Tereza Melicharkova — Head of Marketing at Elantil
With a strong background in iGaming and IT, Tereza has led marketing initiatives across industry leaders such as NetEnt, Relax Gaming, and Glitnor Group. At Elantil, she combines strategic vision with creative execution to drive brand growth and industry impact.
You stepped into the Head of Marketing role at Elantil in January 2025. What was the single biggest factor that convinced you this was the right move for your career at this moment?
In January this year, I’d reached a stage where I was looking for a fresh challenge, somewhere I could learn significantly more. Then, one Saturday morning, Nadiya Attard called with the opportunity to join a start-up platform. I knew in that moment that this could be the one. When I met Jonathan Gauci, Founder and CEO, I was amazed by how passionately he spoke about the company, the product and its vision. We clicked instantaneously, and I was thrilled to join this team of specialists and build Elantil’s marketing strategy from the ground up.
You’ve been part of the iGaming ecosystem for several years. What first drew you into the industry, and what continues to keep you passionate about it?
Whilst studying for my Master’s in Communications and Media at the University of Malta, I worked for an events company, Studio 7, where I first met the team at NetEnt. I felt immediately that this was a company I wanted to work with, and I was right.
When my friend, who was working at a recruitment company, approached me for a Marketing and Events Executive role at NetEnt, I did everything in my power to join their team. Since then, it’s been a fantastic experience, working at companies such as Relax Gaming, Swintt and currently Elantil. Working on the B2B side of marketing for games and platform providers is a lot of fun because you have fantastic assets to play with. Being in marketing in our industry is amazing because you can truly unleash your creativity. That’s what drives my passion.
Looking back at your earlier years working across IT and iGaming, what’s one surprising insight you carry with you into your leadership role today?
This industry is full of wonderful people who become friends. My motto is: business is business but the most important thing is to do a great job so the company thrives and its team members stay happy. I truly believe that when you invest in people, you invest in success. I love seeing so many people in our industry with the same mindset. We work hard, we play hard, and we do both with the same energy, integrity, and joy that drew us into this industry in the first place.
Outside of marketing KPIs, how do you define personal success in your role at this stage of your career?
I am a huge believer in word of mouth. There are many marketing channels that deliver fantastic results, but when people start talking about your campaigns amongst themselves, that, to me, signifies real success. That’s how I measure personal success: by whether people talk about your work.
Of course, there are other tools to measure success. At Elantil, in less than 12 months, we reached over 3,500 followers on LinkedIn, which we’re very happy about. Then, after any successful event, the feeling is just priceless: seeing colleagues, clients and prospects enjoying time with the Elantil team, either at a stand at a conference or on a boat trip, and the tangible moment when the talking begins. To me, the combination of metrics and meaningful chatter defines a truly successful campaign.
On your LinkedIn you mention you’re an “experienced marketing enthusiast with a demonstrated history of working in the iGaming and IT sectors.” What part of your journey do you feel most defines you as a marketer?
I’d say every step in my career has been a fantastic journey, even the challenging parts. When I look back, I just wish I hadn’t taken those moments so seriously, because they’ve passed and I grew from them the most. Launching Elantil at the beginning of the year was an awesome project I like to look back on. The entire launch campaign was a huge success. Among the campaigns I’m proud of, the recent one for our Elantil stand at SBC Summit Lisbon is probably my favourite. We brought Elanbubu along, offered it as a prize to anyone who successfully completed our buzzer game, and used the character in a pre-event video. It was a huge hit and paired with a beautifully designed stand, it was an event to remember.
For Elantil, the competitive landscape in iGaming is intense. How do you define the brand-positioning strategy that gives you an edge?
I couldn’t agree more, standing out in such a competitive industry is not easy. We spent many hours brainstorming what we wanted to achieve with our brand strategy, and the message was clear: we’re building something truly spectacular here, and we want that hard work to be seen.
We’ve created a brand that represents top quality, but with a strong element of entertainment. Our conference presence reflects that, we build visually striking stands and I always try to introduce a sense of fun and competition. With our Elanbubus, we’ve received a lot of attention and positive feedback, and I’m planning to continue that momentum at ICE. Through these creative ideas, I aim to differentiate us from the crowd and leave a lasting impression wherever we go.
