Pantelis Theocharides
Senior Product Manager — Risk, Fraud & Player Behaviour · Nicosia, Cyprus

From the trading desk to the product roadmap.

Two decades reading players, operators, and the platforms between them. I ship product across the iGaming ecosystem — with behavioural risk as the specialty I keep coming back to.

Journey Trader → Analyst → Product → Behavioural Risk
Product across Player experience · Commercial systems · Operator tooling · Behavioural risk
About

A trading floor is where I learned to read risk.

I started as a European sports trader at Sportingbet, then OffsideBet — compiling odds and trading in-running across football, basketball, tennis, and more. Spotted arbitrage and bonus abuse from the operational side before those terms ever showed up in a risk framework. Moved into sportsbook management at Betologic Cyprus, then spent four years as a Data & Trading Analyst at Playtech turning betting patterns into KPIs and risk reporting instead of gut calls. That grounding carried into product management across B2B iGaming platforms — Playtech Sports, Leap Gaming, and NuxGame — shipping player-facing product, operator tooling, and platform capabilities across those B2B platforms.

Along the way I've shipped player-facing product (casino, sportsbook, virtual sports, retail cashier flows), commercial engines (promotions, loyalty, gamification), and the operator tooling that runs all of it (CRM, segmentation, back office). When I talk about bonus abuse, I know the mechanics because I've built them.

Today at B2Tech I'm the product owner for risk systems targeting emerging markets — USSD flows, retail agent networks, mobile money, fragmented identity infrastructure. Risk is the specialty; product across the platform is the profession. The frame behind every case below: the best iGaming products balance player experience, commercial performance, operator efficiency, and the risk that follows all three.

TRADING
Sportingbet · OffsideBet · Betologic Cyprus
Odds compilation, in-running trading, arbitrage & bonus abuse at the coalface.
DATA & ANALYSIS
Data & Trading Analyst, Playtech
KPIs, data warehouses, betting pattern analysis, risk reporting.
PRODUCT
Playtech Sports · Leap Gaming · NuxGame
B2B platform PM — promotions, loyalty, CRM, roadmap ownership.
RISK SYSTEMS
B2Tech
Risk & fraud product for emerging-market omnichannel operators.
Selected Work

Organized by domain, not by employer.

Five cases — starting with current risk focus at B2Tech (with a personal prototype demonstrating the operating model), then promotions, CRM, PVP Slot Arena, and virtual sports.

Risk & fraud product for emerging markets — at B2Tech
Risk & Fraud Hybrid Scoring KYC Emerging Markets Operating Model
Focus: USSD Mobile money Retail agent networks Hybrid rules + scoring Progressive KYC
Position Product ownership for risk systems at B2Tech. The prototype below (risk-platform-simulator) is a personal Lovable build that demonstrates the operating model I'm applying — separate from confidential production work.
01 Approach at B2Tech

Static, binary rules — block this IP, cap this deposit — degrade fast against adaptive fraud, and don't reflect the operational reality of emerging-market B2B operators: mobile money payments, retail agent networks, fragmented identity infrastructure, USSD sessions with no persistent device fingerprint. Manual review doesn't scale as new operators onboard.

My priorities: moving detection from static thresholds toward a hybrid model — rules for known patterns, scoring for everything else — so a genuinely new fraud pattern doesn't need a hard-coded rule written before it can be caught. Structuring detection logic around Trigger → Condition → Action so Risk Ops can read and reason about any rule the same way, regardless of which system raised it. Building progressive, risk-based KYC so verification escalates only when triggered by deposit thresholds, withdrawal requests, or behavioural flags.

