Beyond the Bet: Igor Savun on BetBoom's Community-First Strategy in LATAM

BetBoom has rapidly emerged as a major force in Latin America, particularly in Brazil, by shunning traditional advertising in favour of a dynamic, community-first strategy. By partnering with mega-influencers like Jon Vlogs and top esports teams like FURIA, their approach is redefining player acquisition.

We sat down with Igor Savun, CMO of BetBoom Latam, to discuss the strategy behind their influencer revolution, the importance of IRL content, and how they balance a global brand with deep local authenticity.

The Influencer Revolution: The partnership with Jon Vlogs, a creator with over 25 million followers, is a major statement. What was the core strategic shift that led BetBoom to commit to such a large-scale, influencer-led campaign over traditional media buying?

Working with Brazil’s leading content creators is a key part of BetBoom’s strategy. Beyond Jon, we also collaborate with Markola, Hudson, and many other talented creators of different scales. We’re always looking for new opportunities to strengthen our lineup of bright and creative partners.

Signing Jon was a logical step, a natural addition to our pool of strong assets. We’re developing within a niche that combines fun, youth, esports, and a sense of community. For example, we’re also proud to sponsor Brazil’s number-one esports team, FURIA. In other words, we’re growing in every direction that reflects our strategy and brand DNA.

IRL Content and Community Building: The partnership includes exclusive content and “In Real Life” (IRL) experiences, such as the three-day live fishing adventure. What is the strategic value of producing IRL content for a betting brand, and how does this high-touch, immersive format help build the “active community” and genuine connection you aim for?

Absolutely. Our primary focus is always on direct performance, particularly activations within the betting and casino space. That said, we also fully understand that building a strong brand is equally crucial. Viral content allows us to go beyond standard advertising formats, reach wider audiences, and engage them through dynamic, emotional, and entertaining experiences.

Strategically, it’s not just about delivering the best gaming experience, it’s about becoming part of users’ everyday lives. We aim to engage, inspire, and create meaningful moments that cultivate an active and vibrant community around the brand.

Localisation vs. Global Brand: BetBoom operates globally but tailors its offerings heavily for LATAM (esports in Peru, traditional sports/casino in Mexico). How do you, as CMO, balance maintaining a strong, unified global brand identity while achieving the deep localisation required to resonate with the distinct cultures and preferences of each LATAM country?

Yes, our global DNA is fully reflected in what we do in Latin America. BetBoom is a modern, youthful, fan-focused digital brand, and these values remain consistent across all the markets where we operate.

At the same time, we don’t simply copy our approach, we adapt it to the local context. We carefully study the culture, interests, and needs of each country to ensure our brand feels genuinely relevant and authentic to the local audience. Essentially, we maintain a unified global core, but express it through the language and emotions that resonate with each specific market.

Esports as an Acquisition Funnel: BetBoom has a strong esports focus, sponsoring major teams and events across titles like Dota 2 and CS2. How does your esports strategy serve as an effective acquisition engine in the LATAM market, and how do you successfully cross-market the loyalty gained in the competitive gaming sector into your traditional casino and sportsbook offerings?

BetBoom is a global sports brand with a strong presence in esports. We partner with top teams like Team Spirit and BetBoom Team in Dota 2 and CS2, and have also been involved with tournaments such as BetBoom Dacha.

In Brazil and across Latin America, esports is rapidly gaining popularity, and we see this niche as a natural entry point to engage with audiences. Through esports, we build trust and an emotional connection with users, and then, leveraging strong content and our creators, we carefully extend that engagement into other areas, casino and sports betting.

Marketing Trust and Responsible Gaming: BetBoom is building a presence in Brazil under a licensed operation, committed to safety and ethics. In the context of high-engagement influencer marketing, what specific guidelines or strategies does your team employ to ensure that promotional content remains fully compliant with responsible gaming standards?

We strictly adhere to all licensing requirements and responsible gaming principles. Before launching any campaign or streamer activation, we conduct a brief training to ensure our partners understand what is and isn’t acceptable in brand communication.

