How most PR agencies hurt the iGaming industry

Publication Counts as a False Measure of Success

In theory, PR agencies are meant to support brand communication, amplify messaging, maintain context, and build media relationships. In practice—especially in iGaming—this model increasingly resembles a screw factory assembly line, where quantity matters more than quality or relevance.

There’s no room for strategy, content adaptation, or reflection on whether the message has any value for its audience. Nor does it matter if the media outlet actually reaches the client’s target market. The only thing that counts is whether the press release was published and can be logged in a spreadsheet.

This raw “coverage” figure becomes the main success metric. The client pays, the agency delivers. But what it delivers often holds no business value. For example: a partnership announcement ends up on 12 websites—half of which are foreign sites with zero traffic from the client’s target market. But the KPI is “met,” so the agency checks the box.

In the end, the client pays not for results, but for the illusion of media presence—an illusion that does nothing to support their sales, brand image, or partnerships. It’s visibility for visibility’s sake—a completely meaningless exercise.

A Media Relationship That Doesn’t Exist

For many PR agencies in iGaming, “media relations” have been reduced to mass, impersonal emails. The main objective? Hit the target. Usually, it’s something like: “this press release must appear in 10 outlets.” It doesn’t matter which ones, in what context, or in what format. Only the number counts.

The result? Industry newsrooms are constantly bombarded with nearly identical, impersonal emails detached from the character of the publication. These messages are sent to everyone—yet rarely relevant to anyone. No one asks if the topic is timely, complementary to previous coverage, or if it has potential for expansion. There’s no conversation—just a mass mailing. No dialogue—just reflexive sending. Worst of all, the people responsible for outreach often have no clue who they’re writing to or what the outlet typically publishes.

Instead of pitching an interview with a compelling company representative, co-writing an expert piece, organizing a roundtable, or sharing exclusive market insights, agencies take shortcuts. They send the same release to everyone with the same question: “Will you post this?”

That’s not collaboration. It’s not communication. It’s begging. It’s blind distribution in the hope that someone bites. Like trying to sell a winter coat in the middle of the desert—maybe with good intentions, maybe even a good price—but completely out of place and context.

Creativity? Unnecessary. A Spreadsheet Will Do

The working model of many iGaming PR agencies feels like a call center from the early 2000s. Everything is logged in a spreadsheet: how many releases, how many publications, how many media contacts. Every action has a number, deadline, and completion status. There’s no room for flexibility or thought. Just mechanical task execution—and a fast report.

The client says “make some noise,” and the agency obliges. But the noise is empty. It carries no message, creates no value, reaches no one. Just figures in Excel and links to content no one will actually read. Activities are designed to simulate activity. But what matters isn’t action—it’s outcome.

Instead of building meaningful narratives, agencies deliver press release bundles: the text, a screenshot, some “coverage” stats, and a short summary. It all looks professional but lacks substance. Like packaging empty boxes—visually impressive, but ultimately hollow.

Effective communication in iGaming demands more. It requires ideas. Rather than sending out yet another release to ten editors, you could create a series of employee interviews, an exclusive market report, a content partnership with a specific outlet, or a thematic campaign aligned with company values. Events like Responsible Gaming Week offer great opportunities. Even existing internal data could become valuable insights—if presented in the right context.

But such initiatives require understanding of the industry, client goals, and media dynamics. They demand a tailored approach, creativity, and initiative. And none of this fits inside a spreadsheet. Because spreadsheets don’t allow space for thinking. And thinking, it turns out, isn’t part of the standard KPI.

GameOn and SITA: A Model That No Longer Works

Agencies like GameOn and Square in the Air exemplify this broken model. For years, they’ve operated based on scale over substance. Their primary success metric is the number of publications—regardless of relevance, reach, or audience fit. The result is mass distribution of identical press releases to as many outlets as possible.

Examples are easy to find: the same press release appears on a dozen sites, often without any localization or edits. In this model, journalists stop being partners—they become inboxes. Their only job: publish.

There’s no room for relationship-building, editorial collaboration, or meaningful understanding. PR becomes a one-way broadcast. Communication turns into a monologue no one wants to hear.

The Cost of Illusion: Thousands of Euros for Empty Metrics

Is €3,000 to €4,000 a month a significant spend for iGaming companies? In the context of large marketing and operational budgets—not really. But the real question isn’t “can we afford it?”—it’s: is it worth it?

Because this isn’t an investment. It’s a spend on a service that, in most cases, delivers zero return. It’s paying for media appearances in outlets irrelevant to the client’s market. Paying for content no one reads. Paying for metrics that look good in a report but have no impact on brand awareness, sales, or reputation.

The current model is like placing a billboard in the middle of the forest. Sure, technically the ad exists. You can photograph it, include it in a report. But no one will see it, understand it, or know why it’s there.

Meanwhile, that same budget could achieve far more: co-create content with journalists, build long-term editorial partnerships, develop educational or thought leadership campaigns, and show off real company know-how. You could invest in relationships—not automated emails.

And it’s not just about saving money. Even with a big budget, it makes no sense to waste it on meaningless activities. PR in iGaming doesn’t have to be an expensive ritual of media box-ticking. It can be a tool of real influence—if we stop treating it as a numbers game and start seeing it as a quality-driven relationship.

Because communication that doesn’t create value isn’t communication. It’s just noise. And paying for noise—even if we can afford it—is still a bad business decision.