In the latest episode of iGaming Accent, host Vakho Mdivani welcomes Dawid Pożoga, CMO at STS, for a deep dive into iGaming marketing – from brand building and ambassadors to performance marketing, regulation, and preparing for major sporting events, all set against the backdrop of the ongoing FIFA World Cup.
Dawid’s route into the industry was driven by a lifelong passion: “I was always super passionate about sports, about football… I always wanted to end up in a company that’s very related to sport. And this industry is, you know, 100% about sport – or maybe 95% about sport.”
Having worked across retail, FMCG, automotive, and media, he was ultimately convinced by a colleague to join STS: “When I saw the company, I saw the team, and I saw how we’re operating in this business, I was 100% convinced that this is the place for me.”
His first impressions of iGaming were shaped by two things: regulation and pace.
“The first thing that you notice when you join from a different industry is actually the regulation… how you need to be friends with legal.” And the second: “There’s a lot of creativity and fast pace in this environment. Every single day there’s something new… For me, marketing is about telling the stories in this industry.”
Storytelling, Dawid argues, requires a foundation: “The stories need a good backbone. You need to define yourself as a brand – who you are, who you talk to, and what is your North Star.”
On brand ambassadors, Dawid is pragmatic rather than starstruck: “This ambassador should actually give you the value to the positioning that is the backbone of your brand. If it’s something that is only gluing a nice and very recognizable face to your brand, it doesn’t necessarily need to work.”
He warns against superficial partnerships: “It needs to be a context, it needs to be an offer, it needs to be authenticity… It needs to be a holistic campaign to be successful.”
Discussing 360 marketing, Dawid stresses focus over omnipresence: “360 doesn’t always mean all the channels available… Just use the channels that are actually important for you and for your target group.”
He also delivers one of the episode’s sharpest lines on marketing’s real role: “Marketing doesn’t necessarily have to sell. It needs to build the brand that sells.”
Drawing on his agency background working with big brands, Dawid shares what iGaming should learn from other industries: “Build the brand – meaning commit to the strategy for a certain period of time… Give the strategy a possibility to settle down, and then potentially re-evaluate. Don’t change the strategy the day after something goes wrong.”
On preparing for major sporting events, his advice is scenario planning and disruption: “Plan up front, have scenarios – not only one scenario that is gonna be winning… You need to have a scenario for a scenario.”
And a memorable reframing of competition during the World Cup: “You’re not competing with the betting partners. You’re competing with all the Coca-Colas of the world… Make something that is outstanding, out of the box.”
He also responded to a question from Bill Pascrell III, a lawyer and lobbyist in gaming regulation, and posed one of his own for the next guest.
To hear the whole conversation and gain even deeper insights, listen to the complete podcast episode of iGaming Accent.
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