers a unique gameplay that grips the player.

This level of immersion doesn’t happen by accident — it’s the result of meticulous work and passion poured into every single production.

What can players expect from the Slots that you’re developing?

We’re bringing together the charm of classic mechanics with the polish of modern execution, delivering gameplay that is both instantly familiar and deeply memorable. Our best-performing titles Hot Fire Coins 2, Fire Express, and 3 Mariachi showcase the brilliance of our team to maximise the quality of the Hold and Win format – visually pleasing with plenty of features to experience.

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Early performance data illustrates that these games have not only captured the attention of players across numerous international markets but also set a new standard within iGaming. Our commitment to delivering engaging and memorable gaming experiences has already helped us to gain the trust amongst operators and players alike.

Finally, can you provide us with further details on how you intend to shape ENJOY’S commercial growth?

Focusing on high-potential regulated markets is a top priority for us. Countries that we believe will provide ENJOY with the greatest opportunity to make an instant impact include Italy, Greece, Portugal and Brazil, while we’ll also be keeping a very close eye on other regions that embrace iGaming legislation.

Despite our journey being in its infancy, we’ve already secured important distribution deals with respected industry leaders such as Reevo, Digitain, Softswiss, and Slotegrator. For me, this speaks volumes about the supreme quality of our offering, with key industry players identifying the value of our dynamic roadmap. That really excites me and provides the belief that we can take the ENJOY experience to a vast global audience.

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Above all else, we have an unwavering commitment to innovation, quality, and long-term relevance on the iGaming global stage. I have no doubt you’ll be hearing a lot more about ENJOY over the coming months!

From his early days in digital marketing to leading one of the most dynamic affiliate networks in iGaming, Martins Lasmanis brings nearly two decades of hands-on experience and strategic insight to the table. In this edition of Community Voices, Martins reflects on the evolution of the industry, the bold moves that shaped Media 24’s growth, and how the company is embracing AI and a product-first mindset to stay ahead. Dive into his story of resilience, speed, and smart risk-taking — and what it takes to build a future-ready affiliate powerhouse.

Can you tell us about your journey into the iGaming industry, how your role and experiences have grown over the years, and what key lessons you’ve learned along the way?

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I started in digital marketing about 18 years ago, focusing on SEO. I remember spending my first two weeks just reading everything I could find online. A lot of it turned out to be useless, but it gave me the basics. From there, I worked at a few companies, launched and sold my own digital marketing agency, and later became a freelancer.

In 2016, an affiliate marketer reached out to me through a mutual connection who recommended me based on previous work. I joined his company in 2017 as an employee. That move felt like a risk, but I saw potential.

I spent about four and a half years there. Over time, I started to see big opportunities in markets the company wasn’t willing to explore. Eventually, I decided to leave, sold my shares, and took a break. In May 2022, I joined Media 24.

One key lesson I’ve learned is that long-term consistency often matters more than one brilliant idea. And when you’re scaling fast, being agile and willing to adapt quickly is sometimes more important than being perfect.

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After 8+ years in iGaming, what are the biggest changes you’ve seen in the industry, and how has Media 24 kept up with them? What key things have helped Media 24 stay strong?

Even though the industry never stops evolving, the fundamentals of affiliate marketing haven’t changed much. What has changed is the pace of Google updates. They are a constant source of stress for many SEO-focused affiliates. They now come one after another and sometimes have a big impact.

And now when AI begins to reshape how people search, affiliates will need to rethink how they attract organic traffic. In some cases, we’ve already seen that AI-driven results take away up to 30% of traffic from organic searches. Its growing impact means we should prepare for fundamental changes coming ahead.

What’s helped us most is staying extremely focused. We ran at a loss for almost two years after starting the company. It is often the reality when you are starting a SEO based business. It was incredibly stressful, we nearly ran out of money for salaries at one point. But we kept going with one plan — to make it work.

Now we have grown to 60+ websites, 300 partners and a team of over 50 people. And we didn’t aim for perfection, we aimed for progress. That speed-first mindset helped us significantly.

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In a competitive industry like iGaming, looking back, can you think of an idea or plan that felt very risky at first but ended up being a big success for Media 24? What did you learn from that?

One of the riskier moves was our “plant seeds everywhere” strategy. We decided early on to enter almost every market where sports betting was popular. Around 90 GEOs in total. In some cases, the numbers said we shouldn’t bother doing that. But we trusted our instinct.

In that way we were able to quickly identify promising markets, then double down where the data started to make sense. It taught us that data is crucial, but so is intuition. Especially in an industry where emerging markets can surprise you.

It also helped us distribute risk. With presence on so many markets, external factors like Google updates or website blocking had a much smaller impact on the overall business. That made Media 24 much stronger and agile in the long run.

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Does Media 24 use new technologies like AI? If so, how does using these technologies help the company get stronger or better at what it does?

Definitely. AI-powered tools have already helped us a lot. For example, we noticed a content formatting task that took our managers hours every day. It was repetitive and added up to dozens of lost hours weekly. So, we built an AI-powered algorithm to automate it. Now it takes just minutes, saving our team days and weeks of work each year.

We’re watching AI closely and see a lot of potential. A few months ago, we started developing an AI-first mindset across the team, setting up bi-monthly meetings and workshops to explore how we use these tools and what’s possible. It’s already changing how we work, and we hope to build up on that. The goal is to figure out how we can optimize our work processes and eliminate as many routine, repetitive tasks as possible. We want to free our employees as much time as possible to think, to create, to be proactive, and to create value.

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If you could give one piece of advice to someone wanting to build a successful company in iGaming today, what would it be?

Focus on building something future-proof. That means strong partnerships, transparency, and a long-term mindset. In affiliate marketing, a lot of your success depends on trust. Both with users and with operators.

Also, don’t wait for everything to be perfect before launching. Start fast, learn fast, and improve as you go. The ability to move quickly is still one of the biggest advantages you can have in this space.

What are the main future plans for Media 24, and what kind of impact do you hope the company will have on the iGaming world in the years to come?

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Our focus is on becoming a product-driven company. We’re seeing a shift in the industry, many affiliates are building tools and user experiences that go far beyond what was considered enough a few years ago. That’s the direction we’re heading as well.

The new generation of players wants better experiences. We hope Media 24 can play a leading role in creating what the future of affiliate marketing looks like. Agile, technological, and always focused on the user.