sports betting

A F F I L I AT E R E P O R T
REPORT
SPORTS
BETTING
15
Featuring:
Betting Promotion
INTRALOT
Perhead
Samvo
SBTech
Sporting Solutions
Sportradar
Tailorbet
001_eGR_sports betting_2013_cover.indd 15
03/04/2013 15:34
ILLUMINATING NEW MARKETS
Let Playtech’s proven experience light the way
to success in the regulated markets
www.playtech.com
[email protected]
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SPORTS BETTING REPORT
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Introduction
Outstanding
competition
W
hile sports betting continues to be one of the fastest
growing sectors within the egaming industry, competition
is becoming increasingly fierce as operators strive to keep up
with the latest technological advancements and stand out from
the crowd. Nowhere is this more obvious than in the rise of inplay betting which has seen significant growth in the last few
years. The innovation has served to highlight the importance of
technology, particularly the need to combine a comprehensive
sportsbook offering with an attractive mobile product.
However, competition for sportsbook market share has always
been tough and operators and service providers are adapting
well. Another factor that continues to challenge the industry is the
increase of regulation being enacted across Europe. This move to
dot.country markets looks set to continue beyond this continent
and expand to other regions of the world, meaning operators
must ensure they continue to provide market-leading solutions at
a local level too.
In our eGaming Review Sports Betting Report 2013 you will
find in-depth discussions from industry experts on these issues,
and more, that are driving the future course of the sports betting
industry which has major sporting events, including the Ashes
and the Lions tour, to look forward to in 2013.
3
ISSN 1742-2450
Printed by The Manson Group
© 2013 all rights reserved.
No parts of this publication may be
reproduced or used without the prior
permission from the publisher
003_eGR_sports betting_2013_intro.indd 3
By Andrew Roocroft | Report editor
06/03/2013 16:13
SPORTS BETTING REPORT
Contents
◆ www.e g r m a g a z i n e.co m
06 08
European online
sports betting: the
race for rapid growth
eGaming Review editor
James Bennett examines
the main drivers behind
online sports betting growth
in the last two years
4
11
Riding the
wave
Giving the people what they want
With players wanting the most in customisation
from their bets, eGaming Review speaks to Kevin
Lo, Bruce Elliott and David Silva of Tailorbet to find
out about their peer-to-peer sports betting offering
Yan Tang, of Samvo,
talks to eGaming
Review about what
makes her company
unique in the sports
betting sector
14 17 20
The new B2B
sportsbook landscape
As the regulatory environment
in Europe advances, the gaming
industry faces a number of
challenges. Nikolaos Konstakis
of INTRALOT explains what’sthe
key to driving a local operator’s
interactive and land-based
sportsbook business
What does 2013
hold for bricks and
mortar?
With growing activity
for online sportsbetting
operations, Itai Zak of
SBTech discusses the
land-based sports betting
industry
Ahead of the curve
As the sports betting
industry becomes
increasingly crowded, Travis
Prescott of Perhead talks
to eGaming Review about
the main differentiators a
company should consider in
order to remain competitive
23 28 30
Keeping up with
the times
eGaming Review sits
down with Simon
Trim of Sporting
Solutions to discuss
the company’s growth
strategies
004_eGR_sport betting_2013_contents.indd 4
Resounding success
at ICE 2013
ICE Totally Gaming 2013 was
very successful for Betradar.
There was a great interest
in the products on display
with the new Virtual Gaming
products a real crowd puller.
Erik Lorenz of Sportradar
takes a look at the
company’s latest innovations
and developments
A game of two
halves... and
countless bets
With the possibilities
of live, in-play betting
constantly expanding,
Richard Hogg of Betting
Promotion examines
the opportunities this
presents
06/03/2013 16:44
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10
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1 Review 297x210 Ad.indd 1
19233 iGaming
London | Malta | Sweden
10 YEARS
OF MARKET MAKING
& TRADING
06/03/2013
06/03/2013 11:16
09:34
SPORTS BETTING REPORT
Featuring: eGR
European online sports
betting: the race for
rapid growth
eGaming Review editor James Bennett
examines the main drivers behind online
sports betting growth in the last
two years
Outlining the highlights of the past year and looking
to future potential, the long-serving CEO mentioned the
company’s growth in football, basketball and tennis inplay turnover in the second half of its financial year was
up 59%, driven largely by “product enhancements” and
the operator’s ability to offer a wider range of products
ou know a sector of any type of industry is doing
and markets on the most popular sports and events. He
well when two of its stellar listed companies report added that William Hill Online would extend its tennis
record online revenues and suggest there is plenty more and cricket products in 2013, opening up cricket to ballleft in the tank.
