Andreea Năftică, Sportsbook Director at Superbet, has been working in the sports betting industry for almost 9 years, across multiple countries and companies, while always being close to sportsbook and commercial negotiations. Her background in Law and approach to structured thinking, coupled with a genuine passion for sports, have shaped her career path and transformed her into one of the key people in Superbet’s sportsbook organization.
Our conversation with Andreea was heartfelt, going back to her love for sports and support for beloved clubs like Real Madrid and Dinamo Bucharest. At the same time, we discovered her guiding leadership principles and the pride taken by the accomplishments of the people in her team.
Andreea, you hold a master’s in law and started your career in the field of Legal consulting, followed by a shift to the sports betting industry. Now, after 9 years with the industry, can you tell us what attracted you to the universe of sportsbook?
My life was always, somehow, closely connected to sports and even when I was in Law School I wanted to become a Sports lawyer. Nevertheless, life had other plans for me.
After graduation, I came across a job advert on LinkedIn for a "live trader" position and when I read the description it sounded like my dream job - watching sports all day and adjusting probabilities to win. I was already a seasoned sports bettor at that time, due to my passion for sports, so I saw it as a win-win situation. And that's how it all started for me.
I always wanted to do something around sports because nothing connects people more than the world of sports, so having a career in this sense was, and still is, amazing for me. I am grateful for the chance to work in different areas of the business before coming here, as the live trading and localization of content really helped me in adjusting to the role at Superbet. Transitioning from watching sports to building great experiences for bettors inside the Sportsbook team was very exciting, and getting the chance to continue to do this every day is something that keeps me highly motivated.
I am happy to be a part of Superbet’s journey to become the world’s leader in sports betting and gaming.
Superbet is recognized as a hyper-growth business in the global sports betting & gaming industry. After spending more than 4 years with us, what do you think is the key to our success and what makes this organization stand out?
What helps Superbet the most is its people - there are a lot of hardworking colleagues in the company who really want to offer customers the best experience when playing. That commitment and dedication is infectious, and it has helped other teams to improve their rhythm, to support working at the highest standards in a fast-paced environment.
We have an obvious customer obsession, and this is what makes us stand out from the rest. We always prioritize our users in everything we do and that's how we managed to get where we are today. We are recognized as a generous and fair Sportsbook, which I think says a lot about our competitive DNA and the respect we have for our players.
In terms of leadership, how would you define the ways of working in a sportsbook team and what are the core principles that guide you as a leader?
I am a firm believer in open communication and feedback. In my perspective, the key to working as a team is sharing trust and showing commitment. I want everyone in the team to feel confident to share their ideas and perspectives, therefore I encourage a lot of open dialogue and brainstorming.
I want us to work together and have the best version of product in front of our customers. Also, I want each member to feel a part of this process and to acknowledge the work and the added value that each brings to the table.
Share with us a unique lesson, in life and business, learned while being part of Superbet. Something that can make people understand how we connect and lift each other up.
One of the most valuable lessons was that it's better to be the best rather than to be the first to put something out there. As an example, we were late to launch SuperAdvantage in Romania, but we took the time and effort to build around the way we're going to talk to our customers about it, how will we showcase it and, as a result, today people refer to other similar products as SuperAdvantage, which means that we informally trademarked this name in the collective memory of our clients.
By doing great work, together as a team, we managed to bring in a lot of great ideas from different departments. With these ideas implemented, in an organized and efficient manner, we managed to own this feature more than anyone ever could. Even if others had it before us, everybody knows about it due to our efforts, so I loved the teamwork and the passion that went into this project.
It is impressive to witness how we can influence perceptions and how powerful we can become when we put our minds to it.
This is already a trademark question for SuperChats. We know so many people in our company who are passionate about a variety of sports. What is your favorite sport and what makes it so special for you?
I will start by saying that my parents thought I'm going to be a boy up until the day I was born, and my name was supposed to be Vlad. Even so, that didn't prevent my father from raising me in the spirit of sports and cool sneakers, which led me to support Dinamo Bucharest and going to their matches very early on in life. This was just the gateway, and then I moved on to play various sports like tennis, handball, basketball and volleyball, until I started college.
My first "bet" was actually a trade-off with my father in 2005 - I said Liverpool will win the UCL final against Milan. If I won, I would receive 10 Euros, which was huge back then, and if he won then I would need to help him with his paperwork for 2 weeks. At half-time I went to sleep crying as Milan had 3-0. When I woke up in the morning, I saw 10 Euros on my nightstand. The rest is beautiful history.
Therefore, I can confirm that my favorite sport has always been football. Ever since I was a kid I was fascinated by the thrill it brings to communities of fans. I still get goosebumps when there's an important event in a match, such as a late goal, even if I don't support any of the teams playing...that's how emotionally invested I am.
My passion for football is special due to my connection with my father and my childhood memories. Even more, I love this sport because of how it makes me feel, in general, from having fun, to crying, to cheering out loud, to crying happy tears - from chaos to madness, from heaven to hell and back - I get to experience all of these feelings when watching football.