Rebranding in the betting and gaming industry is more than a marketing exercise, it is a strategic imperative. We spoke to Oleg Profatylo, Head of Marketing at Playson, Mike Forslund, Head of Sales and Business Development at Odds88, and Olena Repey, Head of Marketing Communications at Kendoo, about how they struck the balance between brand identity and innovation during their recent rebrands.
iGaming Expert: What was the key driver behind your decision to rebrand?
Oleg Profatylo: Simply put – it was the right time. I see rebranding as sort of a signal to the industry that a company has something new to offer or has naturally moved into the next phase of its development.
Our product is reaching new heights, we’re growing in scale, setting new priorities, and refining our vision of Playson’s role in the industry. The business is constantly evolving. And the goal of the brand is to reflect this evolution. As well as highlight everything Playson has come to be recognised for – our passion, precision, and commitment to quality.
Playson is a product-first company. As we continue to raise the bar across our games and technology, it’s only right that every part of our business – our brand and communication included – keeps pace.
Mike Forslund: The driving force behind rebranding TradeArt to Odds88 was a strategic shift to simplify the solution of the problems the company was created to solve, align more closely with the Yolo B2B family and become a more prominent and instantly recognisable player in the sports sggregation space.
We feel the new name reflects a clearer connection to the nuts and bolts of what we’re working with and the company’s core focus on one-stop-shop betting solutions. The rebrand was designed to modernise the company’s identity, enhance market relevance and strengthen brand recognition among partners, operators and players in a highly competitive and fast-evolving digital entertainment landscape.
Olena Repey: For us, this was not a rebrand; it was the creation of the Kendoo brand from scratch. We were launching an entirely new brand on the market. This step was a natural and necessary part of our evolution as we prepared to present Kendoo as a new game provider.
Until then, we had operated as an outsourcing studio, creating successful games for our partners. Quality, reliability, and the delivery of exceptional player experiences were always our top priorities.
The primary reason for this decision was our readiness to establish a public presence with a brand that truly reflects our mission, values, and the high-quality content we produce. We aimed to create a contemporary identity that clearly conveys who we are and what we stand for to our industry partners.
iGX: How do you balance the need for innovation with preserving player trust during a rebrand?
MF: We feel a great rebrand involves clear communication and a sustained commitment to our core values. Whilst we’re even now introducing new features beyond branding, it’s essential that reliability, security and fairness remain intact in the minds of our partners. Transparency about the reasons for change helps prevent confusion or scepticism.
Nevertheless, maintaining familiar user experiences is what helps us to build continuity, while innovation should enhance and not disrupt the customer journey. The great thing we’ve been able to do so far this year, especially with having the unique Odds88 SportsDeck at SBC Summit Americas, is listen to feedback and demonstrate our focus on an unwavering Alternative Odds API and risk management tools.
A successful rebrand like this makes everyone feel included, viewing change as an improvement rather than a risk.
OR: We commenced with a comprehensive analysis to ascertain our strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. This provided us with a solid foundation. Strategy sessions with senior management enabled us to define our identity, clarify our mission and vision, and establish values that resonate not only with us but also with our team.
We concentrated on understanding our B2B clients and, most importantly, the players, as our games were ultimately created for them. Even before the launch of the Kendoo brand, our titles were already performing strongly in the market under our partners’ names. Now, we bring that same creative energy to our own portfolio under the Kendoo name.
This gave us confidence: we understood the market, partners, and player expectations, and we built our key brand messages around our strengths – quality, reliability, and engagement.
OP: Back in my branding courses, we did a fun exercise. The instructor would show us partial images of logos and packaging from well-known brands – sometimes in black and white, sometimes just tiny fragments. Yet, most of the time, we could still identify the brand instantly.
That’s the power of ‘distinctive brand assets’ at work. These can take many forms: Coca-Cola’s bottle shape, McDonald’s jingle, Amazon’s arrow-smile or PokerStars’ red spade. They’re the unique elements that define your brand identity – and they’re the things you should never lose sight of during a rebrand.
It’s worth looking up ‘Tropicana’s redesign failure’ to see how easily things can go wrong when these assets are ignored. That example shows how even a well-intentioned rebrand can backfire if it severs ties with what your audience recognises and trusts.
In my view, a healthy rebrand should always feel like evolution, not disruption. Unless something truly transformative has occurred – like a major shift in business strategy or culture – there’s rarely a good reason to completely abandon what you’ve built.
