“The World Cup becomes more than a sporting event; it becomes a global entertainment season”

Levan Kavtaradze, Head of Partner Development Department at Galaxsys, discusses how the upcoming World Cup is reshaping player engagement across the igaming industry, the strategy behind the company’s €300,000 World Cup Series, and why long-term retention mechanics and football-driven entertainment are becoming essential tools for operators this summer.

Exclusive interview.- As the global anticipation for the World Cup continues to build, igaming companies are preparing for one of the most commercially significant periods in the sports calendar. For Galaxsys, the tournament represents far more than a temporary spike in player activity. According to Levan Kavtaradze, head of partner development department, major football events create a unique opportunity for operators to strengthen long-term relationships with players through themed experiences, competitive mechanics, and continuous engagement campaigns.

In this exclusive interview with Focus Gaming News, Kavtaradze explains the vision behind Galaxsys’ €300,000 World Cup Series, a multi-event promotional campaign running throughout the summer, and highlights the importance of combining football-themed titles like Figoal with broader gaming verticals such as crash games and slots. He also details how the presence of football legend Luís Figo helps create a stronger emotional connection with players during one of the most anticipated sporting events in the world.

The World Cup is undoubtedly the biggest event on the global sporting calendar. From Galaxsys’ perspective, how does an event of this magnitude transform player behaviour, and what opportunities does it create for the igaming industry?

The World Cup creates a completely different level of energy among players. Even people who do not normally actively follow football suddenly become emotionally invested, discussing matches, supporting teams, and spending more time online engaging with sports content. Naturally, this excitement also reflects in player behaviour across our industry. 

For us, this creates a huge opportunity not only for acquisition but also for long-term engagement. It is not simply about “more traffic” for a few weeks. Major tournaments create a perfect moment for operators and providers to build stronger relationships with players through themed experiences, tournaments, rewards, and social competition mechanics. In many ways, the World Cup becomes more than a sporting event; it becomes a global entertainment season, and that gives igaming brands the chance to become part of the overall excitement.

“The World Cup creates a completely different level of energy among players. Even people who do not normally actively follow football suddenly become emotionally invested, discussing matches, supporting teams, and spending more time online engaging with sports content.”

Levan Kavtaradze, head of Partner Development Department at Galaxsys.

You’ve recently launched the “€300,000 World Cup Series.” Could you walk us through the strategic vision behind this massive promotion and how it’s designed to boost engagement across such a long period?

The main idea behind the World Cup Series was very simple: we did not want to create just another short-term campaign that peaks for a few days and disappears. We wanted to build a long-running experience that keeps players engaged throughout the entire football season while constantly giving them new goals and motivations to return.

That is why we designed the promotion as six consecutive leaderboard tournaments running from May until August. Each leaderboard lasts for two weeks, which creates a fresh competitive cycle every time. Players who may not perform well in one tournament still have a completely new chance in the next one, and this keeps the excitement alive for much longer. Among the participating games are many fast games, including Tower Rush, Maestro and Figoal, as well as slots and other games. 

One of the stars of your portfolio for this season is Figoal, featuring the legendary Luís Figo. How does having a global icon like Figo enhance the player experience, especially during a football-focused season?

Football is built on emotion, nostalgia, passion, and iconic moments, and Luís Figo represents exactly that. Having such a globally recognised football legend related to a game instantly creates a stronger emotional connection with players, especially during a football-focused season like this one.

For many players, it is not only about gameplay. It is also about the atmosphere and the feeling the game creates. Figoal captures that football spirit in a much more authentic way because players immediately recognise the connection to real football culture. Luís Figo brings credibility, familiarity, and excitement to the experience, and during major football tournaments, this emotional factor becomes even stronger.

During the World Cup season, many brands launch football campaigns, but having an actual football icon associated with the game gives players something memorable and instantly recognisable.

The World Cup Series consists of six consecutive leaderboard tournaments. What are the advantages for operators in having a multi-event series with independent leaderboards rather than a single, long-term competition?

From an operator’s perspective, independent leaderboard tournaments create much healthier long-term engagement dynamics. In one large competition, players who fall behind early often lose motivation because catching up feels impossible. But when you divide the promotion into multiple shorter tournaments, every new leaderboard feels like a fresh start.

This structure gives operators the ability to constantly reactivate players throughout the campaign instead of relying on one single engagement spike. Every two weeks, players have a new reason to come back, compete again, and continue participating. It also creates multiple communication opportunities for operators, whether through CRM campaigns, social media, push notifications, or email marketing.

Another important advantage is retention. A multi-event structure naturally extends player activity over a much longer period. Instead of excitement fading after the first weeks, operators can maintain momentum across the entire summer season.

We noticed that the participating games include not only sports-themed titles like Figoal but also hits like Ninja Crash, Rocketon, and several slots. How important is this cross-vertical approach to keeping players engaged throughout the entire Series?

This cross-vertical approach is actually one of the strongest parts of the entire promotion. Not every player enjoys the same type of game, even during football season. Some players prefer sports-themed experiences, while others are more engaged with crash games, fast-paced arcade mechanics, or slots.

By including different game categories inside one tournament ecosystem, we create a much broader entertainment experience that appeals to multiple player preferences at the same time. A player might enter the campaign because of Figoal, but then continue exploring Ninja Crash or Rocketon. This variety is very important for maintaining long-term engagement because it prevents the experience from becoming repetitive. 

“By including different game categories inside one tournament ecosystem, we create a much broader entertainment experience that appeals to multiple player preferences at the same time.”

Levan Kavtaradze, head of Partner Development Department at Galaxsys.

Finally, for those operators looking to maximise their turnover this summer, what is the “special offer” or the key takeaway they should know about integrating the Galaxsys World Cup Series into their platforms?

The biggest takeaway is probably that this promotion is designed to deliver much more than short-term traffic. The World Cup Series combines strong acquisition potential with long-term retention mechanics, and that balance is extremely important during major seasonal events.

Operators receive a fully integrated promotional experience with real-time leaderboards directly inside the games, automated prize distribution, simple participation mechanics, and coverage across multiple game categories. At the same time, there are no additional deposit requirements for players, which lowers the entry barrier and encourages broader participation.

In many ways, the campaign works as a ready-made engagement engine for the entire summer period. Operators can use it to increase activity, extend session times, reactivate existing users, and keep players consistently engaged across several months rather than only during isolated match days. And honestly, during a season when player attention is heavily focused on football and entertainment, having a large-scale, football-driven campaign with continuous rewards and recognisable content is simply a very strong advantage to have.