Optimove, the Tel Aviv-based player engagement platform, has signed an agreement to acquire Smartico, a bootstrapped iGaming CRM company known for combining gamification with marketing automation. The deal is expected to close in the coming weeks, while financial terms have not been disclosed. Even after the transaction is completed, both companies are expected to continue operating independently, with Smartico’s leadership retaining full authority over strategy and day-to-day execution.
A consolidation move in a growing market
The acquisition, announced on April 6, brings together what Optimove describes as two leading CRM marketing platforms in the iGaming sector. The transaction lands at a time when the global online gambling market continues to expand. According to the source material, the sector was valued at $95.3 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach $185.17 billion by 2033. That growth, combined with the launch of new regulated markets and increasingly complex compliance obligations, is driving demand for more advanced customer relationship management and player engagement systems.
For operators in online gambling, CRM is no longer limited to sending offers or managing player databases. The market has shifted toward highly automated, data-driven systems capable of segmenting users, orchestrating multi-channel campaigns, predicting player behavior, and improving retention. In that context, the combination of Optimove’s AI-driven marketing stack and Smartico’s gamification-led product suite signals a broader push toward more integrated engagement infrastructure.
Optimove’s evolution from consultancy to profitable software company
Optimove was founded in 2009 under the name Mobius Solutions by Pini Yakuel and Shachar Cohen, who met while studying at Tel Aviv University. The company initially operated as a consultancy focused on building customer analytics models for businesses before launching the Optimove software platform in 2012. That transition helped position the firm as a specialist in data-backed customer marketing.
The company remained bootstrapped during its first five years. In 2016, it raised $20 million from Israel Growth Partners at a $100 million valuation. A second major capital raise followed in 2021, when Summit Partners led a $75 million growth equity round. In total, Optimove has raised $95 million across two rounds. The company says it has been profitable since inception and now employs more than 550 people across offices in Tel Aviv, New York, and London.
Within iGaming, Optimove offers AI-powered player segmentation, predictive modeling, and multi-channel campaign orchestration. Its product lineup includes the OptiGenie AI toolkit and the Opti-X personalization engine, both aimed at helping operators deliver more targeted and timely engagement. This background helps explain why the company views Smartico not just as a bolt-on acquisition, but as a complementary platform in a market where operators increasingly want unified marketing systems.
Smartico’s bet on gamification-led CRM
Smartico was founded in 2019 in Bulgaria by Arman Gal, Sergey Kobitskiy, Anton Antropov, and Yuval Mechoullam. The founding team brought prior experience from established iGaming technology companies, including Playtech and 888. Unlike Optimove, Smartico remained fully bootstrapped, building its business without outside funding.
The company’s key insight was that CRM and gamification should not be treated as separate functions. Traditionally, operators often managed player communications and loyalty mechanics through different systems. Smartico built its platform around the idea that these capabilities should be unified, allowing operators to tie engagement campaigns directly to game-like reward structures. Its product suite includes CRM automation, missions, levels, badges, tournaments, free-to-play mini-games, a bonus engine, customizable jackpots, and AI-powered predictive modeling for player lifetime value.
That positioning helped Smartico stand out in a crowded field. Optimove’s leadership said Smartico distinguished itself by being among the first to package gamification and CRM marketing into a category that achieved broad adoption among iGaming operators. In practical terms, that means Smartico built a platform suited to an industry where retention, loyalty, and repeat engagement are central to revenue performance.
Independence remains part of the strategy
One notable element of the transaction is that the two companies do not plan to fully merge operations or products after closing. Instead, they intend to continue building competing offerings under shared ownership. Optimove has framed that internal competition as a deliberate strategy designed to generate better outcomes for iGaming operators.
For Smartico, preserving autonomy appears to have been an important part of the agreement. According to the source material, Smartico’s leadership will maintain full decision-making authority over the company’s direction and daily operations. Co-founder Arman Gal said that retaining the company’s independence was especially meaningful to the team, while the partnership gives Smartico access to additional resources that could help it scale faster and keep innovating in player engagement.
This structure suggests that Optimove sees value in maintaining multiple product philosophies within the same portfolio rather than immediately forcing integration. In a fast-moving vertical such as iGaming, where operator needs vary by geography, regulation, and customer base, keeping separate platforms alive may allow the combined group to serve a broader range of clients and use cases.
Optimove’s fourth acquisition since 2018
The Smartico transaction is Optimove’s fourth acquisition since 2018. Previous deals include the purchase of the DynamicMail business from PowerInbox in 2018, data integration company Axonite in 2020, and no-code gamification platform Adact in March of last year. Taken together, those acquisitions show a pattern: Optimove has been steadily adding capabilities around messaging, data integration, and gamified engagement.
Seen through that lens, Smartico fits into a longer-term strategy rather than an isolated move. The deal expands Optimove’s exposure to gamification-led CRM at a time when operators are looking for more sophisticated ways to improve retention and lifetime value while staying compliant in regulated markets. It also underscores how adjacent marketing technologies are converging into broader engagement platforms.
Why the deal matters
The acquisition reflects more than a corporate ownership change. It points to a maturing iGaming CRM market in which scale, product breadth, analytics, and compliance readiness are becoming more important. As the online gambling industry grows and regulation expands into new jurisdictions, operators are under pressure to manage customer relationships in more precise and accountable ways.
Against that backdrop, platforms that can combine AI, automation, personalization, and gamification are becoming increasingly strategic. Optimove’s move for Smartico suggests that the next phase of competition in iGaming marketing technology may be defined less by isolated point solutions and more by integrated ecosystems built to manage the full player lifecycle.
While the deal terms remain undisclosed, the broader signal is clear: consolidation in the iGaming CRM segment is accelerating, and companies with differentiated engagement technology are likely to play an outsized role as the market evolves.