Exclusive: Belatra CMO Kateryna Goi on Authentic Branding in the AI Era, Human Connections and Leadership

As the global iGaming industry becomes increasingly competitive, successful brands are looking beyond traditional marketing to create meaningful customer experiences, build trust, and establish long-term partnerships. In a world where technology and AI continue to evolve rapidly, the challenge is no longer simply attracting attention-it’s creating authentic brands that people remember.

In this exclusive interview with iGaming News Today, Kateryna Goi, Chief Marketing Officer at Belatra, shares how her experience across exhibition management and iGaming marketing has shaped her strategic approach to brand building. She discusses the importance of understanding local markets, balancing creativity with data, the evolving role of industry events, AI’s impact on marketing, leadership, and the trends that will shape the future of global iGaming marketing.

Q1. You’ve worked in both exhibition management and iGaming marketing. How has that combination of experience shaped the way you approach brand strategy today?

Kateryna:

One of the biggest lessons from my previous experience is that every successful project starts with understanding the market, not with creating a campaign.

When I worked in exhibition management, every conference or expo was, in essence, a product created from scratch. Each event was a distinct ecosystem with its own audience, strategy, and identity. We organized events across very different markets – from Australia and India to Latin America – and each one required its own strategy. Before making any decisions, we analyzed the region, the audience, local business culture and expectations. Only then did we build the positioning, marketing strategy and event experience.

When I moved into iGaming marketing, I realized that the principle remained exactly the same. Every market is unique, and there is no universal strategy that works everywhere. Whether you’re launching a game, planning an event or building a brand, everything starts with research and understanding your audience.

Today, I see brand strategy not as creating attractive campaigns, but as building relevant experiences based on local insights. Creativity is important, but it becomes truly effective only when it is built on a deep understanding of the market.

Q2. The B2B iGaming market is more competitive than ever. What do you think makes a brand stand out in such a crowded industry?

Kateryna:

This may sound cliché, but I’m convinced that a strong brand starts with a high-quality product.

Today, companies invest in content, influencers, sponsorships, events and countless marketing activities. All of these can drive impressive acquisition results and generate strong first-time deposits (FTDs). But if the product itself doesn’t deliver a compelling player experience, those numbers quickly lose their value. In the long run, sustainable growth is driven by player retention and lifetime value (LTV), and those are built on product quality rather than marketing alone.

At the same time, the B2B side of iGaming is built on trust. Operators and aggregators are choosing long-term partners, not just game providers. If you’re an unknown company with no reputation, no visible leadership and no proven track record, it’s naturally much harder to build those relationships. After all, operators are putting their own reputation on the line when they integrate your content.

That’s where marketing plays its real role-even the strongest product needs a voice. It isn’t about making an average product look extraordinary. It’s about giving a great product the visibility, credibility and personality it deserves.

In a crowded market, standing out isn’t about making the loudest promise. It’s about consistently proving that you’re a reliable partner with a product worth remembering.

Q3. You’ve represented companies at many international exhibitions. Do you believe events still play a major role in building business relationships in an increasingly digital world?

Kateryna:

I actually think the opposite has happened. The more digital our world becomes, the more valuable face-to-face interaction is.

The pandemic fundamentally changed the way we work. Many companies never fully returned to the office, and in a global industry like iGaming, most of our partners are based in different countries. We can exchange dozens of emails and hold countless video calls, but sometimes a single conversation in person is enough to build the trust that moves a partnership forward.

That said, I believe the role of events is evolving rather than disappearing. Large international exhibitions remain the cornerstone of our industry-they’ve become much more than expos. Today, they’re global festivals where business, networking and entertainment come together. We’re currently getting ready for SBC Summit Lisbon 2026. This year, we’re bringing the Belatra Adventure Club concept to life, inspired by curiosity, hobbies and the excitement of discovering new experiences. Anyone can find us at booth B226. We will be glad to see everyone.

At the same time, we’re seeing rapid growth in invitation-only dinners, sports events and other boutique networking formats that create space for more meaningful conversations.

This year, we’re seeing an incredible surge in the popularity of padel tournaments. People are playing padel everywhere, in every country. It’s truly a wonderful way to socialize in a relaxed and fun atmosphere-after all, as we know, sports reduce stress levels and boost happiness hormones, so why not socialize when you’re happy? What’s more, Belatra is participating in the Blokotech Padel Tour 2026 and is proud to support this event as a Gold Plus Sponsor.

So, to sum up: all formats have their place, and together they make business relationships stronger than ever.

Q4. Marketing teams today have access to more data than ever before. How do you balance data-driven decisions with creativity when building successful campaigns?

