In the first episode of BROFISTory, we spoke with a product owner who rose through the ranks from support to product management. He shared how a part-time job turned into a career, the life of a product team, how platforms and providers are selected, and what makes games and game mechanics popular across different geographies. We delve into the details: from white-label solutions and VIP programs to tournaments and loyalty levels that retain players.

Tell us a little about yourself from a professional perspective. How did you get involved in online gambling?

I got into this online gambling industry by pure chance — I was invited to work in support. I was looking for a temporary gig, but ended up staying long-term.
I’m an oil and gas field engineer by education, then I delved into petrochemistry. But I was also looking for something new, and a friend suggested I try this.
At first, I thought it would be short-lived, but the work turned out to be very dynamic and interesting. The product operates 24/7, changes are constant, and you have to adapt quickly — unlike traditional IT. Every minute matters, and it’s incredibly exciting.
Gradually, I began to dig deeper: how the casino works, how the games, payments, and processes work. And I was hooked.

You joined the company as a support specialist. How did you end up working your way up from support to product owner?

I initially had some development skills. I took a lot of courses — before there was a proper education system for developers — and understood how development works. I’ve always been interested in it.
At the company, I started as a regular support worker, then became a senior manager, later moved to working with VIP clients, and then headed the VIP department. Over time, I also took over customer service.
At the same time, since the company was small, I had to work at the intersection of functions — support, product, and retention. This was especially true for VIP management: players often provided feedback on the product and communications, and I needed to collaborate with other departments and, in some cases, develop solutions to meet the needs of my beloved players.
I began to delve deeper into retention: segmentation, communications, bonuses, and promotional planning. Gradually, I became more and more immersed in the product side of things and even earned the relevant education. Ultimately, when the opportunity arose to take on product management, I took it — because I was interested in understanding the process from the inside.

Tell us more about your current role as a CPO. What exactly are you currently doing, and what tasks are you responsible for?

My work now spans several areas. When the company abandoned outsourcing retention, I assembled an internal team and built processes from scratch: we established retention tools, a product team, and streamlined internal operations.
From there, my responsibilities began to expand. Today, I handle both classic product-related tasks — competitor analysis, target audience definition, and developing a brand development concept and strategy — and operational ones: developing the VIP department, customer service, CRM, content, product analytics, and development.
Essentially, my role encompasses both the strategic development of the brand and the development of internal processes that ensure its stable operation.

How closely do you collaborate with the tracking platform our casino uses? What does this collaboration look like?

In fact, we don’t collaborate with them very closely right now. The main work was during the launch phase: integration and configuration, because our project operates on a white-label model, and many solutions were already in place on the platform side.
Now, our interactions are mostly limited to technical issues: occasionally, requests for improvements or specific features arise, and we address them on a case-by-case basis. But there’s no longer any ongoing, close collaboration.

Tell us in more detail what a white label is.

A white label is a ready-made casino platform solution. It includes everything you need: a license, payment systems, game aggregators, and a tracking platform. This is much cheaper and more convenient than developing your own platform from scratch.
We’ve essentially adopted a boxed solution that already includes game providers, payment systems, and basic technical tools for working with. For payment systems and games, it’s convenient that you can always request additions, changes, or deactivations from the platform. You can also integrate your own solutions by agreement with the platform, but for the most part, we only customize the frontend to suit our needs.
That’s why our internal product team is compact: DevOps, analysts, content, marketing (bonuses, design, copywriting, SMM), a tester, VIP managers, support, and one outsourced developer from Softswiss. If we were to develop our own platform, we would need a huge team: developers, PSP specialists, testers, systems analysts, architects, DevOps specialists, etc. A white label, however, allows us to use fewer resources and focus on brand development.

If an investor wants to open a casino, how do they choose the ideal platform? What should they pay attention to when launching, and what is critical for the product’s continued success?