by-ball on every domestic game. He also said his team
Online sportsbook has been the driver with betting
is “working on” adding major US products including
bigger, better and more readily accessible in any format, every game from the NFL (American football) and
and on virtually any channel, than ever before. The
NBA (basketball), while there would be an increase in
number of markets on offer has boomed in the last five
attention on player management, CRM, bonusing and
years with in-play being taken to new heights thanks to tailored customer content.
new trading capabilities, more data and an increasing
In another sign that retail’s appeal, despite being
number of countries opening their doors to regulation
the bedrock of a number of large European sportsbook
in order to capitalise on a phenomenon that has
operators, is fading with customers switching to online
arguably revealed only a glimpse of its future potential.
and/or mobile sports betting, Topping added that
The number of sports on offer in-play at some of the
online sportsbook turnover was higher than Over The
industry’s largest sportsbook operators, for example,
Counter (OTC) numbers, for the first seven weeks
now ranges from 12 to 20.
of trading in 2013. “This doesn’t mean we have weak
The first of those high performers that continues to
retail but that we have two bloody strong businesses”,
reap the benefits of investing in regulated markets and
he joked at the time. Group net revenue for the first
in sportsbook, trading and a good customer experience
seven weeks of this year was up 20%, online net
is Paddy Power, which, thanks in part to its Australian
revenue up 29%, sportsbook net revenue up 75%,
business, has helped contribute to record profits for 2012. and retail net revenue up 13%. A clear indicator that
The previous financial year was the first full year to
not only is online sportsbook booming, but also that
include figures from Sportsbet, the Australian-licensed gambling really is a recession-proof industry.
company it acquired in early 2011, with operating profit
from the region coming in at €30.8m, a 35% increase
Mobile: the key driver
year-on-year.
Mobile, however, has been the principal driver for a
The second of the two top performers, William Hill,
flurry of new customers (Paddys doubled its active
also boasted record online and sportsbook numbers
player numbers in three years) being drawn to and
for the year in annual results presented at the end of
depositing on sportsbook sites and apps across various
February. Its chief executive, Ralph Topping, even went devices, platforms and increasingly on tablets.
as far as to say that there is “a lot more to come” from its
In a survey at the beginning of this year, 48%
online business, which is now valued at £1.5bn.
of eGaming Review’s readers said 2013 would be
Y
6
006_007_eGR_Sports betting_2013_James ed.indd 6
06/03/2013 15:00
SPORTS BETTING REPORT
the year mobile overtakes desktop as the egaming
channel of choice.
This is perhaps not surprising with smartphone
and tablet devices becoming even more diverse and
sophisticated and with an increasing number of
egaming operators and service providers seeing their
respective mobile offerings mature in recent months.
Growth in mobile gaming net revenue was up
700% for William Hill with 700,000 downloads of its
Apple iPhone app in less than a year, 34% of its overall
sportsbook turnover generated by mobile bets and
with a 40% target, plus sportsbook weekly average
stakes of £15m a week realistic targets for the business
as we progress this year.
For Hills’ Irish rival, mobile also continued to
flourish with the channel contributing 32% of group
online revenues for 2012 after a 185% year-on-year
increase to €129m.
The last two years have seen Paddy Power and a host
of other operators unveil a range of new mobile offerings
including Paddy’s iPad-only and more user-immersive
offering, Roller, with a “controllable” roulette spin
action and a two-tap functionality when betting.
A number of commentators, including mobile
marketing specialist Jack Sangster, formerly of
Sporting Index and Centrebet, believe it won’t be
long until we see a bookmaker offering its services
exclusively via mobile.
“Mobile and betting have gone together like peas in a
pod since the likes of [mobile supplier] Mfuse brought
out the early Java-based solution for those archaic
Nokias. But ask yourself how long it will be until we
see a newcomer to the sportsbook world – either side
of the equator – which promotes itself strictly as a
006_007_eGR_Sports betting_2013_James ed.indd 7
mobile-only operation? Or, failing that, a current
sportsbook that rebrands as mobile-only?” he said.
