Players rarely follow a straight path from discovering a brand to registering. They might first hear about it from a streamer, search for it on Google, open another app and register through a different browser. So which channel should get the credit?

In Episode 97 of iGaming Real Talk, our host Surya Palli speaks with Tamara Hovhannisyan, Head of Products at DIGITAIN, in Lisbon about affiliate attribution, tracking technology and the challenges of understanding a fragmented player journey.

Tamara explains why traditional cookie-based tracking is becoming less effective and how DIGITAIN’s AFFILIKA platform tracks activity across different channels. The technology provides operators with attribution data, leaving them to decide whether the first click, last click or another source should receive credit. She also discusses why reporting player lifetime value, NGR and retention data by traffic source can help operators and affiliates better understand performance.

The conversation also looks at the relationship between operators and affiliates, including how hybrid commercial deals can give affiliates more reason to care about long-term player value. Surya raises questions about responsible product development and transparency, before Tamara shares where she sees AI providing practical value today: making reporting and data access easier, alongside helping affiliates produce creative assets such as banners and videos.

Table tennis is still sometimes treated as content that fills the space between bigger sporting events. Maksym Vitushko says that view is already outdated.

In Episode 96, Surya speaks with BETER’s General Manager of Sports about fast betting content, why table tennis has developed into a standalone category and what happened when the 2026 World Cup brought a new wave of bettors into sportsbooks.

Maksym says BETER saw table tennis betting volume grow during the tournament, but the more interesting part came afterwards. Some of those new players continued betting on table tennis even after the World Cup ended.

The conversation also looks at why the format works. A table tennis match is short, settlement is quick and players can move to the next bet faster. Maksym says this behaviour has helped the category move beyond its old “gap filler” label.

Surya also asks what operators still get wrong. Maksym points to two things: perception and visibility. If table tennis is buried inside a sportsbook, players are less likely to discover it. Better positioning can directly affect turnover.

They also discuss different betting behaviour across regions, what younger players want, the role of data and gamification, and where fast sports content could move next.

iGaming is often criticised for being slower to innovate than other digital industries. The SOFTSWISS 2027 iGaming Trends Report points to a very different picture.

In Episode 95, Surya speaks with Alexandra Kavelich, Deputy CMO at SOFTSWISS, about the fifth edition of the company's annual trends report and why SOFTSWISS started producing the research in the first place.

Alexandra says the original problem was simple: iGaming did not have enough structured data for companies trying to build business and marketing strategies. Five editions later, the report brings together surveys, industry experts, media analysis and perspectives from both inside and outside iGaming.

One of the biggest surprises is the report's new Digital Maturity Index. According to the report, iGaming scored 4.67 out of 5 and ranked first among the digital industries compared in the research. For Surya, this challenged something he had said repeatedly before: that iGaming was years behind sectors such as Silicon Valley technology.

They also discuss prediction markets. Alexandra says the subject was one of the loudest trends when SOFTSWISS started preparing the report, but the noise has already reduced. Demand remains strong, yet questions around regulation, liquidity and the right long-term model are still unresolved.

The conversation closes with another sign of maturity. Alexandra says the report expects annual industry growth to slow significantly over time. Rather than seeing that only as a negative, she views it as evidence that iGaming itself is becoming a more established industry.

As player acquisition becomes more expensive, operators need to think more carefully about how they keep players engaged and how much control they have over those relationships.

In Episode 94 of iGaming Real Talk, recorded in Lisbon, host Surya Palli speaks with Anna Mnatsakanyan, Head of Product Marketing at DIGITAIN, about why native mobile apps could play a bigger role in retention and how operators can use their own platforms to communicate directly with players.

Anna explains how native apps can become an operator-owned communication channel, allowing brands to manage CRM, send push notifications, deliver personalised content and make better use of their own player data without relying as heavily on paid advertising.

The conversation also covers DIGITAIN's “We Know the Player” concept and how it complements the company's existing “Built to Lead” positioning. Anna discusses why understanding player expectations, local market requirements and user behaviour is important when developing products for regulated markets.

Surya also raises a question about the growing number of technology solutions available to operators. Does bringing everything into one ecosystem make operations easier, or does it create more complexity? Anna shares DIGITAIN's approach to integration and explains why technology providers ultimately need to demonstrate real business value.

The iGaming job market is changing quickly, and AI is now affecting both the companies hiring and the people trying to get hired.

