Kanggiten: Is your next brand launch reversible?

White label was built for operators launching their first brand. That is no longer the typical buyer. A growing share of launches now come from companies that already run a live business and are opening a second or third brand alongside it. Here, Viktor Cherkas, CEO of Kanggiten, explains what that asks of a platform, and why most evaluations still miss it.

EGR: White label is usually described as an entry-level product, a first step towards turnkey or an in-house build. Does that match what you see?

Viktor Cherkas (VC): For first-time operators, yes. But for experienced companies, not anymore.

Many of the launches we work on come from operators that already have a successful brand and are now launching a second or third one. For them, white label is not a stepping stone. It is a way to launch faster, invest less upfront and reduce the risk if the new brand does not perform.

So, the questions are different. A first-time operator asks what is included. An experienced operator asks how quickly they can launch – and what it will cost if the brand fails.

EGR: What separates a portfolio brand from a vanity launch?

VC: A clear business case – and a number that will tell you whether it worked.

A second brand should solve a specific problem. It may target a different audience, offer positioning that does not fit the flagship, or convert traffic the existing brand cannot. In many cases, repositioning an established brand is slower and more expensive than launching a new one.

Before launch, you need to define what you are testing, how you will measure success, and when you will decide whether to scale or stop. Without that, it is not a portfolio strategy. It is just another brand.

EGR: Operators evaluating a platform tend to model setup cost and revenue share. What is missing from that?

VC: The more important question is: how quickly will you know whether the brand actually works?

The launch date tells you very little. You need enough deposits to understand how the first player cohorts behave, and you need the first bonus cycle to finish. Until the wagering is completed, part of what looks like revenue is still a potential liability.

With good traffic volume, 30 days is often enough to get the first reliable signal. With lower volume, it takes longer. If you do not define this in advance, you can reach month three and still have no clear answer on whether the brand is working.

EGR: What breaks most often when an operator runs several brands at once?

VC: Measurement. Each brand must be evaluated separately, with its own player cohorts, bonus economics and clear affiliate attribution.

The most common problem is overlapping traffic. A second brand may appear to perform well, but later you discover its players came from the same sources already used by the flagship. In that case, you have not created new business – you may have simply moved players from one brand to another.

The solution is simple: test the new brand with traffic the flagship does not use, or exclude a source from the flagship during the test. You may lose some volume at the beginning, but that is the difference between a real result and just another number.

EGR: If an operator is evaluating platforms with this in mind, what should they be testing?

VC: They should test flexibility, not only functionality.

How quickly can they launch a new brand and get enough data to evaluate it? What will it cost to close the brand if it fails? Who owns the player data? And will launching the fourth brand be as simple and cost-effective as launching the second?

Based on our experience with more than 50 brands, the operational setup usually takes between seven and 21 business days. But speed is not the only point. The cost and complexity of each additional brand should remain predictable as the portfolio grows.

Another important question is whether successful ideas can move between brands. If a new brand finds a better registration flow or bonus structure, the operator should be able to apply it to the flagship quickly. Otherwise, much of the value is lost.

There are also two important limits. A new brand will not fix a fundamental conversion problem. And launching through a platform does not replace licensing – legal market access is always a separate question.

Viktor Cherkas is CEO of Kanggiten, an igaming platform provider covering casino and sportsbook engines, game aggregation, payments, affiliate management and CRM.

He has spent more than a decade in igaming, and it’s that operating background which shapes how the platform is built and what gets prioritised. Cherkas leads Kanggiten’s strategy and product direction.