“This newcomer or rebrand will add the word
‘mobile’ to the end of the brand name and the business
model will simply focus on providing a mobile and
tablet betting platform designed to fulfil each and
every mobile punter’s need, supported across every
major mobile operating system.
“KPIs will be geared totally to attracting and riding
the wave of the generation – and the generations behind
them – who are consuming this form of communication
device at levels the technological world has never seen
before,” he explains.
One main challenge to operators, however, is and
could well be for some time to come, the difficulty in
keeping up with the rapid changes in technology and
consumer appetite, as well as being able to sustain
spending levels running into the hundreds of millions
in order to maintain leading positions and precious
market share.
“No one in the sportsbook world has mastered the
perfect mobile betting platform,“ says Sangster.
“I personally don’t think anyone ever will.
Constantly changing technology ensures it will always
be a work in progress, never finished, just continually
improving. For me, simplicity in a mobile betting
offering is still very much the key, but that’s a whole
other topic in itself,” he adds.
One thing is certain, however; the appetite for
betting, be that pre-match or in-play on mobile, is
booming, and with the Cheltenham Festival only a
week away [at the time of writing] with an estimated
£150m expected to be placed every day of the four-day
event, this is only expected to go one way. Up. ◆
7
06/03/2013 15:00
SPORTS BETTING REPORT
Featuring: Tailorbet
David Silva
◆ Chief information
officer
◆ Tailorbet
is the chief
information officer of
Tailorbet. He manages
the testing operations
and information of
data on the Tailorbet
platform.
Giving the people what
they want
With players wanting the most in
customisation from their bets, eGaming
Review speaks to Kevin Lo, Bruce Elliott
and David Silva of Tailorbet to find out
about their peer-to-peer sports betting
offering
W
8
ithout a doubt, the biggest boom to the egaming
sports betting sector in the past few years has been
in-play. With the vast majority of sports betting wagers
being made during sporting events operators are faced with
an abundance of betting activity, but how can they capitalise
on this veritable goldmine, especially as the in-play arena
becomes more crowded? To find out more, eGaming
Review talked to Kevin Lo, Tailorbet’s chief technology
officer, Bruce Elliott, chief mobile officer and David Silva,
chief information officer, to find out more.
eGaming Review (eGR): How has the growth of in-play
revolutionised sports betting products?
Bruce Elliott (BE): The growth of in-play betting has
forced sportsbooks to really understand how bettors
watch and interact with sporting events as well as
making them expand the way users access their
products (such as through mobile). Some sportsbooks
offer their customers great, in-depth live match data
that they can follow along which historically didn’t exist.
Today, users are accustomed to receiving great play-byplay data as the games progress.
Kevin Lo (KL): In-play, with the added attribute of
excitement and entertainment, has definitely made
sports betting a shared, social event. This is huge
because the online social interaction around these
events opens up tremendous opportunities for
operators and advertisers.
eGR: Has in-play affected betting patterns from players
and therefore made this a harder market to control?
BE: I would say that in-play has definitely changed
008_009_eGR_Sports betting_2013_tailorbet.indd 8
betting patterns. Previously, players would
traditionally look for pre-game bets and limit their
gambling to his information, however, now there has
been an increase in activity for bettors on sportsbook
sites. It is a win-win for both parties. Sportsbooks
not only get more activity but players are able to get
additional betting options as they enjoy the match
they are watching in real-time. At Tailorbet, we want
to progress with this trend and give the power of
‘controlling’ the market to the player and allow them to
create their bets in real-time.
We ourselves aren’t looking to control the market
or the player, so we give the player quite a bit of
independence – they can design their own bets and
then share these bets with others.
KL: It is not about control for the operators. It is in fact
about giving the control to the players. At Tailorbet we
are trying to free users from limitations, giving them
the tools needed so that they can enjoy themselves in
various different ways.
eGR: With in-play there is a plethora of different markets
to bet on. How have operators had to adapt and expand
their sports betting products?
BE: This is really where the beauty of Tailorbet lies.
If operators wanted to adapt and expand their betting
products, they could easily integrate our platform
onto their existing website or mobile offering and
to put them in-line with the wants and needs of
their customers. The integration of Tailorbet onto
a sportsbook allows existing operators to have the
ability to keep their traditional offerings along with
adding new and exciting peer-to-peer betting options
which helps the operator to evolve their product in line
with the players.