Kateryna:

I actually don’t see data and creativity as two forces that compete with each other.

We’re living in an era where technology is evolving at an incredible pace. Almost every day, I receive messages from companies offering new AI tools, analytics platforms, audience insights or data solutions. But when you look closer, many of them simply aren’t relevant to a game provider’s business model. Unlike operators, game providers don’t always have access to the full picture of player behaviour. That’s why we combine the data available to us with market research, conversations with partners and experience gained across different regions. Having access to more data doesn’t automatically mean having access to better insights.

For me, data answers who, where and what. It helps us understand our audience, prioritize markets and make smarter business decisions.

Creativity answers how.

How do we tell the story? How do we make people remember us? How do we turn an insight into an experience?

The strongest campaigns happen when these two work together. Data provides direction, but creativity is what makes a brand memorable. One without the other rarely delivers long-term results.

Q5. AI is changing the way marketing teams work. How do you see AI influencing branding, content creation, and customer engagement in the iGaming industry?

Kateryna:

AI has become one of the most transformative technologies in marketing, and I believe its biggest value lies in making us more efficient, not replacing creativity.

Recently, I shared my thoughts on this topic on LinkedIn because it’s one of the biggest discussions in our industry today. The question is no longer whether to use AI, but how to use it responsibly. Personally, I’m a strong supporter of AI when it helps marketers analyze data, personalize communication, automate routine tasks or better understand customer behaviour.

Where I’m more cautious is creative production. If every visual, every story and every campaign is generated entirely by AI, brands risk losing their authenticity. The same applies to games. When players open a slot and immediately recognize that every asset has been generated by AI, it can create the impression that production quality has been sacrificed in favor of cutting costs. Players come not only for mechanics, but also for emotions, atmosphere and artistic identity.

The biggest risk isn’t AI itself. It’s that brands start looking and sounding the same because they’re all using the same tools. In a highly competitive industry like iGaming, distinctiveness is one of the most valuable brand assets. AI should help us strengthen that identity, not dilute it.

For me, the future isn’t AI versus human creativity. It’s AI supporting human creativity. The brands that will stand out won’t be the ones using AI the most-they’ll be the ones using it with the most intention.

Q6. You’ve led marketing teams and managed international projects. What qualities do you believe define a successful marketing leader today?

Kateryna:

I often compare marketing leadership to architecture. No matter how talented an architect is, they can design the most impressive building in the world-but without the right team, it will never be built.

I believe the same is true for marketing. Great ideas rarely come from one person. A successful marketing leader is someone who knows how to build a strong team, create an environment where people feel comfortable sharing ideas, and remain open to learning from them.

I’ve never believed in the leadership style of “we’ll do it this way because I said so.” I don’t think the best leaders are the ones who always have the right answers. They’re the ones who ask the right questions and surround themselves with people who know things they don’t.

The strongest teams challenge each other, exchange perspectives and grow together.

Of course, continuous learning is a given in our industry. Marketing, technology and player expectations evolve constantly, so staying curious is part of the job.

Q7. Looking toward 2027 and beyond, how do you see the role of marketing changing across the global iGaming industry?

Kateryna:

I believe marketing will become even more strategic than it is today.

One thing that makes me optimistic is that the iGaming industry already recognizes marketing as a business driver rather than just a support function. When I speak with professionals from other industries, I’m sometimes surprised that many companies still expect a great product to sell itself. In iGaming, we’ve already moved beyond that way of thinking.

Looking toward 2027, AI and automation will undoubtedly become even more powerful. We’ll have better analytics, deeper audience insights and more opportunities to personalize communication. But I don’t believe technology alone will become the competitive advantage-everyone will have access to similar tools.

The biggest challenge for marketers won’t be creating more content. It will be creating reasons for people to care.

What will truly differentiate brands is their ability to stay authentic, build trust and create experiences that people genuinely remember. AI can help us work faster and smarter, but it can’t replace a clear brand identity or meaningful human relationships. Those will remain the strongest competitive advantages in our industry.

In the future, attention will be the scarcest resource. The brands that earn it through authenticity, consistency and trust-not just technology-will be the ones that succeed.

About Belatra

Belatra Games brings more than 33 years of experience to the global iGaming market, developing high-quality and engaging content for regulated markets across Europe, Latin America, Asia, and beyond. Its portfolio spans video slots, roulette, lottery, crash, and instant games, distributed through leading operators and aggregators.

A key part of its success is its investment in original game universes and recurring characters. Its flagship Mummyverse franchise, including Mummyland Treasures, Santa Mummy, Fortune Mummy, and Mummy’s Mines, highlights how recognizable characters and worlds can drive player engagement while creating long-term value for operators.