02 Operating model in action · prototype
Named Fraud Patterns Risk posture
A risk dashboard is useless if it only shows numbers — Risk Ops needs to see which class of abuse is spiking, not just that something is.
risk-platform-simulator · dashboard
Risk platform dashboard with alerts, high-risk players, cases and fraud patterns
KPIs: alerts, high-risk players, pending cases, exposure. Fraud patterns broken down by named class — Bonus Abuse, VPN User, Multi Account, Withdrawal Abuse.
  • Named-pattern taxonomy — maps to defenses
  • Live risk posture at a glance
  • Case-work queue prioritization
  • Investigation performance visible
Testable Rules Trigger → Condition → Action
A rule engine that can't be tested against synthetic events is one Compliance won't sign off on.
risk-platform-simulator · simulator
Event simulator with custom event builder and expected outcomes
Fire synthetic events (deposit, chargeback, VPN login) with expected outcomes declared upfront. Every rule is testable against a known input.
  • Custom event builder
  • Expected outcomes declared upfront
  • Trigger → Condition → Action model
  • Regression-testable before deploy
Problem

Emerging-market fraud doesn't look like European fraud. Mobile money, retail agents, USSD sessions, and fragmented ID infrastructure make static rules degrade quickly and manual review too expensive to scale as new operators onboard.

Approach

Move from rules-only to hybrid (rules + scoring). Structure every rule around Trigger → Condition → Action so Risk Ops can author and audit them without Engineering. Layer in progressive KYC — verification escalates on behavioural flags, not on registration.

Outcome

Current focus, not a closed case study. Direction: fewer manual reviews per fraud dollar caught, a scoring layer that keeps pace with fraud patterns specific to mobile money and retail-agent networks, and rules Risk Ops can rewrite without a deploy. The prize isn't just catching abuse — it's not flagging legitimate players, and giving operators a defensible audit trail when regulators ask.

Good rules explain themselves. That's the property that decides whether Risk Ops trusts a system enough to author their own — or gives up and asks Engineering.
CRM and affiliate infrastructure for a multi-brand platform — at NuxGame
CRM Affiliate Systems Compliance Segmentation
System coverage: Multi-brand platform Weighted segmentation engine Per-region GEO rules Affiliate ID exceptions Real-time postback attribution
My call Chose deterministic ranked rules over overlapping one-off segment logic. Balanced GEO compliance against affiliate conversion by pairing soft-block UX with affiliate-ID exceptions.
Player attributes country, VIP tier, cohort Ranked include/exclude weighted rule sets Deterministic segment one player → one segment GEO + time restrictions soft-block UX · region windows Promotion eligibility or communication targeting Affiliate ID exception approved traffic bypasses block
Segmentation + GEO + affiliate flow. Player attributes resolve deterministically into one segment. GEO and time rules apply next. Affiliate-ID exceptions (dashed amber) bypass compliance blocks for approved traffic.
Problem

Operators needed regionally compliant marketing without losing affiliate-driven conversion. Players needed relevant offers, not untargeted spam. And the underlying segmentation logic had to stay maintainable as region rules and campaigns kept multiplying.

Approach

Specified a weighted segmentation engine — players matched against ranked include/exclude rule sets so targeting resolves deterministically even when multiple rules could apply. Designed a GEO-blocking system around a soft-block UX plus time-based restriction windows and affiliate-ID exceptions. Owned the postback and attribution implementation connecting registration and deposit events back to affiliate tracking codes in real time.

Outcome

Operators could configure segmentation, GEO rules, and affiliate exceptions themselves — no new engineering request every time a region's rules changed. Marketing shipped campaigns; Compliance audited them; Engineering stopped being the bottleneck. Players got the right offer in the right region instead of irrelevant blanket comms.