David Silva (DS): With the growth of in-play, a
number of operators are actively engaging with
their statistical providers in order to capitalise on
the abundance of activity they are experiencing
and expand their offerings as a result. For instance,
several statistical providers are adding equipment at
06/03/2013 16:18
SPORTS BETTING REPORT
the actual games themselves to accumulate data that
may assist a bettor (for instance, how fast a footballer
is playing on average during a game). In summary,
the popularity of in-play has given operators an
opportunity to engage with their statistical providers
and explore what benefits this data can hold – with
the possibility of enabling new products and taking
advantage of betting opportunities. A number of
different sectors– from bettors to service providers –
are benefitting from in-play, which is great to see.
KL: It is important for operators to ‘get out of the way’
from preventing players do what they want to do.
That could mean operators expanding their current
solutions onto different platforms or making their
existing platform flexible to support the data that
is needed.
eGR: With the in-play market becoming increasingly
crowded, what can operators do to stand out?
KL: Users expect more from their smartphones and
tablets, so it is up to sportsbooks to be able to provide
their products on all platforms. Mobile is critical, and
here at Tailorbet we pride ourselves on being able to
offer a full suite of platforms for bettors to be able to
place customised wagers. All of these offerings can
be easily tailored for the look and feel of a specific
sportsbook if taken up by an operator in order for it to
fit seamlessly into their branded offering. A peer-topeer, customisable sportsbook offering is something
that makes us stand out from the pack.
eGR: What can you see the next 12 months holding for
your in-play sports betting product?
BE: Our in-play sports betting product will continue
to grow. I’m confident that we have a solid foundation
allowing users to create and play customised, peer-
008_009_eGR_Sports betting_2013_tailorbet.indd 9
to-peer bets, and we’ll expand on this by reaching out
to some of the newer operating systems out there
(such as Windows 8 and Blackberry 10) and further
developing our existing features. These are exciting
times and here at Tailorbet we plan to make sure
that users can fully engage with in-play in the way
that they want to. Additionally, one feature that we
have planned to bring out is ‘Quick Bets’. These are
pre-made, suggested bets that users can place on the
platform and that other players can then accept in
the instance that they can’t think of an original bet.
For example, say you are watching a basketball game
and Kobe Bryant is playing. He averages 10 points in
the first quarter and the system will automatically
recognise that the game is in the first quarter and that
Kobe has two points. Using both existing and new
actual game data, the system will make a Quick Bet
that Kobe will score 10 points in the first quarter. This
is quickly generated and the player can choose this
to place this bet on the system for someone else to
become a counterparty of (to bet against it). The user
then specifies the odds of it happening in addition to
the wager amount they would like to put on it.
BE: Another feature we are developing is our game
centre. This will be a place for users to check our live
games feed, so they can follow their favourite matches
wherever they are on their mobile devices. Essentially,
with in-play, we believe that the next trend will be
a greater emphasis on the game centre given the
popularity of in-play in general. A live commentary
will give the player more knowledge and power when
making a bet, so they don’t just have scores and stats to
go by. The Tailorbet game centre will combine the best
of both worlds; sportsbooks and media game centres
(for instance, the Sky Sports Football Score app which
provides minute-by-minute commentary). ◆
Bruce Elliott
◆ Chief mobile officer
◆ Tailorbet
Bruce Elliott is the
chief mobile officer
at Tailorbet. Bruce
is responsible
for the mobile
implementation of
Tailorbet’s peer-topeer solutions. Bruce
is also responsible for
the In-Play features
found on the B2C and
B2B offerings.
9
Kevin Lo
◆ Chief technical
officer
◆ Tailorbet
Kevin Lo is the chief
technical officer
of Tailorbet. Kevin
Lo is responsible
for Tailorbet’s B2B
integration as well as
the B2C offering. He is
originally from Taiwan
and is now a California
resident.
06/03/2013 16:18
TURNOVER
UP 275%
PAF’s turnover is up 275% after
Sportsbook re-launch
The Kambi effect
KAMBI SPORTS SOLUTIONS
London - Stockholm - Manila - Malta
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www.kambi.com
8/15/12 3:15
PM
06/03/2013
11:18
SPORTS BETTING REPORT
Featuring: Samvo
Riding the wave
Yan Tang, of Samvo, talks to
eGaming Review about what makes
her company unique in the sports
betting sector
eGR: What sort of customers does Samvo Betbroker
attract?
