TheGamblest had an incredible chance recently to talk to Yaroslava Romaniv Head of Marketing & PR at GR8_TECH.
During the discussion, Yaroslava talked about the GR8_TECH’s recent partnership announcements with José Mourinho and upcoming strategy for the new season of show Bet it Drives.
TheGamblest: Yaroslava, could you introduce yourself and talk about your current role as Head of Marketing & PR at GR8_TECH?
Yaroslava: I stepped into this role in January 2025, after previously leading the company’s marketing communications. Today, I’m responsible for shaping our overall marketing and PR strategy, managing the brand, and supporting lead generation. A big part of my role is making sure that everything we do—whether it’s a campaign, partnership, event, or piece of content—feels consistent, relevant, and connected to the business.
What I enjoy most is bringing creativity and structure together. I love strong ideas, but I also believe they need clear goals, discipline, and an understanding of the audience. For me, the best marketing builds trust, creates recognition, and gives people something they genuinely want to engage with.
TheGamblest: GR8_TECH has grown significantly as a B2B iGaming solutions provider. What have been the biggest challenges and key opportunities related to the company’s global growth in terms of marketing and communications?
Yaroslava: One of the biggest challenges with global growth is standing out. It’s a very competitive industry, so being present in more markets isn’t enough on its own. We need to have a clear point of view, a brand people recognize, and communication that feels consistent while still making sense locally.
At the same time, growth opens up a lot of opportunities. We can reach new audiences, build trust earlier, and become part of more meaningful industry conversations. We focus on building a brand that people know, trust, and remember.
TheGamblest: GR8_TECH recently announced a partnership with José Mourinho. What is the idea behind the collaboration between one of the most recognizable figures in football and GR8_TECH as an iGaming solutions provider?
Yaroslava: José Mourinho has built his career through preparation, tactical thinking, discipline, and the ability to deliver under pressure. That mindset connects naturally with how GR8_TECH works. In iGaming, strong results also come from the systems, technology, and decisions put in place long before a major launch or high-demand event.
José is also a great fit because his success is repeatable. He has delivered results with different teams, in different leagues, and in very competitive environments. In the same way, GR8_TECH helps operators in different geos to build reliable foundations, stay in control when volumes rise, and create the conditions for sustainable growth.
Through this collaboration, we want to show that being a champion isn’t one successful moment, but rather a method. It’s preparation, high standards, and consistent execution. That is the idea behind the Champions Club and the message we share with José: luck off, championship on — lasting success is never about luck.
TheGamblest: Partnerships with global personalities often go beyond traditional advertising. What storytelling possibilities are introduced by GR8_TECH through its cooperation with Mourinho?
Yaroslava: Collaborating with José gives us the chance to move beyond campaign messaging and tell deeper stories about the work people do that we don’t usually see.
A good example is our recently released collaboration video with José, which distills that idea into a single message: success should be the result of deliberate planning and strategy, not luck. Throughout the video, José goes through the traits that need to be “switched on” to make that shift—strategy, skills, control, a champion mindset—before landing on the final piece: great tech, positioning GR8_TECH as the foundation operators need to engineer their own success. It’s a short piece, but it captures exactly the philosophy behind the partnership: rigorous preparation paired with the right technology.
It also gives us access to very rich themes: how leaders make decisions, how they prepare for different scenarios, how they reduce uncertainty, and how they help teams stay calm when the pressure is highest. These are human stories that can connect with a much wider audience while still clearly linking to GR8_TECH and the challenges iGaming operators face, and more of that is coming soon.
Through videos, interviews, behind-the-scenes content, and live activations, we can explore José’s personality, experiences, and way of thinking. That makes the partnership feel more authentic and gives audiences something genuinely interesting to watch.
TheGamblest: Beyond José Mourinho, GR8_TECH is partnered with Ready to Fight by Oleksandr Usyk. How does that collaboration connect to the same brand thinking?
Yaroslava: Ready to Fight by Oleksandr Usyk and the Mourinho partnership come from the same place, even though they live in different sports. Both are built on a championship mentality—being willing to make unconventional decisions when the moment calls for it, and putting in the work nobody sees before you ever get near the spotlight. The message of luck off, which we are now developing with Mourinho, started with RTF and Usyk: from our digital activations and exclusive sports fashion drop for Champions to our joint talk at the SBC Super Stage last year.
