TotoGaming Romania

TotoGaming targeting top in Romania after successful launch

When you’re used to being the market leader, attempting to take on well-established rivals in a new territory can seem like a daunting task. Yet that has not deterred TotoGaming from tackling the challenge of entering the highly competitive Romanian market. 

The operator, one of the best-known brands in Armenia, secured a licence for Romania last year and is now live with its online sportsbook, virtual sports, casino, live casino and fast games portfolio, complete with content from major suppliers such as Galaxsys, Amusnet, Pragmatic Play, Wazdan, Playson and Evolution. In the near future, content from developers such as EGT Digital, Playtech, Pateplay, Bragg, Amatic, and Relax Gaming will be added to TotoGaming.ro‘s roster.  

According to Tereza Tokmajyan, TotoGaming’s Chief Marketing Officer, and Daniel Pană, the company’s Marketing Manager in Romania, the launch has gone well and the early results are better than expected. 

“Our plan is to become a top player in Romania, to become an operator at the front of mind for the local players. This is our long-term goal,” says Tokmajyan, who is based in the company’s headquarters in Yerevan. 

Part of achieving that aim is to give players a memorable, entertaining “champion’s experience”, whether they are betting on sports or playing slots or live casino. But the operator also has a specific measurable goal in mind.  

“The fact is that we have been live in Romania for just three months and last month we entered the top 20 in terms of traffic,” Tokmajyan adds. 

For context, local market expert Pană explains: “We’re talking about 51 online operators here. The top 20 might not sound like much, but it’s from 51 websites. The public here is extremely curious about us, and the response has surpassed our initial expectations.”

Among those 51 operators are major international brands and some homegrown heroes, including many that invest heavily in television ads, out-of-home advertising and sports sponsorships. TotoGaming has made different decisions about promotional strategies and its marketing team is delighted by how well the tactics have worked. 

“The interesting thing is that we were one of the first in the market to launch with a teaser campaign, where we gave away some prizes to users visiting our website and subscribing to our newsletters. And it went beyond our expectations,” says Tokmajyan.  

The brand will have to compete in the same player acquisition channels as its rivals as it becomes more established, and the team has already started a television campaign. The brand is also benefiting from having former Barcelona and Real Madrid star Luis Figo as the face of its launch campaign in Romania. 

However, they are determined to avoid just replicating what the market leaders are doing and are instead focusing on creating a strong identity based on the quality and range of TotoGaming’s products.  

TotoGaming Romania Luis Figo
Image: Instagram/luis__figo

Where brand and product align 

One key ingredient of the brand’s initial Romanian offering is a commitment to not falling into the trap of being another homogeneous sportsbook and casino platform, and also to not simply replicating its Armenian product.  

Tokmajyan points to the UI and UX of TotoGaming’s Romanian sportsbook as a real point of difference, which helps to make “the entertainment as comfortable as possible” for players. She says: “We believe that if the product has the best UI and UX it doesn’t matter what you present, users will enjoy their stay on the website.” 

Part of the enhanced user experience is a chat feature developed in conjunction with Watchers, which adds a social element to watching and betting on a big match. 

“Users can now comment, share their ideas, their feelings and everything in the chat directly under the event in our platform while they are watching the game,” she explains. “This is a life-changing experience for the users, basically, because they can be attached to one device and watch and share their experiences simultaneously.” 

Tokmajyan adds: “We are currently working on new products and new features to be adapted to the Romanian market and TotoChat especially. We aim to enable people to share their bets with other users in the chat, so they can copy the bets. That would be an easy way of communicating their expertise on the market.” 

Pană likes the community-building aspect of the chat function and live-streamed action. He believes this, along with promotional tools such as TotoGaming’s unique sports tournaments, will help to keep players engaged and loyal to the brand. It is an approach he hopes to replicate on the casino side of the business.  

“For the casino, the most important thing for us is, of course, building a community. It’s the most important thing for the whole experience to be a great package,” Pană enthuses. 

“What TotoGaming is really well known for is very good customer care and very good handling of everything in the package. It’s the product, it’s the communication externally, it’s the communication internally. This is what we think of as the champion’s mentality.” 

Of course, providing entertainment for casino players means making a large selection of games available. TotoGaming has a host of slots and live casino options for its Romanian audience, but there is another area that the team believes it has a real advantage in. 

“We have a larger selection of fast games than most operators on the market and we have seen a lot of interest in them,” says Pană. “Most people in Romania were introduced to fast games via Aviator, but we want to take this to a different dimension and a whole different level. 

“We have a lot of offerings that are extremely, extremely fun. One is a collaboration between Galaxsys and Fashion TV, which is really cool. It’s called Cash Show and there are actually models on the runway, so it’s very, very imaginative.”  

Raising the bar on localisation 

Games that appeal to players in multiple territories are a mainstay for successful international operators, but to really enjoy success in a new market requires titles designed to connect with local audiences. 

“We try to keep our core values, but then localise as much as possible. In Romania, that means launching a game-changing product – backgammon,” says Tokmajyan. “Romanians love to play live backgammon, in the same way as Armenians do, so we looked at that love for the game and brought Galaxsys’ backgammon game to the market. 

“When I told the team here that we had a backgammon game, I remember Daniel’s facial expression was like, ‘okay, this is going to work for sure’. So we’re trying to push it in the Romanian market now and we’ll see how it goes.” 

Pană adds: “There’s a big tradition of backgammon in Romania. There are backgammon tables in parks, such as Cișmigiu Park here in Bucharest, which is famous for an alley where people gather to play backgammon and chess.  

“Now things are starting to happen online and, just like Tereza said, our backgammon game, which is P2P, is really cool. We have major plans for it, but for now they are still under lock and key!”   

Having a cultural link to the local market has the potential to make a significant difference to TotoGaming’s prospects as the brand builds its reputation in Romania. While the launch has surpassed expectations, Tokmajyan admits to being surprised by the difference in player behaviour between the Armenian and Romanian markets. However, she is relishing the challenge that poses.  

“At this moment, the user behaviour is not so close to what we imagined, but it’s really cool to look at how we are coping, starting from zero and acquiring new customers, understanding their needs, understanding the fit of the product to the market itself,” Tokmajyan concludes.  

“I’m really enjoying monitoring our competitors in the market because all of them have their signature and have left their footprint on society. So it’s exciting to see what we can do and where we can reach in this journey of becoming number one – because this is a championship for us now.” 

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