YT: The principal facet of Samvo Betbroker is that
we strive to get any bet matched, anywhere in the
world. Punters who usually bet large amounts will
understand how difficult it is to get a sizeable bet on,
and account restrictions are unfortunately far too
familiar for many.
However, because this side of our business brokers
bets – rather than actually laying them ourselves –
through our network of connections, we can handle
even the biggest wagers. For example, client A can lay
client B’s bet and we can match orders between our
clients. Therefore, we are able to broker large bets.
Our minimum bet is £1,000, the average position is
over £25,000 and it is not uncommon to see ones of
over £500,000 pass through our hands.
It’s not just high-rollers, professional punters and
betting syndicates that take
advantage of this service. We
also serve bookmakers that
are looking to hedge their
bets with us.
An expert team of brokers
are available to take bets
seven days a week, whether
they are ante-post, on-day
or in live markets. It is a
complete service and one
in which we continue to see
high-growth.
eGaming Review (eGR): There are many facets to
the Samvo business – what are the main areas in
which the company operates?
Yan Tang (YT): Samvo is a global leisure company
licensed by the AGCC and UKGC that houses a
full range of B2B and B2C gaming, betting and
entertainment services.
Samvo.com is an online sportsbook, which also
offers poker and casino games. In 2011, we launched
two Samvo Betting Cafés in London and these
venues in Camden and Hammersmith offer a new
take on the traditional betting shop model. They are
exciting, stylish and sleek with
comfortable furnishings and
the latest technology, and have
become a very popular spot for
watching match or race.
Samvo Betbroker is an
exclusive service for betting
syndicates, professional punters
and bookmakers. We provide
hedging facilities and best prices
across all key sports and markets.
Since 2004, Samvo Betbroker
has grown rapidly to become one
of the biggest licensed betting
brokerages in the world. We
have a niche market with clients
◆ Yan Tang | Samvo
hailing from across the globe and
have offices in most major cities
to serve them.
We have also recently launched a new price
screen and coupon service for football betting, which
caters to the needs of independent bookmakers. It
offers pre-live and in-running prices on a number
of markets for matches worldwide. The service has
already been integrated at the Samvo betting cafés
in London.
Yan Tang
◆ General manager
◆ Samvo
Yan Tang is Samvo’s
general manager
and is a graduate of
the London School
of Economics. She
joined the company
in 2004 working with
the trading, brokerage
and pricing teams.
11
It’s not just high-rollers,
professional punters and
betting syndicates that take
advantage of this service.
An expert team of brokers
are available to take bets
seven days a week. It is a
complete service and one in
which we see high-growth
011_012_eGR_ISportsbetting_2013_samvo.indd 11
eGR: In an increasingly
competitive industry, what
role do you see smaller
operators and independents
playing in the future?
YT: The betting and gaming industry is by its very
nature an extremely competitive one and smaller
chains and independent bookmakers increasingly
need to stand out from the crowd by offering unique
and innovative features.
Our Samvo Betting Cafés were the first to
offer ‘pay out on eight places’ and an early ‘non-
06/03/2013 16:19
sports betting report
Featuring: Samvo
runner no bet’ and promotion on the Cheltenham
Festival, which have gradually been taken on
by other bookmakers. Smaller firms can really
endear themselves to punters by offering special
promotions and bonuses.
We work closely with a number of smaller
operators and independents. Our own B2B price
feed service allows such bookmakers to lay bets
through us under their own brand and with their
own profit margins built in. If they want, they can
allow us to take the liabilities on those bets.
We certainly see this option being popular with
smaller firms as it allows them to compete against
some of the bigger names. That sort of competition
can only be beneficial for the industry as a whole.
eGR: Why does Samvo choose to focus strongly on
football betting?
YT: Football is the world’s most popular betting
sport and one of Samvo’s founding attributes was
our specialisation in handicap betting. We see
Asian handicap betting as having massive potential
to continue its growth outside its traditional home
in the Far East and it’s something that is already
proving popular with punters in the UK and Europe.
