About Itsik Akiva
Itsik Akiva is a poker and online gaming expert based in Boston, Massachusetts. In plain terms: he is the person operators turn to when they want to launch or grow an online poker business and do not want to make expensive mistakes. He has more than 20 years of hands-on experience in this exact world — helping casino owners, entrepreneurs, and gaming companies figure out what works, what to avoid, and how to do it right from day one.
He started his career in Israel, working in marketing and political campaigns — fields where understanding your audience and crafting the right message is everything. He later moved to Boston and joined Everest Gaming, which at the time was one of the biggest online poker companies in Europe. He rose through the ranks to become Director of Acquisition and then Director of Affiliate Marketing at the Betclic-Everest Group — a company that ran some of Europe's most popular poker, casino, and sports betting brands. This gave him a front-row seat to how the world's largest poker platforms attract players, keep them, and grow into new markets.
In 2013, he decided to take everything he had learned and use it to help others. He founded Headway Consulting — one of the only US-based firms that truly understands online poker, casino, sports betting, social gaming, and sweepstakes gaming all at once. Since then, Headway Consulting has guided dozens of operators, land-based casinos, and non-gaming businesses as they entered and grew in the online gaming space across North America, Latin America, Europe, and Asia.
Beyond his consulting work, Itsik teaches gaming executives at the Gaming Operations Academy, speaks at major industry conferences, and writes for leading gaming publications. In 2020, Global Gaming Business Magazine — the industry's most respected trade publication — selected him as one of its "25 People to Watch." He has also been chosen as a judge for the GGB Gaming & Technology Awards, where the very best companies in gaming are recognised.
"The operators who launch with the right white label poker software foundation don't just get online faster — they build businesses that actually last. The technology is the starting point. The strategy is what makes it stick." — Itsik Akiva
The Moments That Shaped His Thinking
What He Learned at Everest Gaming
When Itsik first joined Everest Gaming, online poker was booming — but nobody had fully figured out how to keep players coming back. He spent years watching people choose a platform, try it, and then quietly leave. Not because the games were bad. Because the platform didn't feel safe, didn't run smoothly, or just didn't feel right. That early insight became the backbone of everything he does today. When he sits down to evaluate a white label poker software solution with a new client, his first question is never about the technology. It's always: "Will a player feel comfortable putting real money here?"
Why He Left a Senior Job to Start From Scratch
In 2013, Itsik was a well-paid executive at one of Europe's biggest gaming groups. He had status, stability, and a clear career path. Then he walked away from all of it. Why? Because he kept seeing the same problem: too many operators were building online poker businesses on a weak foundation — not because they were careless, but because nobody was giving them straight, experienced advice. He started Headway Consulting specifically to fix that — one operator at a time.
He Saw the Sweepstakes Opportunity Years Before Everyone Else
Today, sweepstakes gaming is one of the fastest-growing sectors in the US online gaming market. But years before it became trendy, Itsik was already advising clients on it. He spotted the regulatory opportunity early, built a practice around it, and is now recognised as one of the leading experts on sweepstakes gaming strategy in North America. Seeing around corners before the rest of the industry does — that is a pattern in his career.
Areas of Expertise
Itsik has deep, practical experience in six core areas. These are not just topics he knows about — they are things he has done, advised on, and helped operators execute in the real world:
Helping operators choose the right poker platform, evaluate vendors honestly, plan their launch, and grow without hitting costly walls later.
Designing the game mix, fee structures, tournaments, and loyalty systems that keep players coming back to a live poker platform.
Building the affiliate partnerships, agent networks, and marketing programmes that bring in players who are worth keeping for the long term.
Helping operators navigate the legal and licensing landscape — from US state markets to Curaçao, Malta, and Latin America — without expensive detours.
One of North America's go-to experts on how to build and launch a legal sweepstakes gaming model, and how to actually make money from it.
Guiding companies — including traditional land-based casinos and businesses entirely new to gaming — through the process of entering online markets across four continents.
