Vadym Sotskov of JugaBet: Building a Bet Brand from Scratch

This episode of CMO Weekly features an insightful interview with Vadym Sotskov, Country Manager for JugaBet, one of Latin America's rapidly rising betting brands. The discussion covers the aggressive, locally-focused strategy that has propelled JugaBet to a leading position in key markets like Chile and Peru.Key Discussion Points Vadym Sotskov's Background and JugaBet's Genesis: Sotskov's main professional background is in data and analysis. He has been with JugaBet since its launch 2.5 years ago, initiating the brand and even creating its name for the betting platform. The core goal was to build a strong competitor to international brands by acting as a local brand. They focused on a localized approach from the beginning, including building a large, local professional team within the regions (like Chile and Peru). Rapid Market Success and Strategy: JugaBet is growing rapidly and is already positioned as the second-biggest brand in Chile within just two years. The two main factors for this quick success are: Strong Local Expertise/Presence: Unlike many competitors based in Europe or elsewhere, JugaBet has a significant local presence and team that deeply understands the nuances of the market. Massive Sponsorship Investment: They invested heavily in building a huge brand presence through sponsorships. Sponsorship and Fan Engagement: JugaBet sponsors the two biggest football teams in Chile, which together account for about 80% of the fan base. The selection strategy was to sponsor the "best of the best". They recognized that even the two top teams have different "vibes," "consumers," and connection styles to their fans, requiring a nuanced approach. Engagement is more than just a logo on a jersey. Activations include on-site presence at matches, promotional stands, giveaways, meet-and-greets, and producing hundreds of events for customers. Business Metrics and Trust: The key focus shifts with growth. Initially, it was on acquisition (new sign-ups, first deposits). Now that the customer base is large, the primary focus is on retention and engagement—keeping customers happy and increasing their lifetime value. Customer trust is paramount. Referrals (current customers inviting others) are a key performance indicator (KPI) that validates their strategy and builds long-term loyalty. Surprises and Future Plans: A major insight was the significant difference between close Latin American countries (like Chile and Peru) despite a shared language (Spanish). Accents and dialects can be so different that people sometimes don't understand each other. This confirmed the necessity of their highly localized approach. Two main future directions: Continual Expansion: They recently launched in Mexico and now hold ten licenses there. Product Improvement/Loyalty: A significant focus on loyalty features. A new feature launching is a loyalty store where active players can earn points through missions and redeem them for real, physical prizes (tickets, autographed jerseys, gym subscriptions, coupons) to create a tangible connection between the online and offline world.