In a conversation with SiGMA, Tim De Borle, Chief Operating Officer at Casumo, sits down with Matthew Busuttil to discuss disciplined growth, experience-led innovation, and why trust is becoming the most valuable currency in modern iGaming.
The global iGaming industry is entering a more mature phase. Markets that once prioritised aggressive expansion are now shaped by tighter regulation, rising player expectations, and stiffer competition. For Tim De Borle, COO at Casumo, these changes are redefining what sustainable success looks like.
Rather than chasing scale at any cost, the next chapter depends on discipline, clear strategy, and consistent execution. Operators still focused on volume are solving yesterday’s problems, while the winners will grow in a measured, resilient way.
“One major priority is strengthening the operating model across product, technology, data and player experience. In a market like ours, strategy only matters if you can execute it faster and better than the competition.”
Building brands through experience
For De Borle, brand relevance in today’s iGaming environment cannot be manufactured solely through marketing campaigns or promotional spend. Instead, it is the result of the cumulative experiences players have with a platform over time.
Every interaction, from product design to customer support, contributes to how a brand is perceived. In other words, the brand is not defined by messaging alone but by the consistency of the experience it delivers.
“A brand is not what you say it is. It is what players consistently feel through the product, the service, and the trust you earn in every interaction.”
This philosophy has shaped Casumo’s approach to product differentiation. In mature markets, many operators have access to the same content libraries, similar mechanics, and comparable promotional tools. As a result, the baseline offering across the sector often looks remarkably similar.
In such an environment, De Borle believes entertainment quality and overall experience will increasingly separate leading brands from the rest. Operators that rely solely on promotional incentives risk undermining the long-term value of their product.
“If your product isn’t worth coming back to without a promotion attached, you haven’t built a product. You’ve built a discount store.”
At Casumo, this thinking has led to the internal concept of “Umofication” of the player journey. The idea centres on blending brand identity, product design, and customer experience into a unified expression rather than treating them as independent disciplines.
When design, tone of voice, entertainment value, and service model reinforce one another, the result is a more coherent and memorable experience. For players, that cohesion translates into a stronger sense of trust and recognition.
Innovation behind the scenes
Innovation remains a core driver of engagement, yet De Borle emphasises that meaningful innovation is not always visible to the player. While the industry often focuses on front-end features or new content formats, many of the most impactful improvements occur behind the scenes.
Smarter personalisation systems, better experimentation frameworks, and stronger collaboration between product and data teams can significantly enhance the overall player journey. These structural innovations allow operators to respond more effectively to player behaviour and evolving market conditions.
Casumo is also investing in practical applications of artificial intelligence through an internal programme known as SumAI. Rather than treating AI as a marketing slogan, the company is embedding it as a functional layer within the organisation. The initiative aims to improve operational efficiency, support decision-making, and strengthen responsible gaming capabilities while maintaining strong governance and internal education.
A cautious view on emerging markets
While much of the industry’s attention has turned towards Latin America and the rapidly evolving Brazilian market, Casumo is not currently active in the region. De Borle, therefore, offers his perspective as an observer rather than a direct participant.
From that vantage point, the long-term potential of the region is undeniable. Demographic trends, high levels of mobile adoption, and expanding digital infrastructure make Latin America strategically important for the global gaming sector.
Yet De Borle cautions that the enthusiasm surrounding newly regulated markets often leads to unrealistic expectations. Operators entering these jurisdictions must avoid assuming that strategies developed in Europe will translate directly to local conditions.
Regulation, in particular, must be integrated into market strategy from the very beginning. Establishing credibility with regulators and stakeholders early can shape an operator’s long-term success within the region.
Localisation is equally important. Payment ecosystems, player preferences, customer support expectations, and brand positioning must all reflect the specific cultural and economic characteristics of each market.
Responsibility as a strategic pillar
As regulation tightens and public scrutiny intensifies, responsible gaming has become a central issue for the industry. For De Borle, the discussion must move beyond the idea that commercial growth and player protection are competing priorities.
Instead, he argues that sustainable growth depends on the ability to embed responsibility into the very structure of the business.
“If your revenue model cannot survive your highest-risk players setting deposit limits, you do not have a responsible gaming problem. You have a business model problem.”
At Casumo, the goal is to integrate responsible gaming into the company’s operating model rather than confining it to policy frameworks or specialist teams. This means incorporating protective mechanisms directly into product design, player journeys, and operational processes.
Technology will play a critical role in achieving this goal. Data-driven systems can identify behavioural patterns earlier and enable operators to intervene before risk escalates. Artificial intelligence, when implemented responsibly, can strengthen monitoring capabilities and support better decision-making across teams.
However, De Borle emphasises that technological tools must complement human oversight rather than replace it.
Ultimately, the industry’s future may depend on the level of trust it is able to build with regulators, players, and the wider public.
“The more the industry can build safety, transparency and sustainability directly into the experience, the more trust it will earn from regulators, players and society.”
In a sector undergoing rapid change, that trust could become the defining competitive advantage of the next decade.
