The latest episode of iGaming Accent by SBC Eurasia and hosted by Vakho Mdivani features Marcin Jablonski, Chief Commercial Officer of CrustLab and a veteran of the Polish betting industry. The conversation dives deep into Marcin’s journey, the evolution of iGaming in Poland, and broader industry trends, offering both personal anecdotes and sharp professional insights.
Marcin’s entry into the industry was, as he describes, almost accidental. After moving to Germany for his studies, he stumbled upon a job posting for a sportsbook company. He recalls, “I found my first job by accident in iGaming, as many of my friends back then. It was already like times of poker, but I didn’t know much about iGaming really. iGaming wasn’t called iGaming back then.”
The early days of iGaming in Poland were marked by chaos and opportunity. Marcin notes that roles were fluid and everyone had to pitch in: “Things are on fire, everything is burning, people are complaining, and somebody has to do something about it, and everybody does something about it.”
A significant part of the discussion centers on the impact of regulation. Marcin explains that the first significant attempt to regulate the Polish market came in 2010, which abruptly halted the industry’s rapid growth: “The market was growing fast, quite fast. It was the home of EPT, Unibet, and everything else. And then suddenly they shut down everything.”
He also highlights the unique challenges of the Polish market, such as the high turnover tax: “We have the stupidest taxation ever made in the history of online gaming, which is the 12% turnover tax on bets.”
Despite these obstacles, Marcin describes Poland as a highly innovative and tech-savvy market. He observes, “Product is something that they compete against each other. Like those with bad legacy systems, they lose.” The pandemic accelerated the importance of virtual games and instant payment systems, with Poland becoming one of the first countries to introduce “swish and pay and play type of payments.”
When it comes to player engagement, Marcin is clear that bonuses remain essential: “The bonuses are on top of the roof… Not offering bonuses is a mistake in these traditional bonus-hunting countries.” However, he points out that more sophisticated retention promotions are limited by regulation: “They would love to focus on that, but it’s prohibited. So you have to get the permit from the Minister of Finance because one ironic part also in Poland is that there’s no gambling commission yet.”
The conversation also touches on the rise of localized betting events, such as celebrity MMA fights, which have opened new channels for customer acquisition: “There’s an organization in Poland that introduced something which is called MMA fights for celebrities… It became one of the biggest federations overall, despite the fact that this is not like professional sports people, but in the meantime, they also got very professional, really.”
On the classic debate of acquisition versus retention, Marcin emphasizes the growing importance of keeping players engaged: “I would do 70/30 towards retention.” He explains that while acquisition is crucial, long-term success depends on how well companies retain their customers after major events.
The episode concludes with Marcin reflecting on his transition from B2C to B2B, describing it as a major adjustment: “For me, it’s like this is the hardest ever challenge to cope with that… But to be honest, it’s not negative, the slowdown. It’s just a different world.”
He also responded to a question from a previous guest, Entain’ Dainis Niedra, and posed one of his own for the next guest.
To hear the full conversation and gain even deeper insights, listen to the complete podcast episode of iGaming Accent.
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