Interview with Iren Kuznietsova, head of Business Operations at SOFTSWISS Sportsbook
Big tournaments create surges in attention, but brands that try to launch a sportsbook a week before a tournament usually end up troubleshooting live. The SOFTSWISS Sportsbook advocates a smarter approach: launch early, accumulate learnings, and convert that tournament spike into durable retention. Head of Business Operations at SOFTSWISS Sportsbook, Iren Kuznietsova, breaks down what “early” really means, how to operate in the first 180 days, and why hands-on retention beats flash promos.
NEXT: For casino-only operators, how does adding the SOFTSWISS Sportsbook ahead of the World Cup change the revenue mix?
Iren Kuznietsova: Sports is returning as a trend. After a period of relative stagnation, players are once again eager to bet. On average, a sportsbook can generate about twenty per cent of a casino’s GGR. That’s a significant addition, but it’s not just about numbers. Sportsbook is also a powerful retention and cross-sell tool.
Think of a player who just lost in the casino. Rather than losing them altogether, you can redirect them to sports, offering a new experience, a kind of “consolation prize.” We’ve also seen that features like our Network Jackpot increase engagement dramatically. On projects where it was enabled, the number of bets per player grew by 50%. So, that’s not just more volume; it’s about deepening engagement and extending player lifetime.
NEXT: What’s the best time to launch a sportsbook before a global tournament like the World Cup? Are there any crucial advantages versus launching during or after it?
IK: When it comes to timing, the earlier you launch, the better. A sportsbook isn’t something you switch on the day a big tournament starts and expect players to adopt instantly. Building loyalty doesn’t happen overnight, especially when what you’re really selling is not just a feature but an experience.
During big events, people want to bet. If your sportsbook isn’t ready when that moment comes, players will look elsewhere, and once they find another platform with a great welcome offer, they might not come back. That’s why having a sportsbook live well before the tournament isn’t just an advantage – it’s a safeguard against losing your own casino audience.
Psychology is also important. Players need time to explore the sports betting flow – in practice, we see that it takes around 15 player touch-points with a sportsbook before it feels natural. The earlier you start, the more ‘native’ sports betting feels to your existing casino audience. If you launch only when the World Cup kicks off, you miss that entire learning curve.
NEXT: What’s the best time to launch a sportsbook before a global tournament like the World Cup? Are there any crucial advantages versus launching during or after it?
IK: There isn’t one universal timeline, because it depends both on the project itself and on the sporting calendar leading up to the World Cup. If you launch six months ahead, you have plenty of smaller tournaments to use as training grounds. Players get used to the product, and you can test retention tools. But if you launch only a month or two before, especially during a low sports season like July, you’ll struggle to give players reasons to place bets.
The approximate timing might look like this: be live around six months before kick-off. The first month is about technical setup and basic markets. Then, it is followed by a structured 40-day welcome program with automated bonuses and event calendars. By month three, you can add jackpots, VIP bet services, and even esports testing for younger audiences. From then until the tournament, the focus shifts to scaling and localisation – adapting offers to each market and validating cross-sell mechanics between sports and casino.
Of course, this is a generalised estimate, which may be subject to change depending on the project. For example, I would recommend launching our Network Jackpot campaign – it’s a perfect “we’re live” story which can even reactivate inactive players.
In a nutshell, going live at least half a year before the World Cup gives you enough time for setup, for operators to prepare their retention strategies, and for players to build crucial habits.
NEXT: What acquisition and pre-event activation tactics work best in the run-up to major tournaments?
IK: The strongest results always come when a sportsbook has been live for a while before the event. That way, you already have data – what players bet on most, which teams or markets resonate, and what kind of promotions generate engagement. Then, as the World Cup approaches, you can scale campaigns with much more precision.
I’ve seen projects test free-to-play predictors, bet-builder tutorials, and even influencer-led challenges to create buzz. Social media campaigns tied to jackpots or special promotions work particularly well when they’re launched in advance. If you start early, you don’t need to burn through acquisition budgets once the tournament begins.
Creative campaigns also help. For example, around Easter, we ran an ‘Easter Egg’ promotion where players discovered daily challenges inside the sportsbook. It wasn’t just about deposits or bonuses – it was about teaching players to navigate the product in a fun, exploratory way. And once they’ve gone through that journey, it’s much easier to keep them engaged.
NEXT: Could you share any cases where partners launched early and saw measurable gains?
IK: One clear pattern we see is around major football tournaments. During the UEFA European Championship, the number of players and bets doubled on average compared to the months before. Turnover on betting projects also doubled. And the operators who invested in promotions and marketing pushed those figures even higher.
By the way, what’s especially interesting is the contrast: while football drives huge spikes, the Olympics doesn’t show the same effect. People watch it, but it doesn’t translate into betting in any significant way.
But it doesn’t have to be a global event. For example, one of our clients migrated to the SOFTSWISS Sportsbook knowing that their audience loved bare-knuckle fights. We tailored the frontend and developed promo timing for that niche. As a result, they hit over $150k GGR in the first months, just as a reference – many projects take about 6 months to reach 50k.
So yes, the data confirms it – launching before a major event lets you capture that surge in interest and turn it into lasting growth.
NEXT: World Cup is over – what is your post-tournament retention playbook so users don’t vanish?
IK: The truth is, there’s no dead season if you plan correctly. You just need the right mix of bonuses, jackpots, loyalty programs, and personalised offers. That’s why we’ve built structured retention packages operators can plug into.
At the basic level, we provide welcome bonus setup, standard two-week calendars with the top sports events, and a recurring retention bonus. Operators also get monthly promo suggestions tied to major tournaments.
The expanded tier adds validation of promos, twice-monthly event bonuses, and up to 25 custom bonus requests a day. Operators also receive regular analytical reports and can plug in our bonus promo concepts for global tournaments.
Finally, the maximum tier is almost like a managed service. We localise calendars, refresh promos weekly, and even cover full VIP player support with risk controls and monthly bonus program reviews.
In other words, operators can keep engagement high after the World Cup by running their own in-house retention team, or they can lean on us to do the heavy lifting.