Lastly, my advice is to stay true to your company’s spirit and culture. If your brand claims to be bold and rebellious, but your internal culture is slow and bureaucratic, that disconnect will eventually erode the trust and the brand will fail to fulfil it’s purpose. Authenticity is key.
iGX: In an industry driven by regulation, tech evolution and shifting player behaviour, what role does a rebrand play in staying competitive?
OR: In the highly competitive iGaming industry, a strong brand is vital, especially in B2B. A brand is not merely a logo or a name; it encapsulates identity, trust, and emotional connection. It addresses the questions: Who are we? What do we stand for? What experience do we promise our partners and players?
Building a brand creates long-term value. When it’s trusted and recognisable, it becomes a powerful asset for driving business growth, fostering loyalty, and standing out in a competitive market. At Kendoo, we also recognise that game design and market understanding must align with both player expectations and market trends. That’s why we invest in research and analysis to ensure our games are engaging and relevant.
However, we also believe in the power of the brand. When your brand earns trust and recognition, it becomes a powerful tool for business growth. At the same time, building a brand is a long-term process. Effective brand communication typically takes at least a year or two to truly resonate with the audience. A brand must continuously evolve, adapting to shifts in the business landscape and remaining ready to respond to unexpected changes.
OP: In the B2B world, where Playson operates, brand building and rebranding are just as vital to a company’s success as wearing appropriate attire to a global merger meeting. Just as a well-chosen suit conveys respect, seriousness, and a sense of individuality, a well-crafted brand communicates your company’s positioning, business approach, and what partners can expect from a collaboration.
Businesses choose to work with partners they trust to deliver. While the product is, of course, the core of that trust, the brand gives the product a personality – it conveys what sets the product and company apart, what makes them distinctive and worthy of attention in a competitive market.
You also mentioned that the industry is shaped by shifting player behaviour, and I couldn’t agree more. In fact, I’d add that as content consumers, our expectations of companies and their brands have changed dramatically. That’s why keeping your brand current, your messaging relevant, and your visual language intuitive and user-friendly is essential for staying competitive – whether you’re targeting end users or other businesses.
MF: In being shaped by regulation the way that we are, technological growth and constantly changing player behaviours and appetites, a rebrand plays a vital role in staying ahead of the chasing pack. It aligns Odds88 with current market demands and communicates a refreshed vision to all who interact with our brand.
A well-executed rebrand can reposition us too to appeal to new audiences, reflect expanded offerings and showcase innovation, which we feel we’ve done in more than just a couple of ways.
It also helps differentiate the brand in a crowded marketplace while reinforcing trust through modern identity. By staying visually and strategically relevant, TradeArt to Odds88 becomes a proactive move that signals long-term growth, enhances market perception and importantly keeps the brand top of mind.
Having worked in the B2C sector before, I could say a lot about the power of branding in driving a company’s success – especially in industries like iGaming, where you’re selling emotions more than tangible products. But I’ll leave some of those insights to my colleagues.
iGX: What were the biggest lessons or surprises during your rebranding journey?
OP: The biggest lesson is that when it comes to reshaping the brand perception, the devil is truly in the details. It only takes one misstep – like a fly landing in a glass of 25-year-old Macallan – to ruin the entire experience. The same principle applies to branding.
A poorly chosen word in a social media post, a rushed design approved just to move things along, or a broken couch at a half-a-million-dollar ICE venue – all of these seemingly minor oversights can break the magic and set the company back in its efforts to craft the right image. While not everything is within our control, it is our responsibility to be as meticulous as possible in our approach and to keep refining even the smallest details.
MF: One of the biggest lessons during a rebranding journey is the importance of internal alignment; success starts from within. Gaining buy-in across teams ensures consistent delivery of a brand.
A common surprise is how emotionally attached people can be to heritage ideas or concepts, this wasn’t the case with us. We were all aligned in our goal to simplify our solutions and show how unrivalled we are in uptime and variety. It’s a strategic shift that must be reflected in culture, communication and CX too.
Unexpected challenges may arise in updating systems, launching new products, communicating new assets or even simply public perception. Ultimately, a rebrand reveals how powerful clear messaging and authenticity are in reconnecting with our audience and driving long-term growth.
OR: One of the biggest lessons was understanding how deeply a brand connects not only to external perception but also to internal culture. When you create a brand from scratch, as we did with Kendoo, you realise that it’s not merely about design, logo, or messaging. It’s about aligning the entire team around shared values, vision, and purpose. This internal clarity became the foundation for building a strong and authentic external brand.