With your previous experience at companies like Glitnor Group, what operational process did you bring into Elantil that’s made the biggest difference?
I like to remind myself that the sky is the limit and I try to keep that mindset when I’m working on new campaigns. I love being creative, and I thrive in companies that give me that freedom and trust.
One important lesson I took from Glitnor Group is that internal communication is just as important as external communication. Everyone within an organisation should understand the company’s vision and mission to work towards shared goals. Regular updates are key, and ideally, all team members should follow the official social media channels to stay aligned with the latest news and achievements.
Another factor that really helps me shape effective marketing strategies is maintaining great relationships with media contacts, event organisers, PR partners and design agencies. Having strong connections across these areas is crucial for building a truly 360-degree marketing strategy that performs.
Industry-wise, you’ve been shortlisted for the “Individual Achievement Award” at the EGR Operator Awards. What does that kind of recognition mean to you, and how do you translate it into action within your day-to-day?
This was one of the biggest recognitions I’ve received during my time in the industry, and it meant so much because it was my team who submitted my name for the award. To then be recognised by an organisation of EGR’s calibre was an incredible feeling.
Being acknowledged for your work is always rewarding, but this nomination touched me on a personal level. It reminded me that people notice the passion and effort you put into what you do. Day to day, I don’t let awards change the way I work, I stay grounded, focused, and continue giving my best. But it does serve as a little reminder that dedication, consistency and kindness never go unnoticed.
Content is central to marketing in iGaming, from site experience to campaigns: how do you define “winning content” in your world?
You hit the nail on the head: content marketing is the core of everything we do, and its importance has grown significantly over the past few years. Our industry is maturing and so is the product offering. Because products now differ more markedly from each other, content marketing plays a pivotal role.
As a platform supplier, we are the engine behind casino operations. If our platform goes down, the casino goes down — and so do the revenues. So working on the platform side of the business is a big responsibility. Our platform is built from the ground up with the pain-points of operators in mind.
My responsibility is to ensure that the entire industry and beyond sees the hard work our team puts in and understands how we truly stand apart from our competition. We therefore strive to secure thought-leadership opportunities, roundtables, editorials and panel appearances to clearly articulate how we are re-imagining the iGaming industry.
How do you work with product and development teams to ensure marketing insights feed into what features or content you build next?
Because Elantil is a startup, our team is relatively small and closely aligned, which is a real advantage. This closeness helps us quickly get updates from the product team and collaborate to ensure that everything we publish makes sense and is accurate.
I must say I’ve learned a lot at Elantil from the product and tech world, and I deeply appreciate everything the team has taught me. Working in a startup company can be very demanding — but even more rewarding.
In practice, we run regular check-ins between marketing and product/development, share insights from customer/operator feedback, and jointly decide which features or content deserve priority.
When launching a new product or feature, how do you coordinate marketing’s role, from product brief, content creation, to activation and measurement?
As I mentioned above, we are fortunate at Elantil to be a tight-knit team. When a new feature is developed, our Chief Product Officer, Clyde Vasallo, and I have an initial conversation to determine the best approach for the launch.
We review the product brief and define how marketing will position it, what the key message is, who the target audience is, what the value-proposition for operators is. While development is underway, marketing creates the supporting content: media pieces, website copy, social media announcements, demo assets. We activate at launch: publish the content on our website and social channels, enable PR/earned media coverage, and promote the feature in operator communications. We keep the conversation going after launch, talking about that feature in follow-up posts, case studies, webinars, until the next feature comes along and takes the spotlight. Post-launch, we measure: feature uptake, content engagement, operator feedback, leads generated, and then we feed those learnings back into our next product-marketing cycle.
Collaboration between marketing and design is often where creative magic happens. How do you manage that relationship to keep the brand visually consistent while innovating?
The collaboration between marketing and design is absolutely key for any successful marketing strategy. I’m not sure everyone realises how tight the relationship needs to be between these two teams.
A good marketing leader must provide a very clear brief: the goal, the audience, and what the visuals should achieve. That gives the design team a strong foundation to deliver their best work. The challenge often comes when design says “this looks better with less copy” but marketing needs the message fully communicated so balance is essential. Keeping a strong, respectful relationship is extremely important.
