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Arturs Korolkovs on Leading Media 24’s Next Chapter
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.
The post Arturs Korolkovs on Leading Media 24’s Next Chapter appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
Gamblers Connect, the independent B2B iGaming media platform, has introduced a Verified Sources panel that appears at the bottom of every article, linking each factual claim directly to named primary documents hosted on the original source’s own domain.
The panel lists the specific sources consulted, identifies the issuing authority, and includes editorial notes explaining what has been verified and where the limits of the available evidence exist. Positioned immediately beneath the article body, each source is presented in the order it was consulted and includes the responsible individual or office where applicable.
Each entry also includes relevant disclosure tags drawn from the newsroom’s editorial taxonomy, and a direct hyperlink to the original document on the source’s own domain, allowing readers to verify the reporting in a single click.
The initiative responds to widespread practices in online publishing where sources are hidden, paraphrased or omitted altogether, leaving readers to rely on trust rather than independently verifiable evidence.
Luka Dimitrijevic, Partnerships & Operations Lead at Gamblers Connect, said: “Trust is not something a media outlet can declare. It is something the reader gives, and only once they can see the documents the story was built from. The Verified Sources panel exists so that verification is never more than one click away. If a claim in a story is worth making, the source behind it is worth linking to.”
The post Gamblers Connect Strengthens Trust with Launch of Verified Sources Panel appeared first on EE Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
Esports World Cup: Level Upreturns for its second season on June 26, with all five episodes dropping that day exclusively on Prime Video. Directed by Emmy-winning filmmaker R.J. Cutler (Martha (Netflix), Billie Eilish: The World’s A Little Blurry (Apple TV)), the five-part docuseries goes inside the human stories behind the world’s largest esports competition, following players, Clubs and families through the pressure and ambition of the 2025 Esports World Cup.
Set in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, during the seven-week event, the new season follows the chase for the $70 million prize pool and the EWC Club Championship, while showing the personal journeys at the heart of the competition. The series captures what it takes to compete on a global stage where one match can change a career, a season can define a Club, and a single moment can turn a player into a star.
Produced by This Machine (a part of Sony Pictures Television), with director R.J. Cutler, showrunner John Dorsey and executive producers Jane Cha Cutler, Trevor Smith, Elise Pearlstein and Mark Blatty all returning for the second season, Esports World Cup: Level Up takes a vérité-style approach to esports, capturing the sacrifice, stakes, and rising fame of the world’s top competitive gamers.
Featured players include Jake “Boaster” Howlett (Fnatic; VALORANT), Vivi “Vivian” Indrawaty (Team Vitality; MLBB), Kasimili “Soka” Tongamoa (Team Falcons; Call of Duty: Warzone), Xiao Hai (KuaiShou Gaming; Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves) and Garidmagnai “bLitz” Byambasuren (Mongolz; Counter-Strike). To bring the players’ personal stories to the forefront, the film’s crew was on set in Riyadh for seven weeks and also traveled to locations across the U.K., U.S. and Indonesia for rare at-home visits.
Standout storylines woven throughout the series include:
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Magnus Carlsen (Team Liquid, Chess) – Widely considered the greatest chess player ever, Carlsen faces the isolation of dominance, with no traditional peaks left to conquer. His story follows his shift into esports, where a new generation of challengers awaits.
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Boaster (Fnatic, Valorant) – As Valorant debuts at the event, the British competitor’s journey from aspiring actor to title contender shows there’s no single path to success, shaped by resilience through personal and professional setbacks.
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Xiao Hai (KSG, Street Fighter) – A reigning champion shaped by strict discipline, Xiao Hai was competing against adults by age six. Now a father, he balances global competition with family life.
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Vivian (Team Vitality, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang) – Competing for a life-changing prize, Vivian’s story centers on overcoming recent setbacks and confronting childhood trauma.
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The Mongolz & bLitz (Counter-Strike 2) – Led by their star player bLitz, this grassroots Mongolian team has risen from obscurity to national prominence, becoming symbols of pride and perseverance.
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Soka (Team Falcons, Call of Duty: Warzone) – The reigning champion faces pressure on multiple fronts, dealing with rivalries from former teammates while navigating a turbulent home life.
