Interview Casino2k
Published
Casino2k recently returned as a finalist at the EGR Italy Awards 2026, where it was shortlisted in two categories: “Casino Affiliate” and “Affiliate of the Year”. What does it mean to you to have confirmed your position at this level, after winning the “Casino Affiliate” award in 2025? Are you more satisfied to be among the finalists again, or is there a little disappointment at not being able to repeat last year’s success?
There is no disappointment at all. On the contrary, we are very happy to have made both shortlists once again. Of course, after last year’s victory, we hoped we might be able to repeat that success, and it would not be very credible to say otherwise. But we can only be extremely satisfied to have been selected once again as both “Casino Affiliate” and “Affiliate of the Year”, especially considering how competitive our industry is and the many other highly professional and well-established companies operating in the market. If we also look at the nominations and awards we have received in recent years, I believe that making two shortlists of this calibre shows that we have maintained a high standard and have not rested on our laurels, continuing to stand out positively in a highly competitive market. Attending the ceremony was a great experience and a real source of pride for Casino2k, regardless of the final outcome.
The EGR Awards are one of the most prestigious events in the iGaming industry. They assess several aspects, including growth, innovation, traffic quality and relationships with operators, while regulatory compliance also plays an important role. Which of these is the most difficult to manage in the Italian market? And what do you think has been Casino2k’s main strength?
Each of these areas comes with its own complexities and deserves careful analysis, but one of the most challenging is undoubtedly having a strong understanding of the Italian regulatory framework and keeping constantly up to date with how it evolves. Online gambling regulation in Italy is strict and complex, so navigating it is far from straightforward: it requires constant attention and commitment. We need to maintain a high standard of content and generate value for operators, without ever losing sight of the rules and player protection.
Our team is able to bring together a wide range of skills, and I believe this is our real strength. Casino2k is part of STS Web Consulting, an agency specialising in SEO, so we have strong expertise in content creation and search engine visibility, as well as analysis and the development of new projects, while always keeping our relationship with users at the centre of what we do.
We place great importance on providing useful guidance to people who visit our website, offering reliable and constantly updated information and giving concrete answers to players’ needs. The Casino2k Forum perfectly reflects this approach, as it allows us to collect first-hand experiences, engage directly with users, listen to their concerns and try to help resolve the issues they encounter with operators.
Casino2k’s recognition does not stop there, as the company has also been nominated for “Best Affiliate” at the SiGMA Italia Awards 2026, which will take place in Rome on November 5. How proud are you of this new achievement? And what are your expectations ahead of the awards ceremony?
We are also very pleased with this nomination, and it came as a great surprise, especially because it arrived just a few days after the EGR Awards. It confirms that Casino2k’s work is also being recognised within a major event such as SiGMA World, which brings together companies and professionals from across the iGaming industry.
Being shortlisted for “Best Affiliate” is another outstanding achievement and shows us that we are doing a good job. We will go to Rome with a sense of satisfaction and a relaxed mindset, looking forward to engaging with other leading companies in our industry. The event is not only about the awards themselves, but also offers an opportunity to exchange ideas and build new relationships with operators, affiliates and professionals who, like us, are passionate about iGaming.
That said, of course we would love to win, but we also know that we will be competing against some of the strongest companies in the industry. For me, Salvatore Martorana, simply being nominated is already a great source of pride, and I believe my business partners feel the same way.
Awards such as EGR and SiGMA also place considerable importance on performance and on the ability to generate value for operators. How do you manage to balance the purely commercial side of the business with your editorial work and your commitment to supporting players?
That is a great question, because it goes straight to one of the most delicate aspects of our work. I have to admit that finding the right balance between these different areas has not been easy. Casino2k is an editorial project that, inevitably, also needs to deliver results for the operators it works with, but at the same time we place the utmost importance on informing users transparently and addressing the issues they bring to our attention. Our goal is to ensure that the commercial side of the business does not compromise the independence and ethics of our editorial work.
I believe the Casino2k Forum is the clearest example of this philosophy, which we have pursued with great conviction over the years. We have handled and resolved numerous disputes between players and operators, helping users recover around €1.9 million in total, including blocked winnings and suspended withdrawals. The work we carry out through the Forum shows that Casino2k is able to go beyond pure traffic acquisition.
I like to think, and I am fairly convinced, that it is precisely by building credibility over time that we have also been able to achieve strong results from a purely commercial perspective.
The 2025 victory and the 2026 nominations are evidence of two very positive years for the Casino2k team. However, the iGaming industry is constantly evolving and competition remains very strong. In which areas do you think there is still room for improvement in order to keep growing the project in the Italian market?
That is true. Ours is an industry that is constantly changing, so no award can ever be seen as a final destination. We always need to be able to evolve and keep up with the times.
That said, I think it is difficult to identify one specific area in which we need to improve. I would rather focus on the fact that we must continue to work with the same commitment and attention to detail across every aspect of what we do: the quality and accuracy of our content, the use of the tools available to us, staying constantly up to date with regulation, and understanding what users are really looking for.
At the same time, it is essential to keep strengthening our relationships both with operators and with our community, without losing the identity that has defined Casino2k over the years.
Growth naturally also depends on increasing traffic and building profitable partnerships, but we must not forget how important it is to make the project increasingly authoritative. The results of the past two years tell us that we are moving in the right direction.