With football clubs like Real Madrid, Barcelona
and Manchester United, the public appeal is
immense. These are internationally recognised
brands with a gigantic audience. It makes good
sense to leverage them and the game’s global
superstars like Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and
David Beckham.
12
eGR: The rise of in-play betting has been
phenomenal – what do you attribute its success
down to and what impact has it had on your
operation?
We see it only growing, especially in relation to the
Premier League and La Liga where the most widely
popular clubs are often heavy favourites at prohibitive
prices for many bettors. The Asian handicap model can
offer these bettors better value and we have already
seen a sizeable increase in activity in this field
◆ Yan Tang | Samvo
011_012_eGR_ISportsbetting_2013_samvo.indd 12
YT: The growth in global betting as a whole has
been huge over the past few years and it wasn’t
going to be long before punters were demanding
more and more in-play opportunities.
Fuelled by the growth in mobile, in-play is now
the key driver of sports betting revenues and has
simply become an essential component in an
operator’s offering.
It allows punters who have taken a position
before the start of an event to trade out during the
match and lock in a guaranteed profit, and also
provides betting opportunities around the clock,
which has become a vital part of the industry.
We trade in-play on a range of events, many of
which cannot be found with other operators. Samvo
also simplifies in-play betting; rather than offering
hundreds of smaller markets within games, we
focus our efforts on the main match markets which
ensures high liquidity and tight margins.
Our company is unique for the fact that we have
built all of our software in-house. This allows us to
react quickly and adapt to market changes, we can
also easily extend our product offerings to other
platforms. The betting shop EPOS and coupons
integration is an example and in the near future
we will include mobile and betting APIs that allow
professional clients to trade with us automatically.
eGR: Asian handicap betting is very popular in the
Far East. How do you see it growing in popularity in
the UK and Europe?
YT: There is a common misconception that Asian
handicap betting is complicated, when in fact,
it actually simplifies the wagering process by
eliminating the draw. And because Asian handicap
betting typically operates on low margins, the prices
are extremely competitive.
We see it only growing, especially in relation to
betting on competitions like the Premier League
and La Liga where the most widely popular clubs
are often heavy favourites at prohibitive prices for
many bettors. The Asian handicap model can offer
these bettors better value and we have already seen
a sizeable increase in activity in this field.
Mainstream bookmakers in the UK and Europe
offer Asian handicap betting now and we see this
as a positive, as the more firms that promote this
model of betting, the more mainstream and popular
it will become. And, as we are the experts in this
field, we are best-placed to take advantage. ◆
06/03/2013 10:25
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Untitled-1
1
06/03/2013
11:23
SPORTS BETTING REPORT
Featuring: INTRALOT
Nikolaos
Konstakis
◆ Group head
◆ INTRALOT
Nikolaos Konstakis
is INTRALOT’s group
head of trading.
Nikolaos has been at
INTRALOT since 2001
and has overview of
several global betting
operations.
The new B2B sportsbook
landscape
As the regulatory environment in
Europe advances, the gaming industry
faces a number of challenges. Nikolaos
Konstakis of INTRALOT explains how
establishing strategic partnerships with
technology and service providers is key
to driving a local operator’s interactive
and land-based sportsbook business
W
14
ith the rise and acceleration of regulatory
initiatives, initially at the European level but
expected to further expand in other regions as well,
the gaming industry is faced with exciting challenges.
Operators on one side face the challenge to transform
their global sportsbook to several local sportsbooks. In
order to achieve this, they need to redefine their strategy
and rebuild their organisation from a centrally managed
one, to one that is highly decentralised with the ability of
adaptation to the local operational but also technological
requirements of each new market. Service providers
and their technology counterparts also need to further
enhance the flexibility of the offered solutions and
services to be able to deliver a true B2B service offering,
which goes beyond the simple white-label model towards
providing significant value to the existing brand equity
of established organisations. Local brands, with existing
strong brand equity assets are preparing to acquire
licences, supported by competent service and technology
partners to compete with international gaming operators
on a field with rules guided by local regulations.
Replicating a centralised blueprint in several countries
will work only for some operators and markets.
On the other hand, following a completely
decentralised model brings a solution that skyrockets
costs. Operators and service providers need to combine
central and local teams and technologies and strike a
balance between the two.