Operators configure behaviour. Engineers extend the platform. That's the deal.
Promotions an operator can trust — from cashback math to gamified retention
Promotions Bonus Abuse Prevention Gamification Formula Design
Product complexity: Multi-currency Per-currency caps House-edge ceiling Dual-currency achievements Trigger-based conditions
My call Gave Risk and Finance configurable exposure controls before promotion launch — house-edge ceiling and per-currency caps, not opt-in flags applied after abuse was detected.
Exposure Controls Bound before launch
Finance and Risk need to bound worst-case rakeback payout before Marketing launches the promotion — not after players find the loophole.
promotions · rakeback · formula preview
Rakeback formula configuration panel showing exposure controls Player wager House-edge cap Effective HE floor
Every term operator-configurable — base rakeback %, per-currency caps, and the house-edge ceiling that bounds worst-case payout.
  • Base rakeback % — operator-set
  • House-edge cap — bounds worst case
  • Per-currency exposure caps
  • HE floor prevents high-RTP farming
Cashback — Eligible Net Loss
ENL = Deposits − Withdrawals
   − (Wallet − ExcludedBalance)
   − OpenBets − Rollbacks
Only money genuinely lost pays out.
Rakeback — bounded exposure
Rakeback = Wager × EffHE × BaseRake% × Override%
EffHE = min(100 − RTP, HE Cap)
Cap ensures no game can inflate rakeback beyond the ceiling.
Problem

Promotion mechanics are a direct abuse surface — players time deposits and withdrawals around a cashback window, or count funds never actually at risk toward a loss calculation. Operators also wanted richer retention mechanics without engineering building a new reward type each time.

Approach

Designed the Eligible Net Loss cashback formula. Specified a rakeback engine bounded by per-currency caps and a house-edge ceiling. Added a dual-currency achievement system (XP + Shop Points) with trigger-based conditions — login streaks, category turnover, KYC completion, deposit count — tied to configurable rewards.

Outcome

Risk and Finance could bound worst-case exposure before a promotion launched — not scramble after abuse was detected. Marketing could launch new reward mechanics from the operator surface without a new engineering ticket. Players got promotions that rewarded genuine play, not the ability to game a formula.

The point isn't the config panel. It's sustainable promotions that balance player engagement with commercial performance — and don't get gamed six weeks after launch.
Abuse patterns defended
Cashback timing abuse
Deposit, absorb a small loss, withdraw before the reset. Defended by ENL formula excluding wallet balance not sourced from the current-window deposit; rollbacks reversed.
Rakeback rate exploitation
Farming high-RTP games to inflate rakeback. Defended by house-edge ceiling capping the effective rakeback rate regardless of game selection.
Achievement farming
Repeating trivial actions to accumulate XP or Shop Points. Defended by turnover-based conditions that require real wager volume, not action count.
Building a virtual sports roadmap across retail and digital — at Leap Gaming
Product Strategy Retail Virtual Sports Cross-functional Delivery BI/Analytics
Delivery scope: 4+ titles shipped Retail + digital channels Multi-market ~13-month delivery program 3 workstreams
My role Owned the roadmap; aligned game-engine, cashier-interface, and satellite-delivery workstreams. Balanced retail-cabinet constraints against a mobile-first product for low-connectivity markets.
Multi-market Betslip Euroleague Legends · Licensed
Retail players want to build combinations without leaving the game view. Every extra screen loses the bet.
euroleague-legends · match 13
Euroleague Legends betslip with multi-market bet builder
Singles, trebles, doubles, and system bets simultaneously — markets switchable per match without leaving the game.
  • Multi-bet types in one slip
  • Markets switchable per match
  • Officially licensed content
  • Persistent betslip state
Retail Cashier Flow Football Cup — World
The cashier hands the ticket back within seconds. Every screen between market selection and print is a lost bet.
football-cup · matchday
Virtual football tournament: Open/Closed bets and Next Matchup grid
Bet-history split by Open/Closed with a persistent Next Matchup grid — designed for retail terminals.
  • Open/Closed history split
  • Next Matchup always visible
  • Print-optimized layout
  • TV + cashier friendly
Mobile-first Skip Flow Football Streak Champions
In low-connectivity markets, animation is a data-cost tax. Skip-to-Outcome respects that.
streak-champions · live
Football Streak Champions in-play with go-to-outcome control
Skip-to-Outcome is a session-length and data-cost decision, not a nice-to-have.
  • Mobile-first UX
  • Skip animation to result
  • Session-length aware
  • Data-cost-conscious
Problem

Grow from a handful of virtual sports titles into a portfolio spanning retail (TV/cabinet), mobile, and licensed branded content — competing against established virtual sports providers. Decisions were being made without a clear read on which mechanics drove engagement.

