Bjørne Valen

About

Senior iGaming Marketing & Growth Manager | Acquisition, Player Journey Optimisation & Commercial Strategy

I'm a senior iGaming marketing and growth professional with over 12 years of experience across acquisition, affiliates, CRM, lifecycle, retention, VIP and player-facing roles, working with both fiat and crypto casino brands. My focus is the entire player journey, from how a brand is positioned and represented before the first click, through registration, deposit, gameplay, cashout and return visits. I believe the player experience should feel like a connected story, with a reason to keep going, a clear sense of progression and rewards that feel meaningful. Not just a collection of campaigns, bonuses and features sitting next to each other. A core part of my work is identifying what's underperforming, understanding why, and determining what needs to change to improve conversion, retention and commercial performance. My experience includes: - Acquisition performance, affiliate tracking and attribution - Registration-to-FTD conversion, onboarding and activation - CRM, lifecycle strategy, segmentation, retention and reactivation - Rewards, progression, gamification and player proposition - Product UX and player-facing issues affecting conversion and retention - Commercial positioning, offers, player messaging and terms and conditions - Launch readiness and cross-functional coordination across Marketing, CRM, Product and Operations Some of the biggest commercial problems sit between departments. My strength is connecting these different areas, understanding how they affect each other and turning that understanding into practical improvements for both the player and the business.

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1. Marketing Manager (Consultant)

   MINT.io

   Jul 2026 – Present

   Remote

   Marketing remit spanning CRM, lifecycle, acquisition, positioning and product readiness, with a focus on the end-to-end player journey. • Own CRM/lifecycle strategy from registration through FTD, retention and reactivation • Lead Customer.io lifecycle execution and the new welcome journey • Defined “Play for More”, the tagline behind the wider marketing strategy • Drive product readiness across UX, tracking and player messaging • Improve acquisition infrastructure across affiliates, tracking and attribution • Identify and fix gaps across marketing, CRM, acquisition and product • Shape rewards and progression strategy across XP and the $MNTD token • Reworked T&Cs for a crypto gambling audience

2. Senior Affiliate Manager (Acquisition & Commercial Performance)

   1Up Partners

   Jan 2025 – Jan 2026

   Remote

   Worked across acquisition, partnerships and commercial performance for crypto and fiat casino/sportsbook brands, focusing on profitable growth, funnel performance and cross-team coordination. • Structured CPA, Rev Share and hybrid deals around CAC, traffic quality, LTV and payback • Diagnosed registration, onboarding and payment friction and pushed product/platform fixes • Built reporting visibility and led weekly acquisition reviews • Supported affiliate platform selection and migration

3. Senior Affiliate Manager (Commercial Support & Operations)

   Yolo Group

   Jan 2025 – Jan 2025

   Remote

   Supported affiliate and commercial operations across Sportsbet.io and Bitcasino during a transition period. • Improved reporting and deal tracking to support clearer decision-making • Reviewed competitor offers and affiliate listings to strengthen positioning • Helped align USPs, offers and partner-facing messaging • Covered operational gaps between acquisition and internal teams

4. Acquisition Manager

   Empire.io (JV with Yolo Group)

   Jan 2023 – Jan 2025

   Remote

   Took full ownership of acquisition in a lean crypto casino startup, managing key channels and commercial performance. • Managed affiliates, SEO, PPC, media buying and streamer partnerships • Consistently achieved 20+ FTDs per day as a one-person acquisition setup • Redesigned the welcome offer after market and player journey research • Grew the Telegram community to over 6,000 members

5. Head of Content & Marketing

   Exactplay

   Jan 2021 – Jan 2023

   Remote

   Led content and marketing operations for affiliate websites, with a focus on scalable execution and commercial relevance. • Built and managed a remote LATAM content team • Oversaw content strategy and production across several affiliate sites • Acted as Product Owner for SlotGangsters, connecting user needs with content and UX priorities • Contributed market insights to support LATAM expansion

6. CRM Coordinator

   Gaming Innovation Group

   Jan 2019 – Jan 2020

   Malta

   Worked on CRM campaigns and onboarding workflows for B2C casino brands, supporting activation, retention and reactivation. • Created targeted email and SMS campaigns and built onboarding workflows • Monitored engagement and improved targeting, content and execution • Coordinated CRM campaigns and onboarding workflows across 5 B2C casino brands

7. CRM Specialist / Operational Officer

   Lucky Dino Gaming Ltd

   Jan 2015 – Jan 2019

8. Player Support

   Betsson Group

   Jan 2014 – Jan 2015

No education added yet.

1. The Fundamentals of Digital Marketing

   Google Digital Garage

   Issued Jan 2021

• Marketing & Growth Strategy
• CRM & Lifecycle
• Acquisition Strategy
• Retention & Reactivation
• Conversion & Funnel Optimisation
• Product & Market Readiness
• Rewards & Progression
• Brand & Offer Positioning
• Tracking & Attribution
• Commercial Performance
• Cross-Functional Leadership
• Customer.io
• Affilka
• Kibana
• Gamblitude
• MINT CMS
• Yolo in-house platform
• Google Analytics
• Excel / Google Sheets
• ReferOn
• CellXpert
• Partners.io
• Linear
• Jira / Confluence
• Slack