Career Timeline
Education, Certifications & Affiliations
Education
Professional Roles, Certifications & Affiliations
- Founder & Managing Partner — Headway Consulting Services LLC, Boston, MA, USA (his own consulting firm, established 2013)
- Trainer & Course Instructor — Gaming Operations Academy (teaches the Online Gaming Management masterclass to gaming executives worldwide)
- Featured Speaker — Casino Marketing Boot Camp (invited to teach online casino management and marketing strategy)
- Speaker — Totally Gaming Academy at ICE London (the world's largest B2B gaming event, with attendees from 150+ countries)
- Judge — GGB Gaming & Technology Awards 2025 (selected to evaluate the best companies in the global gaming industry)
- Contributor — Gambling Insider and GGB Magazine (writes for the two most widely read gaming trade publications in the world)
Awards & Recognition
Spoken Languages
Itsik works with clients in three languages, which has been a real advantage when building a global consulting practice. Being able to hold a detailed business conversation in someone's first language builds trust quickly — especially when the topic is regulation, licensing, or a multi-million-dollar software decision.
His native Hebrew keeps him connected to Israel's fast-moving tech and gaming ecosystem. English and French allow him to speak directly with operators, regulators, and partners across North America and Europe — without needing a translator in the room when it really counts.
Interests & Hobbies
What Itsik does in his free time is not separate from his work — it feeds directly into how he thinks.
Texas Hold'em Poker
Itsik has played Texas Hold'em recreationally for most of his adult life. He is convinced that anyone advising poker operators needs to understand the game as a player, not just as a business analyst. When he sits down at a table, he is not only playing cards — he is watching how the interface works, noticing what slows the game down, and feeling the emotional effect of a confusing user experience. It is research that happens to look like a card game.
Chess
Itsik has played chess since he was young and still plays today. He draws a direct parallel between chess strategy and running a white label poker software business: you always need to be thinking several moves ahead. Rakeback structures, agent networks, licensing choices — every decision affects others down the line. The operators who think only one step ahead are the ones who get surprised later.
Distance Running
Most mornings in Boston, before his first client call, Itsik goes for a run. He completed his first half-marathon in 2019 and has kept going ever since. Running gives him the same kind of clear, focused thinking that a good poker session does — a quiet space where good ideas tend to show up. Some of his best consulting insights, he says, have arrived somewhere around mile four.
Travel
Having lived and worked in Tel Aviv, across European gaming hubs, and now in Boston, Itsik has built a rare, firsthand understanding of how different markets think about risk, gambling regulation, and player behaviour. When he travels to a new market, it is not for tourism — it is to understand how things actually work on the ground, speak to operators directly, and attend local conferences. That kind of real-world knowledge is hard to get from reading a report.
Published Articles on White Label Poker Software
Itsik Akiva writes every article on the White Label Poker Software blog. Each piece is based on real operational experience — not theory. Below are some of his most-read articles, written for operators, entrepreneurs, and anyone trying to understand how the online poker business actually works.
A step-by-step operator's guide covering licensing, white label poker software selection, payment setup, and go-live strategy.
A commercial comparison of licensing options — costs, timelines, player trust signals, and which jurisdiction suits your online poker gaming model.
An operator-level breakdown of the two dominant acquisition channels for online poker gaming platforms — and how to combine them effectively.
Every fee, revenue share, and hidden charge you need to understand before signing a white label poker software contract.
How rakeback design, VIP tiers, and loyalty mechanics drive lifetime player value in online poker gaming platforms.
The CRM tools, segmentation logic, and communication cadences that maximise LTV across a poker platform's player base.
How modern online poker gaming platforms detect bots, collusion rings, and chip dumping — and what operators must build into their systems from day one.
Work With Itsik Akiva
Whether you are looking at white label poker software for the first time, planning to enter a new market, or just want a straight answer on your current poker operation — Itsik is available for a direct consultation. No sales pitch. Just honest, experienced advice.