Jennifer Innes, CEO of BettingJobs, joins Surya at iGB Live in London to discuss what she is seeing after 20 years with the recruitment company. Redundancies are increasing across parts of the industry, but Jennifer says AI is only one part of the picture. M&A, restructuring and regulation are also changing where companies hire and which roles remain.

For candidates, the challenge is different. More applications are being screened by systems before a hiring manager sees them. Jennifer explains why one generic CV is no longer enough and why applicants need to adjust their CV depending on the role, the company and even whether the first reader is a person or an AI system.

The conversation also challenges a hiring belief Surya heard from another recruiter: that people who are actively on the job market are not the strongest candidates and that the best people are always headhunted. Jennifer strongly disagrees, particularly in a market where many talented people have been made redundant for reasons outside their control.

They also discuss remote work, employer expectations and the difficulties companies face when hiring globally. Even when the right candidate is found, location, employment structure, culture and benefits can still decide whether a hire actually works.

Altenar is known for making itself visible at major industry events, but Dinos Stranomitis still believes the product has to come before the marketing.

In Episode 91, Surya speaks with Dinos about almost three decades around betting and iGaming, how the industry moved from almost no standards to the much more regulated environment we see today, and why he still believes there is significant room for new companies to grow.

A major part of the conversation focuses on how Altenar itself developed. Dinos says determination mattered, but the bigger factor was getting the right people together. For him, knowledge and motivation are the two qualities that matter most when building a team.

The discussion then turns to startups. If he were starting again today, Dinos says the first priority would be simple: build a product that works, solves a real problem and has enough quality for people to want it. Only then should sales, marketing and large conference investments follow.

He is equally direct about companies arriving at exhibitions with a stand before their product is ready. His view is that customers need something real to see, test and trust before marketing can do its job.

The conversation also covers Altenar's growth, why the company is not currently for sale, what success means personally to Dinos, expansion into Europe, North America, Asia and Africa, and why he believes AI will change jobs rather than simply eliminate them.

LinkedIn can be cringe, repetitive and full of copy-paste content. Eugene Camilleri still believes it is one of the most useful tools available to people working in iGaming B2B.

In Episode 92, Surya speaks with Eugene from Pateplay about the way he approaches LinkedIn, why he refuses to spend hours planning posts and how a personal brand can turn into actual conversations and business.

Eugene says most of his posts take less than 10 minutes. The idea might come while he is in the shower, working or simply thinking about something in the industry. His bigger point is that people often overcomplicate content instead of developing a recognisable voice and saying something they genuinely believe.

The conversation also gets into memes, complaints and controversial posts. Eugene argues that criticism becomes more valuable when it comes with a solution. Memes can build attention and personality, but an audience built only around jokes and complaints is difficult to convert into anything commercially useful.

He also explains his frustration with mass sales outreach, particularly irrelevant messages sent without understanding whether the person receiving them could ever become a customer.

The episode closes with the business impact behind all that activity. Eugene says LinkedIn has improved his response rates, widened his network and directly contributed to business. For someone working commercially, he sees LinkedIn and industry communities as part of the job rather than something separate from it.

SiGMA Rome is set to be the group's biggest event yet, but size is only part of what Chloe Von Brockdorff says the team is trying to improve.

In Episode 90, Surya speaks with the CCO of SiGMA Group about what will be different in Rome this year. The event will bring four verticals together under one ticket, with SiGMA, Affiliate Grand Slam, FX World and AIBC all operating within the same wider event.

Chloe also addresses one of the main complaints from the previous Rome edition: transport. She says the logistics team began working on the issue almost immediately after last year's event, with more shuttle routes, a structured taxi system and additional chauffeur options planned this time.

The conversation then moves to a bigger question for the industry. With SBC Lisbon and SiGMA Rome happening within a relatively short period, does iGaming really need so many large events? Chloe does not claim there is a simple answer, but says the demand is clearly there. She also argues that different shows continue to attract regional audiences, while repeated face-to-face meetings help relationships develop over time.

For her, this is still the main value of events. Business is built through human interaction, knowing clients personally and building trust beyond a single meeting.

The episode closes with SiGMA's expansion beyond traditional iGaming through affiliation, fintech, forex, AI and blockchain, as well as how the company is thinking about future markets while regulatory conditions continue to change.