The Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Kaizen Gaming has reflected on his journey with the company after it announced it has hit a valuation of $10bn.
Speaking at the Athens Tech Festival, George Daskalakis talked the audience through how the company has navigated headwinds from a Greek financial crisis to a global pandemic.
“With just 20 people and a €700,000 investment, we managed to build a decacorn from Greece,” he explained.
“The defining moment for Kaizen Gaming came in 2015, when capital controls and the closure of banks in Greece wiped out nearly all of the company’s revenue overnight.
“The sources of 93% of our customers’ deposit methods were switched off.”
However, despite the crisis in the country, and in return, for Kaizen, the business doubled down on the Greek market – a decision which turned out to be for the best.
Kaizen Gaming on the global gambling map
Kaizen had started its journey three years before the events of 2015, though. The business launched in 2012 with a team of 20 and no external investment.
It has been bootstrapped all the way to its 11-digit valuation, with major successes coming in a variety of markets through its Betano and Stoiximan brands.
Originating as Stoiximan, one of the biggest betting firms in Greece, the firm rebranded as Kaizen in 2020, while fellow Greek gaming firm OPAP acquired a large stake in its operations.
OPAP’s stake was subsequently transferred to Allwyn, which it merged with last year. Allwyn retains a 36% stake in Kaizen to this day.
Proceeds from the initial OPAP investment were subsequently reinvested into talent, technology and the development of the Betano brand, which has become a multi-national giant active in 20 markets.
Its latest launch in Ghana, announced in March, was Betano’s second in Africa after Nigeria. George Skarlatos, Kaizen’s Director of Business Development, described Africa as a continent with potential that the business believes in.
Daskalakis also didn’t shy away from highlighting the failures, citing the company’s initial lack of success in Poland. Since then, however, Kaizen – through Betano – has become a prominent sports sponsorship player in several markets.
Some of Betano’s major sponsorship deals throughout the rest of the world have been with:
- 2022 World Cup
- 2024 Euros
- Copa America
- 2025 Club World Cup
- Bayern Munich
- Aston Villa
- FC Porto
- Sporting CP
- Benfica
- River Plate
- Flamengo
More recent major marketing deals have revolved around the 2026 World Cup. Betano is now an official tournament supporter of North America’s summer footballing bonanza and is also an official regional sponsor of World Cup holders Argentina.
But this has not come without strategy. Reflecting on the company’s path, Daskalakis encouraged others to aim for global growth from the outset, particularly in this modern era.
He said: “When we first expanded, we were building for Greece and not for the world.
“My advice to B2C founders is: Start locally but keep a global mindset in the way you build from day one, especially in the era of AI.
“Choose the right partners, stay in control of your company if you can or otherwise choose carefully who you bring into it as a partner; you might be better off rejecting a bigger ticket now in order not to pay the price down the road.”
He also encouraged entrepreneurs not to “lose themselves” in their search for success.
“Life is so much more than a company,” he explained, whilst also acknowledging that “to build something special, you have to be obsessed about it”.