Our goal is to maintain high-quality, organic content that remains engaging, while fully complying with regulatory standards and responsible gaming practices. This is a crucial part of our reputation and our approach to the brand’s long-term development.

Measuring the Intangible: Beyond typical metrics like sign-ups and deposits, how do you measure the success and ROI of a community-focused partnership of this scale? What KPIs do you track related to brand sentiment, community growth (e.g., BDJ), and the long-term lifetime value (LTV) of players acquired through these new channels?

Overall, we remain a team with a strong performance focus, our key metrics are speed of results and return on investment timelines. At the same time, we understand that in community-focused partnerships, ‘intangible’ metrics also matter: growth in engagement, expansion of an active community, brand perception, and the long-term value (LTV) of players acquired through these channels.

We track KPIs that help us understand how collaboration with partners and creators impacts the brand and community: increases in active users, content engagement, quality audience feedback, and cross-engagement of players in casino and sports betting. This comprehensive approach allows us to evaluate ROI not just through direct results, but also through the long-term value and loyalty of players.

The Regulatory Environment: With Brazil moving toward full regulation, the market now demands strict compliance, including stringent KYC and advertising rules. How does your marketing strategy adapt to be creative and fun while navigating these new regulatory constraints, ensuring BetBoom remains a compliant and credible partner?

Yes, Brazil launched under license, and our main focus was to prepare the product for new requirements and design marketing funnels so that additional steps, like KYC, wouldn’t negatively impact conversion.

The results were very positive: not only did we avoid any negative consequences, but we also gained several advantages. Post-KYC, we attract a higher-quality audience, reduce fraudulent activity, and, thanks to our well-thought-out and engaging product, maintain high levels of engagement and conversion.

In this way, we successfully combined creative and entertaining marketing with full compliance responsibility, remaining a trusted and reliable partner for both players and regulators.

The Future of LATAM Marketing: What is your long-term vision for marketing in the Latin American region? How do you anticipate the blend of content creators, entertainment, and technology will define success in the iGaming space over the next 3-5 years, and what future innovations can we expect from BetBoom Latam?

In Latin America, we see tremendous potential for further development of digital channels. Historically, audiences in the region have been very loyal to bloggers and content creators, and we are confident this trend will only continue. Content creators will discover new and more effective ways to engage audiences, and our role is to stay ahead of these changes, anticipate trends, and adapt our strategies.

Digital channels are especially important for us because they are fully measurable, allowing precise evaluation of ROI, engagement, and LTV. Moreover, the openness of major holdings to licensed operators creates new opportunities for growth and strengthening our market position.

In the long term, we see success in iGaming as the result of a harmonious combination of content creators, entertainment, and technology, enabling us to deliver an engaging, safe, and immersive experience for players while simultaneously building the brand and expanding the community.

Product-Marketing Alignment: BetBoom offers a comprehensive platform of sportsbook, casino, and specific esports products. How do you ensure your marketing team effectively collaborates with product development to highlight localised features and promotions that address specific player demands in Brazil or Mexico?

In our company, marketing and product work as a single unit, all focused on achieving outstanding results. The marketing team has a deep understanding of which unique features and localized product capabilities can be leveraged to drive traffic, and is always fully involved in the development process.

This close integration allows us to launch large-scale campaigns and secure major deals with confidence that they will deliver ROI through a strong and well-thought-out product. It enables us to simultaneously meet players’ needs and effectively promote our localized offerings in the Brazilian and Mexican markets.

Setting a Global Example: The partnership with Jon Vlogs is noted as potentially setting an example for the industry globally. What is the single most important lesson about modern player acquisition that traditional iGaming brands in established markets can learn from BetBoom’s strategy in LATAM?

Absolutely, we remain first and foremost an iGaming product with a focus on key metrics and ROI. At the same time, to succeed and thrive in the long term, we believe it’s essential to give back to the community, whether through special projects, unique content, merchandise, exciting esports broadcasts, or special promotions.

We believe that by putting players and the community first and creating a unique marketing experience for them, we not only strengthen loyalty but also build something truly new and impressive. This approach - a combination of performance focus and community contribution - can serve as an example for traditional iGaming brands in mature markets.