Mourinho and RTF give us two different entry points into the same idea. Mourinho speaks to preparation and leadership off the field. Ready to Fight speaks to performance under pressure that’s happening live, in the ring, in front of a global audience. Both reinforce the same message: that being a champion is a method, not a moment of luck.
TheGamblest: Apart from brand visibility, what is the role of this cooperation in strengthening the position of GR8_TECH in the worldwide iGaming market?
Yaroslava: Beyond visibility, the partnership helps GR8_TECH communicate its value clearly, memorably, and relevantly across different markets.
José Mourinho is recognized globally, but more importantly, he provides a strong platform for discussing performance, leadership, and long-term success. That helps operators understand not only who GR8_TECH is, but also the kind of partner we aim to be.
It also strengthens our commercial conversations. The Champions Club creates a clear identity around the brand and gives existing and potential partners a stronger sense of what we stand for. It helps connect our technology, analytics, and expert support with a broader story about helping operators grow sustainably.
The cooperation also opens doors to new audiences, markets, and partnerships. Football has a truly global reach, so working with José allows us to start conversations in places where GR8_TECH may still be building awareness. The same is true of Ready to Fight by Oleksandr Usyk—it puts GR8_TECH in front of boxing communities, fighters, and fans in markets where our brand is still being introduced.
Most importantly, it helps us differentiate ourselves in a crowded market. We are not presenting GR8_TECH as just another technology provider, but as a company with a culture, strong ambition, and a long-term approach to partnership.
TheGamblest: The first season of Bet It Drives has created an innovative format that combines conversations on iGaming and personalities contributing to more personal communication with industry leaders. How was the idea behind the show born?
Yaroslava: A lot of B2B marketing in iGaming was starting to look the same. Brands were using similar conference content, press releases, sponsored interviews, and studio formats, so we wanted to create something that people would genuinely choose to watch.
Because the show was connected to major industry events, we thought: why not take the conversation outside the conference venue? Putting guests in a car created a much more relaxed setting. There were no scripts, fixed talking points, or product promotion. We aimed to let the conversation develop naturally and show the people behind the job titles.
Yevhen Krazhan, our CSO and the show’s host, was also instrumental in the idea. He already had strong relationships across the industry and could make senior leaders feel comfortable enough to speak openly.
From the beginning, Bet It Drives was created to add another dimension to GR8_TECH and to show that we are not only part of the industry but also capable of hosting the conversations that shape it.
TheGamblest: Will the new season explore more personal stories behind the guests, their career paths, leadership experiences and challenges beyond their professional achievements?
Yaroslava: Yes, definitely. A new season is coming soon, and we want to take the conversations even further. Alongside industry topics, we’ll explore more of the personal stories behind our guests: their career paths, leadership lessons, difficult decisions, challenges, and the experiences that shaped how they think and work.
We’ve also just launched Bet It Drives as a full iGaming media platform, so the project now goes far beyond the podcast. It brings together conversations, curated industry news, market analysis, key quotes, and profiles of the people shaping the industry.
We’ve created a single place where iGaming leaders can share not only what they have achieved but also what they’ve learned along the way. We’re also preparing exclusive columns, original content with our brand ambassadors, and a weekly digest, so there is a lot more coming.
TheGamblest: And for the future, what are GR8_TECH’s key marketing and PR objectives for the current season, given its continued global expansion?
Yaroslava: We aim to strengthen GR8_TECH’s position as a global, high-performance iGaming technology partner while making the brand increasingly distinctive and relevant in every market where we operate.
Brand building and commercial growth should reinforce each other — creating visibility while also turning that visibility into meaningful conversations, qualified opportunities, and long-term partnerships.
As we continue to expand, consistency and localization will go hand in hand. We want GR8_TECH to have one recognizable identity globally, while ensuring our communication reflects the realities, priorities, and opportunities of individual markets. Partnerships like José Mourinho and Ready to Fight by Oleksandr Usyk, as well as projects like Bet It Drives, give us different, authentic ways to tell that story in the markets that matter most to us.
We seek to build greater understanding and trust around what makes GR8_TECH different: high-performance technology, deep market expertise, and a partnership approach focused on helping operators launch, scale, and compete successfully.