Ep. 190 features Irakli “Marcus” Davarashvili, Founder & CEO of Promofy, for a deep dive into the global rise of AI-powered gamification and how operators are rethinking loyalty, engagement, and retention.
Hear him discuss:
- His 13-year journey across advertising, brand building, and iGaming leadership and how operational pain points at scale inspired him to build Promofy
- What Promofy is: an AI-driven, no-code gamification platform that lets operators launch loyalty systems, missions, sports predictors, prize drops, kiosks, and full-page engagement experiences in minutes
- How Promofy’s rapid traction and product innovation led to winning “Launch of the Year” at the Starties, and why that recognition validated the team’s vision and execution
- Why global operators misunderstand “gamification,” and how true gamified ecosystems differ from simple bonuses, cashbacks, and tournament
- The massive market shift away from bonus-led retention to personalized and behavior-driven engagement
- Regional adoption trends across LATAM, Europe, Asia, CIS, and North America plus why gamification is becoming “must-have” instead of “nice-to-have
- How Promofy differentiates itself with AI design tools, content generators, sports prediction engines, casino loyalty, and a full library of mechanics that operators can test and optimized
- The challenges and realities of fundraising as a first-time founder, why saying “yes” and “no” matter equally, and what kinds of investors Promofy is seeking today
- The transition from operator to entrepreneur expectations vs. reality, resilience, failure tolerance, and why agility is a survival skills
- Why 2026 will be a breakout year driven by global expansion, new product launches, and massive demand heading into the World Cup
Learn more 👇
➡️ Promofy website
➡️ Irakli Davarashvili on Linkedin
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This podcast is presented by Optimove, the #1 CRM Marketing solution for the iGaming industry. Since 2012, Optimove has served iGaming Operators from startups to industry leaders. Today, 4 out of the Top 5 US Operators Personalize Player Experiences with Optimove. iGaming operators know their growth journey begins and continues with Optimove, the #1 CRM Marketing solution for the iGaming industry.