In a dialogue with Dragos Mindreci, Country Manager, BETANO Romania
We will adapt to the new social and economic context
➤ Who is Dragos Mindreci?
I have 18 years of marketing, experience gained in various fields such as FMCG, the banking industry and, starting with 2019, the gambling industry. In recent years we have led a series of digital projects in the area of biometric and credit payments, bringing a factor of innovation in the field, and not only for the Romanian market.
Regardless of the field, it has been and is important for me to identify with what I do. Starting from this base, I build together with the team I am part of, to take the business to the next level. I am a dynamic person, with strong ambitions and aspirations.
➤ How is the transition from the banking system to the gambling industry?
Pretty easy. Both industries are in the field of services, have the customer as a central element and create a direct relationship with money. Banking is a complex system, which covers many areas of activity and, to a large extent, they are also found in gambling.
➤ How does the banking experience help you in Betano’s management?
The banking industry has a history, it has a past, the oldest bank in the world, which still operates successfully, being the Banca Monte dei Paschi, founded in 1472. The lessons and rules related to the business development model, customer reporting and how to which they react to according to different stimuli, make banking an industry that deserves to be analyzed and where we learn from.
My experience in banking began during the period of retail growth, before 2008-2009. We then went through the period of the actual crisis, which required a reaction and an adaptation of the business model and communication with the client. Increased use of technology by customers, scaling of the Internet and the use of smartphones have required extensive measures to digitize the banking system. These developments are also found in gambling, a relatively young field, but dynamic and competitive.
The banking experience has helped me become more adaptable and even anticipatory in terms of understanding the stage we are in in the gambling industry. The maturation of our industry is still in its infancy. This is visible in the increase in the quality of communication at the level of the main operators in the industry, the technologicalization and the transition from offline to online, as well as the use of new artificial intelligence technologies and their incorporation in online gambling platforms.
In terms of market changes, what we are experiencing today is somewhat similar to the crisis of 2008, and the experience of that time has helped me to make faster decisions and the impact of which I can estimate.
The experience gained also helped me to become an assumed and knowledgeable manager about what to do and what not to do in these moments of change, both from the perspective of local business management, but also on how to communicate and interact. with our team.
We will certainly all adapt to the new social and economic context, but the most important thing is to take care of our customers and our teams.
➤ What does the Betano project mean?
Betano Romania was the first international expansion exercise of Kaizen Gaming, a market leading company in Greece and Cyprus, through the Stoiximan brand. The exercise was conducted to the current level by involving the teams from Athens and the local team.
It is a successful project, brought to this level by the passion for customers and through the work done, as well as through the care and respect for all our partners.
This is confirmed by the opinion of our customers, but also by the fact that we were nominated as the best mobile betting platform in the world at the EGR Operator Awards 2019, the equivalent of the Oscars in the world of online gambling.
In a dialogue with Dragos Mindreci, Country Manager, BETANO Romania
➤ How has online gaming changed according to the new normal?
In the new social context, our business philosophy, if I can simplify it as much as possible, we have prioritized:
– Improving, diversifying the offer, so as to meet the needs of customers in a period when there is a high degree of uncertainty regarding the development of sporting events;
– Support and inform less tech-savvy customers on how they can benefit from the Betano platform experience.
– Improving responsible gaming actions by developing many tools to meet customers who need a break or who want to limit their activity for various reasons. Moreover, at the group level we have developed in partnership with Microsoft a tool that uses Artificial Intelligence for the early detection of addictive behaviors. This innovation was awarded by the EGR in 2020 and qualified by the jury as a tool that should be standardized at the industry level.
➤ How is the corporation’s synergy manifested in the Romanian company?
Betano is an international brand, present in Romania, Greece and Cyprus and in Portugal, Germany and Brazil.
Because we are based on a technology company, with almost 1000 employees, with ambitions of global expansion, education and the exchange of experience between countries is one of the successful ingredients of our development.
Workshops and permanent communication between colleagues from different countries, depending on specialization or topic, facilitate this growth.
This is extremely natural, given that we are a company that puts people and technology first.
I am happy to note that Betano is a good school, it is an environment in which you are encouraged to learn and develop professionally, all employees having financially supported access by the company to information and company platforms.
In a dialogue with Dragos Mindreci, Country Manager, BETANO Romania
➤ What is the message that Betano wants to send to the market?
We are here for the long term, with the aim of growing sustainably, both from a commercial point of view and from the perspective of involvement in society.
I am confident that through innovation and dedication we will be able to remain a preferred partner of Romanian clients and that we will continue to consolidate our presence on the local market, with direct benefits for the Romanian economy and implicitly for Romanians.
Thank you and good luck!
The entire 130/December edition you cabn read HERE.
