Optimove Acquires Smartico While Both Companies Remain Fully Independent

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Optimove, the creator of Positionless Marketing and the leading player engagement solution for iGaming and sports betting operators, has signed an agreement to acquire Smartico, the pioneer of gamification-led CRM marketing in the iGaming industry. The deal is expected to close in the coming weeks.

Both companies will continue operating as fully independent businesses with their own brands, teams, product roadmaps and strategies. Smartico founders will retain complete leadership and decision-making control. Clients of Smartico will see no changes to their team, product, pricing or service levels, while gaining the backing of a well-resourced partner. Optimove will continue developing its own Gamify platform in parallel.

The acquisition comes as the global online gambling market grows rapidly, rising from US$95.3 billion in 2024 to a projected US$185.17 billion by 2033. Operators in Europe, the US, Latin America, Africa and Asia need strong, competing CRM options more than ever.

Optimove leads the category with AI-powered personalisation and data analytics. Smartico transformed CRM by embedding real-time gamification to drive deeper retention and loyalty. The two platforms offer complementary strengths and will keep competing and innovating side by side.

Pini Yakuel, founder and CEO of Optimove, said: “Smartico stood out as the competitor that did something original by bringing gamification and CRM together. The category now has two leading platforms. We built one and we’ve backed the other.”

Arman Gal, CEO and co-founder of Smartico, said: “Smartico remains fully independent with the same leadership and team. This partnership gives us more firepower to scale faster and keep innovating for operators.”

Both firms will continue heavy investment in their platforms to deliver better results for iGaming operators worldwide.

About Optimove

Optimove is the leading player engagement solution for iGaming and sports betting. Its AI-powered platform delivers personalised real-time campaigns at scale, with efficiency gains of up to 88 percent.

About Smartico

Smartico pioneered gamification-led CRM marketing in iGaming, combining real-time gamification with CRM tools to boost player retention, loyalty and lifetime value. The bootstrapped company is known for product excellence and service quality across global markets.