Localisation at Scale: Building Brands that Feel Native from Day One
Soft2Bet operates with 19 licences across 11 jurisdictions. That reach shapes how we build products. Expansion is not a copy-and-paste exercise; it demands planning and precision. We launch brands that feel local from the first tap while upholding the same engineering standards behind the scenes. MEGA, our Motivational Engineering Gaming Application, makes this possible by allowing us to tune engagement to local tastes on a single, integration-ready core.
By Yoel Zuckerberg, CPO at Soft2Bet
Yoel Zuckerberg
As CPO, my remit is broad, and a central part is linking product development to real player behaviour in each region. We tailor design, rewards, pacing, and payments to local habits while maintaining performance, stability, and compliance. When that comes together, the brand feels native and the platform delivers measurable value for partners.
Understanding Local Markets
Every launch begins with discovery. We start by analysing the data, including device splits, session depth by vertical, peak traffic windows, preferred bet types, and average stake sizes. We pair that with qualitative inputs from partner conversations, fan communities and targeted interviews to capture tone, cultural habits and expectations. Compliance maps regulatory requirements at the outset, allowing product and data teams to design products and data according to known rules, rather than retrofitting them later.
From this work, we build a backlog with clear acceptance criteria. The day-one list covers language, sports prioritisation, pricing granularity for priority bet types, responsible play flows and the payment mix. Each item is tied to a target metric such as slip creation rate, secondary bet conversion or average missions completed per session. Product, CRM, risk, compliance and performance marketing operate from a single board, which keeps trade-offs visible and ownership clear.
We then validate our choices through controlled experiments. Copy variants, market ordering, quest difficulty, bonus triggers and content placements are tested against live traffic with pre-set thresholds for success. Winning treatments are promoted to our configuration library, allowing the following market benefits to be realised on day one. At the same time, local teams retain the freedom to fine-tune details that matter to their audience.
Tailoring the Brand Experience
TopBet.ro in Romania demonstrates how localisation impacts the product. From launch, football and motorsport lead the experience, mirroring how fans follow their clubs and the grands prix calendar. Competitive odds and timely markets line up with big fixtures; match-day boosts and auto-themed campaigns run around race weekends; missions turn key moments into clear goals. The interface keeps that tempo with quick bet placement, clean navigation and a mobile-first design that stays out of the way.
Identity goes beyond the surface. Voice, promotions and pacing reflect how Romanian fans talk about sport. Rewards calendars track local fixtures and national interest. Sports-themed casino content is just one tap away for short breaks, featuring popular slots and live tables scheduled for peak activity. The aim is to turn relevance into measurable gains in conversion, session depth and repeat visits.
MEGA supplies the engagement engines, and configuration makes them market specific. Seasonal quests tied to derby weeks and grands prix have already proved popular in Romania, turning everyday actions into progress that feels earned and bringing players back. Because MEGA is a standalone, API-ready suite, we can shape missions, rewards and segmentation per market without bespoke builds, and partners can adopt the same capability with minimal integration effort.
Regulation and Responsible Play
Localisation starts with compliance. We design for auditability from day one. Messaging approvals, data retention, odds and settlement, KYC/AML controls and reporting are defined early and logged through change management and monitoring. We build to local licence conditions and technical standards, so teams work to known rules rather than retrofitting later.
Responsible play is localised with the same care. Limit types, reality checks, time-outs, self-exclusion, and cooling-off periods are configured to local requirements, with copies in the local language and tone. Triggers and thresholds follow regulation, and prompts are placed where they are most effective in the journey. Where required, we support affordability and source-of-funds checks and signpost national help services in clear, plain language.
Payments follow the same principle. We integrate trusted local methods, apply SCA-ready and 3-D Secure flows where applicable, support local currencies and provide transparent status updates. Withdrawal rules and checks are clearly explained upfront, so players know what to expect. The result is an experience that feels familiar, protects users and clears regulatory reviews without friction.
Technology and Scalability
Customising quickly and safely at scale depends on architecture. We run a modular stack where configuration comes first. Sports prioritisation, content slots, copy, colour sets, payout visuals, quest rules, and bonus triggers all reside in configuration rather than being hard-coded. Feature flags enable the switch on or off of modules per jurisdiction, and templated playbooks deploy a proven set of settings for a region in hours, not weeks.
MEGA follows the same principle. Rules, reward ladders, and segmentation are defined through admin tools and APIs, which let us run different schedules, difficulty levels, and prize mixes across markets without forking code. Operators can integrate MEGA into existing sportsbook and casino environments, then tune the experience to local tastes through configuration rather than development sprints. That keeps releases predictable and quality consistent while giving partners meaningful control over engagement.
The UI applies the same approach. Our design system encompasses sportsbook and casino components, each with variants tailored to local reading habits and device usage in specific markets. We optimise for fast mobile journeys, keep heavy assets off the critical path and place bet-slip actions where thumbs naturally rest. The outcome is faster load times, fewer abandoned slips and higher session depth, which is how we deliver performance reliably across diverse markets.
Final Thoughts
Localisation is not a campaign; it is a product choice that encompasses research, design, compliance, payments, and engagement. Each market gets a brand that feels native, supported by a platform built for stability, security and speed. TopBet.ro shows this in practice: a Romanian sportsbook shaped by local habits, with MEGA missions and challenges that keep the experience fresh over time.
Our commitment to operators and players is clear: quality design, personalised journeys, measurable results, and rigorous regulatory standards, delivered by a team that treats every market as its own and continually improves week by week.