- Coach ArSy (Team Liquid, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang) – Offering a rare coaching perspective, ArSy draws on a difficult upbringing to lead and inspire his team’s pursuit of redemption.
“Level Up captures the human side of what we are building with the Esports World Cup,” said Ralf Reichert, CEO, Esports Foundation. “EWC creates the stage: the best games, the best Clubs, the best players, life-changing stakes and moments that bring together a global gaming community of billions. The documentary takes you closer to the people inside those moments: their pressure, their ambition, their families and the stories that make esports meaningful to a new generation.”
“This next chapter deepens our exploration of a global phenomenon that is as much about human ambition and identity as it is about competition,” said Cutler. “Esports is one of the most dynamic cultural movements of our time. In season two, we continue to chronicle not just the competition, but the lives, dreams, and sacrifices of the players at the center of it, revealing a world that is both intensely personal and globally resonant.”
Around those player journeys, the series also captures the wider cultural energy of the Esports World Cup, where sport, music, entertainment and gaming meet. In addition to elite competition, Level Up showcases moments from a star-studded lineup of musical artists and athletes, including opening headliner Post Malone, who shows off his gaming skills backstage; grandmaster Magnus Carlsen, who triumphs in his first chess esports event; and football icon Cristiano Ronaldo, who ushers the Club Championship trophy to the stage in a dramatic closing ceremony.
The magnitude of the Esports World Cup is also seen through the reactions of some of the world’s biggest sports and entertainment figures, including reigning F1 champion Lando Norris; Brazilian football legends Ronaldo Nazario and Kaká, who go one-on-one in an EA FC showmatch; professional footballer Alisha Lehmann; skateboarder Tony Hawk; and tennis star Nick Kyrgios, who stated: “The crowd, the atmosphere, is literally better than Wimbledon or any Grand Slam.”
The Esports World Cup 2025 marked a defining moment in competitive gaming. In its second year, EWC reached 750 million viewers worldwide and generated 350 million hours watched, with peak concurrent viewership of nearly 8 million during the League of Legends at EWC ’25 tournament. Coverage was delivered across 28 platforms through 97 broadcast partners and more than 800 channels in 35 languages. Twenty-five tournaments spanning 24 games featured more than 2,000 players representing approximately 200 Clubs from over 100 countries.
The 2026 edition of the Esports World Cup will be held in Paris, France from July 6 through August 23, as the top Clubs in the world compete for $75 million and the 2026 EWC Club Championship trophy.
The post Esports World Cup: Level Up Returns to Prime Video June 26 with Season Two appeared first on EE Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
Tonybet, an international iGaming operator already licensed in Ontario and Kahnawake, today announced that it has received an iGaming license from the Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis Commission (AGLC), clearing the company to operate in Alberta’s regulated online gaming market.
The license allows Tonybet to enter Alberta, Canada’s second province to introduce a competitive, multi-operator iGaming market following Ontario’s launch in 2022. It also extends Tonybet’s Canadian footprint, reinforcing the company’s position as one of the most broadly licensed operators in the country.
Alberta’s regulated market represents a significant opportunity. The province has an estimated population of nearly 5 million, a strong sports culture, and a regulatory framework designed to channel existing online gaming activity into a licensed, player-protected environment. Tonybet intends to bring the same localized approach that has driven its growth in Ontario – combining regionally relevant sports betting markets, responsible gaming tools, and dedicated customer support – to Alberta from day one.
“Alberta is taking the right approach – building a regulated market that puts player protection and operational standards at the center from the start. That’s exactly the kind of environment we want to operate in. We’ve spent years proving in Ontario that you can grow a business and maintain the highest compliance standards at the same time – registrations and gross gaming revenue in the province both grew by 52% in 2025, with responsible gaming embedded in that success rather than working against it. Securing this license means we can bring the same commitment to Alberta, and we plan to be fully operational in the market,” said Dmitry Arabuli, CEO of Tonybet.
Tonybet has already begun preparations for its Alberta launch, including platform localization, integration with the province’s centralized self-exclusion system, and commercial onboarding with the Alberta iGaming Corporation (AiGC).
The post Tonybet Secures Alberta iGaming License as Regulated Market Opens appeared first on EE Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
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