James Hancock joins Soft2Bet as vice president of B2B marketing

James Hancock has joined Soft2Bet as Vice President of B2B Marketing and says lasting supplier relationships are built after contracts are signed, when the platform is live and handling real traffic. Hancock brings more than 10 years of experience in iGaming, sports betting and payments, and urges operators to judge technology partners by comparable launches, transparent delivery and the operational cost of adoption.

Priority on operational delivery and comparable testing

Hancock explains that his vision for Soft2Bet stems from experience across both B2C and B2B environments. That background taught him to look beyond the “excitement” of the deal and focus on what happens months later, when the platform serves real traffic. He says leading brand positioning and revenue scale from inside large operations gave him “very valuable training” on the friction points operators face.

His stated aim at Soft2Bet is to focus communications on “practical value” and a clear path to scale rather than a standard sales pitch. To achieve this, he will work closely with Andrew Cochrane and the commercial team so the message about platform agility and gamification architecture is “completely transparent”. Hancock sums up his intent: “My goal is to ensure our messaging around our platform agility and gamification architecture is completely transparent.”

MEGA engine: add gamification without replacing the core

Soft2Bet highlights technical independence as a competitive advantage. Hancock stresses that the company “owns and controls” its entire technology stack rather than relying on third‑party licences, and that independence comes from operating its own B2C portfolio.

As a technical example, Soft2Bet offers the MEGA engine, which allows operators to inject advanced gamification layers into the user experience via an independent API, avoiding the commercial and operational risk of replacing the central platform. Hancock says that architecture makes it possible to add features without the “operational nightmare” of a full redesign.

Assessing hidden adoption costs

Hancock identifies the industry’s principal blind spot as underestimating hidden adoption costs. A new product can look simple in a demo, but integration affects multiple departments. He listed concrete examples:

• technical setup,

• alignment with CRM,

• staff training,

• day-to-day operational management.

The weight of that burden varies between a Tier‑1 operator and a smaller brand. For Hancock, a supplier must understand the operator’s infrastructure and team before defining how to structure the partnership and ensure the technology delivers return.

Accountability for commercial performance after integration

Hancock says that when the business case is built around retention, engagement or revenue, the relationship must continue after integration. The supplier must remain involved, review performance with the operator and make data-driven adjustments. He adds that success measurement should be agreed from the start, with a clear baseline, relevant player cohorts and a full view of costs. “If the business case is built around retention, engagement or revenue, the relationship has to continue after integration,” says Hancock.

Each review should make clear what is driving the numbers and what should change: acquisition quality, marketing activity and operational decisions can all affect outcomes.

How to win a deal today: testing, honesty and specificity

For Hancock, replacing promises with concrete evidence is what wins deals today. Highlighting comparable, successful launches moves the conversation from theory to reality and shows how the technology has driven retention, engagement and time-to-market for similar operators.

He says “deals are won with trust, and nothing builds trust faster than honesty”. Sales teams should resist the pressure to accept every request; a clear “not yet” is preferable to a commitment that creates bottlenecks after launch. Being extremely specific about what can and cannot be delivered now avoids surprises.

One‑year objectives

Hancock defines success at one year as recurring business: a partner returning to expand into new markets or integrate another Soft2Bet product demonstrates the initial promise was met. He wants to see a meaningful increase in operators who not only go live but actively scale with Soft2Bet. Personally, his aim is to be known by partners as direct, reliable and proactive.

He concludes that, while sales metrics measure signed contracts, the real evaluation should focus on what grows after first launch; if partnerships are stronger and more profitable a year later, that will indicate the approach worked.

“My goal is to ensure our messaging around our platform agility and gamification architecture is completely transparent.” — James Hancock, vice president of B2B marketing at Soft2Bet.

“If the business case is built around retention, engagement or revenue, the relationship has to continue after integration.” — James Hancock, vice president of B2B marketing at Soft2Bet.