Approach

Owned the roadmap end to end: PRDs for a mobile-first basketball title for low-connectivity markets, a retail football league product (big-screen TV plus cashier flow), an officially licensed branded basketball game, and racing-streak upgrades. Ran a ~13-month cross-functional delivery program across game engine, cashier interface, and satellite delivery. Used analytics event tracking to define what "engagement" meant per product before feeding that into UX and bonus specs.

Outcome

Operators went live with a virtual sports portfolio across both retail cabinets and digital channels. The event-tracking layer became the repeatable basis for how the team prioritized the next wave of features — no more product intuition alone.

Different channels aren't different features. They're different products with different constraints.
How I Think

Three principles I apply to every product decision.

Reusable across risk, promotions, platform work — grounded in real product decisions I've shipped.

01

Root problem, not surface request

Stakeholders describe symptoms, not causes. Digging past the ask to what's actually broken — then proposing what they wouldn't have thought to ask for — is where product judgment lives.

Example: when Marketing asked for "more segment fields," the real problem was that segments resolved unpredictably when rules overlapped. We rebuilt segmentation around ranked include/exclude rules so one player always resolves to one segment — deterministic, auditable, safe to configure without Engineering.
02

Force multiplier, not just a tool

A back-office system is judged on how much more its users can do with it — bulk actions, shortcuts, automation of the repetitive — not on whether a new screen exists.

Example: a rakeback config that lets Marketing launch a promotion without an engineering ticket is worth more than a rakeback dashboard for Product. Ship the config surface first; the dashboard is a nice-to-have.
03

Trigger → Condition → Action

A shared operating model for every rule in a risk system. Traders, Risk Ops, Engineering, and Compliance all read a rule the same way: what event fires it, what must be true, what happens next. This lets Risk Ops author and tune rules without Engineering, keeps every rule explainable to auditors, and makes rule regression testing tractable.

Example: a high-velocity deposit rule fires on deposit_event, requires count(deposits, 1h) > 5 AND avg_amount > baseline × 3, and executes raise_alert(severity: high, assign: risk_ops_queue). One vocabulary. Auditable. Testable. Rewritable in production without a deploy.
Toolkit

Where the domain depth sits.

Six areas that keep coming up across my product work — each anchored in a case above or in the current role.

Platform product CRM & Promotions Wallet & FX logic Rule engines Risk scoring & KYC Trading-floor instincts
Experience

Career timeline.

Current
Senior Product Manager — Risk Systems
B2Tech
Product ownership for fraud & risk systems at an omnichannel B2B provider focused on emerging markets — sportsbook, casino, payments, CRM, back office.
2023 – 2026
Product Manager
NuxGame
B2B iGaming platform PM — CRM and affiliate infrastructure, segmentation, GEO/compliance tooling, promotions and gamification specs.
2022 – 2023
Product Manager, Virtual Sportsbook
Leap Gaming
Owned the virtual sports roadmap across retail and digital — PRDs, cross-functional delivery, BI-driven UX decisions.
2021 – 2022
Product Manager, Retail Sportsbook
Playtech Sports
B2B retail sportsbook product, working with operators including OPAP, PaddyPower, and Entain.
2017 – 2021
Data & Trading Analyst
Playtech
KPIs, data warehouses, betting pattern analysis, and risk reporting.
2015 – 2017
Senior Sportsbook Manager
Betologic Cyprus
Sportsbook management and trading oversight.
2013 – 2015
Senior European Sports Trader
OffsideBet
Odds compilation (basketball), in-running trading across football, futsal, tennis, volleyball, ice hockey, and handball — risk management, arbitrage, and bonus abuse identification.
2006 – 2013
European Sports Trader
Sportingbet
Odds compilation, in-running trading across futsal, waterpolo, and basketball.
Contact

If you're building iGaming products where risk, promotions, or player behaviour matter — let's talk.

Also happy to chat about how the balance between player experience, commercial performance, operator efficiency, and risk actually plays out in production — or about anything specific from the cases above.