The pressure to adopt a decentralised strategy in terms
of operations and technology is even more evident in the
014_015_eGR_Sports betting_2013_INTRALOT.indd 14
case of sportsbook operators, a product vertical that is
at the core of gaming, and in most cases appeals to wider
demographics and generates focused and dedicated
customer bases. Sports betting combines sports
knowledge and statistics in a unique manner, with the
visual experience during the performance of the event
and the ability to place a bet. This creates an exciting
experience and demands that sports betting operators
and technology and service providers are always ahead of
the technology curve to satisfy user demands.
The change affects almost all aspects of the
sportsbook value chain:
The creation of the events
The odds production
The risk management strategy and the trading
process
The visual experience and the player touch points
The most common changes for each new market
include (a) regulatory issues including varying
tax levels, lower payouts compared to the dot.com
environment, different local compliance requirements,
(b) player preference adaptations such as the
popularity of sports other than football, the focus on
the competitions of local interest which demands a
different product/event mix to name a few, (c) the
importance of the retail channel to the brand awareness
(d) managing the country liquidity as a single book as
opposed to cross border operations and (e) establishing
a B2B hub model for technology and service providers
to support independently multiple operations with
different product/operations management profiles.
Addressing these points can be even more
challenging for live betting products due to the
speed and nature of the product which increases the
operational demands, therefore some key strategic
choices need to be made.
Sportsbook is a product of strategic importance:
Automated solutions have become a prevalent costeffective solution to extend a portfolio of offered
markets and events. In the past few years this has
led to a trend of treating sportsbook content as a
commodity, which is resold at a small premium.
Automated solutions result in positive yet static
and rather low margins, which is not suitable for a
06/03/2013 10:29
sports betting reporT
014_015_eGR_Sports betting_2013_INTRALOT.indd 15
Retail 2.0: Even if several countries have recently
opted for deregulating interactive channels only, a
very significant portion of global sportsbook turnover
is still generated ‘offline’, while some dot-countries
also issue retail licences. Physical presence on the
high street can be a longer-term strategy towards
securing significant market share in the countries
allowing for it. Retail channel is a significant
differentiator and can be appealing to several largescale traditional sportsbook operators worldwide.
A successful sales network distribution which will
include flagship stores is a key factor to strengthen
brand equity and achieve cross-selling between
terrestrial sales networks and interactive channels.
Modern technology – such as mobile, tablets, digital
signage, and paperless terminals – introduces
innovation in traditional Points of Sales (such as the
Lottery Retail Networks), giving players an exciting
experience which combines visual entertainment,
self service mobile terminals and information-rich
content delivered in a highly personalised manner,
extending the time spent within the gaming shop.
Technology: The decentralised model proposed
above also needs to be enabled by the technological
infrastructure. It is not only functionality that
matters, but also ensuring high performance,
flexibility and responsiveness towards the end
customer. Operators counting on a long-term
growth strategy associated with several dot.country
operations need to seriously consider adopting
the cloud paradigm for platforms and data centres
to ensure flexibility and responsiveness while
also investing on platforms and solutions that can
ensure long-term adaptability and growth. Solution
attributes like the ability to integrate and scale while
maintaining high security and business continuity
levels become even more important.
It is evident that all stakeholders in the sportsbook
industry face change ahead, which touches almost all
elements of the value chain. Most importantly, one
observes the demand for organisational and business
model changes, but also the emergence of new players
in local markets. Increased competition and marketing
spend will drive differentiation at the product and the
service level, as opposed to a straightforward automated
commoditised solution. Successful local operators
will need to establish efficient strategic partnerships
with technology and service providers that will be able
to demonstrate adaptive technology roadmaps and
decentralised international operational footprints. ◆
Featuring: INTRALOT
book’s core sports and markets, especially in cases
where regulation-mandated payout is relatively
low and performance optimisation is important. It
is evident that operators managing a sportsbook as
a strategic product, investing in its management
and trading with reduced reliance on automated
sportsbook content and trading for core markets will
be in a better position to secure ROI in each different
market they enter. As liquidity shrinks from global
to local, brands that want to invest in sports betting
seriously should focus on adding in-house efficiency
to their offer in order to be established as a marketleading firm and safeguard their margins.