At Elantil, I’ve been very fortunate to work with the team at Bold Bishop and with Chris Mifsud (who I worked with at NetEnt nine years ago). We understand each other’s language and together we deliver top-quality branding to reflect the top-quality of Elantil’s platform.
Looking ahead, what kind of marketing strategy are you planning for the next 12 months and what excites you most?
The next 12 months will be key for Elantil. We plan to build on what we did in 2025 and ramp up our presence on the events, media and advertising side by another 25 %. We’re deep in planning for ICE 2026 where we’ll have our largest presence yet: over 50 m² at stand 2E70. We’ll run a fun competition with amazing prizes and anyone visiting the conference shouldn’t miss the Elantil stand.
Throughout the year, we have multiple feature launches that will be covered in industry media, so stay tuned. And, of course, as we bring more operators live, we’ll celebrate this via several campaigns with the broader industry. The year ahead is definitely an exciting one for Elantil and I can’t wait to see what we achieve together.
With your body of work so far, what’s one decision you made that you’d change if you had the chance, and why?
Looking back over my career, I wouldn’t necessarily change any of the decisions because they’ve all helped shape who I am today. I greatly value the industry and the opportunities it has given me. Every person I’ve met along the way has taught me something that I carry into my current role. What’s wonderful is that I feel I never stop learning, and that continues to drive me to be creative and work on unique campaigns.
That said, if I had to pick one thing I’d approach differently, it’s how I handled difficult times. Every challenge I’ve faced has spurred growth, so embracing those moments wholeheartedly is something I am consciously working on more now and I’ve already seen the benefit of doing so.
When you reflect on the next 18-24 months, what’s your top goal for your marketing organisation at Elantil, and how will you measure it?
My top goal for our marketing team at Elantil over the next 18-24 months is to raise our profile so that we are top of mind for operators when selecting a platform partner.
One key channel in our strategy is social media, particularly LinkedIn. I set up our LinkedIn profile in January, and in under 11 months we have grown to over 3,500 followers. We’re creating content with creativity and a strong focus on product marketing, and it appears to be resonating well within the industry.
On a broader level, the company goal is to bring on more operators who trust us to deliver. Thankfully, we’re supported by a team of outstanding professionals with strong reputations in the industry, which makes my job somewhat easier. My role is to ensure we provide consistent media opportunities for our experts—thought-leadership pieces, panel appearances, roundtables, and I’m committed to doing more of that in the future.
As someone leading at the senior level in marketing within iGaming, what advice would you personally give to a marketer aiming to reach a Head of Marketing role in this space?
Here’s what I would say:
Be data-literate and operator-centric. The iGaming industry is highly regulated, fast-moving and competitive. Being able to interpret data, link marketing activity to business outcomes, and speak the language of operators will set you apart.
Build a broad set of experiences. Working across product, operations, compliance or the engine/platform side, or at least gaining strong exposure, will broaden your perspective and help you become more strategic.
Invest in your network and mentorship. This industry is niche. Relationships matter. Seek out mentors, peers and industry contacts. The insights, visibility and support you gain can accelerate your progression.
Finally, if you could leave a single key takeaway from this interview for other marketers, what would it be?
In today’s iGaming and tech-platform world, it’s easy to focus obsessively on campaigns, KPIs, product launches and innovation. All of that is of course necessary. But what truly accelerates progress often comes down to the networks you build and the trust you earn.
Trusted relationships open doors. Whether that’s speaking opportunities, panel invitations, or being top-of-mind for a potential partnership, when people know you, trust you, and see you deliver, they bring you into the room. Research shows strong relationships build long-term business success and greater loyalty. Also, great internal collaboration matters and helps you to educate yourself among all kinds of parts of the business. Marketing doesn’t sit in isolation. At Elantil, the crossover between product, tech, design, operations and marketing is where creative breakthroughs happen. Strong relationships across these functions make collaboration smoother and more effective.
So yes, build your network, maintain it, and treat it as an essential asset rather than a checkbox. Stay grounded. Be generous with your time and expertise. The relationships you nurture today will support the opportunities you chase tomorrow.
