Coolbet picks Golden Whale for AI-driven player engagement

Golden Whale, which provides machine learning-powered optimisation and decision intelligence to the iGaming industry, has signed a commercial partnership with Coolbet, the international operator owned by Japan's SEGA SAMMY CREATION.

The aim is to help Coolbet move beyond reactive decision-making: anticipating player behaviour, refining engagement strategies and optimising frontend behaviour with more speed and accuracy, within the boundaries of regulation.

What Coolbet gets

• Foundation™: Golden Whale's machine learning and AI optimisation platform. It continuously processes live player data to predict player value, churn risk and behavioural intent.
• Smart Functions: a library that brings these capabilities directly into existing platform, CRM and data infrastructure.
• BonusPilot™: selects the most suitable rewards and offers for each player instead of relying on fixed rules. Golden Whale says this can reduce manual work, sharpen bonus spending and make offers more relevant at scale.

About Coolbet

Founded in Tallinn in 2016, Coolbet offers sportsbook, esports, casino and poker in eight countries across three continents, and also provides B2B solutions to operators in the US. It won Operator of the Year (Medium) at the 2026 SBC Awards in Lisbon, after entering the EGR Power 50 for the first time in 2025.

What they said

Eberhard Dürrschmid, CEO of Golden Whale, said:

“Operating successfully across multiple markets brings enormous opportunities, but also a level of complexity that conventional approaches to player engagement simply aren't equipped to handle.

“Coolbet has already built a fantastic international business, and we're excited to give its team the tools to take things even further. We believe fully bespoke and automated decision intelligence should be at the heart of how modern operators make shape their go-to-market strategies, and this relationship is a great example of how that ambition can translate into real commercial value.”

Tero Holopainen, Head of Product, Casino & Games at Coolbet, said:

“Technology has always been central to how we operate, but what matters most is how we use it to deliver a better experience for our players.

“Golden Whale brings a level of sophistication that opens up some exciting possibilities for our business. Their decision intelligence approach extends the work we are already doing in a natural way, and we plan to build on that step by step. Being able to anticipate player needs, respond more effectively and make better use of our resources will be incredibly valuable as we continue to grow and strengthen our position across international markets.”

Gamitas view

Golden Whale is a young supplier. Its Gamitas profile shows it was founded in Vienna in 2022 and is led by CEO Eberhard Dürrschmid, a founder and former CEO of Greentube. It positions its models as a decision layer that works alongside an operator's CRM rather than replacing it.

A multi-market operator owned by SEGA SAMMY is a strong reference customer for that pitch. Holopainen's "step by step" suggests Coolbet will add the tools gradually rather than switch everything at once. Operators looking at retention and bonus tools can compare marketing and CRM suppliers on Gamitas.