First and foremost, fault tolerance. The platform must operate reliably, without any downtime or technical issues, because any downtime immediately impacts the business.
Second, data accuracy. It’s important that statistics are transmitted transparently and accurately, both for us and for our partners. If the data is incorrect, constant questions and disputes arise, which greatly complicates operations.
Third, ease of use. All basic processes must be performed without any difficulty. For example, on Softswiss, you simply click two buttons to launch a game. In one case, we had to launch a game in one service and manually enter all the data, and then re-launch it in another section, manually entering all the data.
And, of course, data completeness and the ability to work with it. The more data the platform collects and the more easily it can be downloaded for analytics, the more effectively we can combat fraud and manage traffic. This is especially critical these days.
The ability to segment the audience using this data to set up funnels is also very important here.

Let’s talk about providers. A single platform can have anywhere from 30 to 70+ providers. Why are so many providers needed? What are the benefits of such a large number?

The main reason is geographic coverage. Different providers have licenses with country restrictions. For example, Pragmatic Play is unavailable in Australia, requiring a different provider to serve that market.
Also, different providers are popular in different countries. In Europe, for example, the range of providers is more similar: Pragmatic, PlaySon, and so on.
The more countries you plan to cover, the more providers you need to ensure players have a wide selection of games. Furthermore, trends are constantly changing—a provider that’s little known today may become very popular tomorrow.

How can you explain the sudden popularity of crash games like Plinko or Chicken Road with their new mechanics?

First and foremost — marketing. These games have been very well promoted through influencers, TikTok, and short video formats.
Secondly, the barrier to entry is low: the mechanics are simple and don’t require any special knowledge, symbols, or strategies.
Finally, they give players a sense of influence over the outcome, which greatly increases engagement.

We host tournaments across various products, including those from providers. Tell us how it works and why providers launch tournaments with prize pools.

Providers’ main goal is to promote their games.
This is also beneficial for us: tournaments generate player activity, draw attention to new products, and stimulate engagement.

Some casinos have a loyalty level system — 5, 7, or 10 levels — that unlock as you play or place bets. How popular and useful is this feature for players?

The loyalty level system binds players to prizes and bonuses. The main goal is retention: when a player reaches the maximum level and receives, for example, the maximum cashback, they don’t want to move to a new casino and start all over again.
Essentially, it’s a motivational and engagement tool. Players enjoy progression, “leveling up” their account, and receiving rewards. For some, the prizes are important, while for others, the process of reaching levels is interesting in itself.
Overall, this is borrowed from the principles of classic gaming: people value seeing progress, feeling growth, and receiving rewards for their activity. This works in a casino in exactly the same way.

Slots come in different types: live games, crash games, simple “tappers” like Chicken Road, and classic slots with symbols and complex mechanics. How does the popularity of different types of games vary by geography? Is there a connection between a country’s economic level and the complexity of the mechanics?

Yes, there is such a connection. For example, in Tier-1 GEOs like Australia, games like Hold’n’Win are popular — classic slots with bonuses and simple mechanics that are well-received by players. In Europe, games with bonus buys are also popular, for example, the Pragmatic Play line, tailored specifically for the European market.
More broadly, the wealthier the audience, the more demand there is for games with more complex mechanics and options, such as bonus buys. In countries with less affluent audiences, simple slots and crash games without complex strategies are more popular.

What are your department and company’s plans for the future?

In the near future, we plan to develop our current projects on the Softswiss platform. One of our products has already undergone a redesign — we’re rebuilding the interface and improving the user experience. We’re currently planning a redesign of our long-standing, strong brand, Dazard. This project was previously among the top three in Switzerland, and our goal is to regain strength in key markets and regain its leading position. At the same time, we’re also implementing new features to increase user retention and engagement.
The redesign directly impacts the player experience: the familiar interface changes, and it’s important to ensure users quickly adapt and continue playing comfortably.
When developing the design, we focus on two things: market best practices and user behavior. We study where users click, how they interact with the interface, validate functionality through testing, and address any bottlenecks. This ensures that the design is not only beautiful but also user-friendly, and the product is effective and engaging.