Country Liquidity: Cross-border sportsbook
operators have been able to pool liquidity from several
countries, exploiting local ‘deviations’ in terms of
punters’ preferred markets and behaviours; and
managing risk and liabilities. Under the dot-country
model – which introduces new local differentiators
like tax levels, payout and of course varying local
competition – managing country liquidity becomes
even more important. Local brands with strong equity
will seek partnerships with technology and service
providers that will effectively manage the country
liquidity, but also be able to prove efficiency in multijurisdictional local operations. This will allow access
to a global liquidity facility to exploit local deviations
and compete on equal ground. Technology and service
providers that can effectively deploy multi-layered
(central & local level) solutions pooling liquidity from
distinct local operators and balancing risk among
them, will stand to attract several new businesses.
Enhancing the product mix: Presuming automated
solutions are only used for secondary events and
markets, a global sportsbook aimed at maximising
returns from each local market would need to build
or acquire the expertise needed for managing several
additional sports. There are several very large
markets with high growth potential that require a
betting product that goes beyond the established
sports mix and addresses sports like basketball,
volleyball or other local favourites. While core live
betting markets will always retain their appeal, there
is still a lot of untapped potential for secondary and
fast-settled live betting markets, which can help in
better managing the margin. Another element that
can work toward the same direction is encouraging
more combination betting within live betting through
creative ideas of the product team, such as proposing
ready-made combinations in the live product.
15
06/03/2013 10:29
Untitled-1 1
06/03/2013 11:22
SPORTS BETTING REPORT
Featuring: SBTech
What does 2013 hold for
bricks and mortar?
areas. Established in 1996, Betshop is one such operator
With growing activity for online sports
that dominates much of Europe with an impressive
betting operations, Itai Zak of SBTech
portfolio of more than 1,000 betting shops across Italy,
discusses the land-based sports betting Cyprus, Greece and Romania.
industry
Licensed Nigerian sports operator, Betland, boasts
more than 100 shops and is the leading land-based
ast year saw an increase in demand for more live
operator in its region. Leaders in the regulated Albanian
sports betting opportunities as well as availability
sports betting market, Xhoilloto has more than 500
of these markets in a more mobile-friendly format, with
shops and holds the biggest market share in its area. But
punters preferring to bet while watching the action
while these betting shops are still alive and kicking, they
unfold from the comfort of their home or while out with
are all too aware of the growing trends in the industry
friends. This trend saw many sports betting software
and have shifted their focus to offering their customers
developers rush to incorporate more live betting options
a better quality sports betting experience with a larger
and produce mobile versions of their software to keep
variety of bet types and, of course, the much soughtup with the fast pace of the industry,
after live betting options
not to mention a very busy year for
that today’s punters are
sports in general.
particularly interested in.
But where does that leave landHowever, this is very
based sports betting operators?
much a case of ‘easier
Once the bread and butter of the
said than done’, especially
sports betting industry, shops are
when you take into account
still big business, but they also
that many of these wellrecognise that migration to online
established shops are
and mobile is the industry’s future.
running outdated and
I believe that land-based operators
inefficient systems. Betshop,
are perfectly positioned to expand to
Betland and Xhoilloto were
offer online and mobile products, as
all in the same position
◆ Itai Zak | SBTech
long as they are backed by partners
before their deals with
that are capable of providing quality
SBTech: looking to expand
solutions in regulated jurisdictions and that 2013 will
their current offering to cover live betting and a greater
see a rising number of retail betting brands look to
variety of bet types and options, but not in a position
strengthen their already impressive foothold in their
to focus their resources on software development or
own markets before making the leap into the online and
trading capabilities.
mobile betting sector, thus improving their potential for
In all three cases, SBTech solved their dilemmas with
increased revenues from all three avenues: offline, online
its all-encompassing solution for land-based sports
and mobile.
betting operators, providing them with a more efficient
and updated system, user-friendly betting interfaces and
How much is still land-based?
terminals, a powerful live betting platform offering 8,000
With the progression of the sports betting industry
live events per month (including more than 200 bet
moving at great speed, it’s easy to forget that the landtypes on more than 20 types of sports) but without the
based shops that inspired the industry still exist and that
headache of expensive trading and odds feed costs. This
many of them are still racking up huge business in their
has allowed these land-based sports betting operators to
L
Land-based operators
are perfectly positioned
to expand to offer online
products if they are backed
by partners capable of
providing quality solutions
in regulated jurisdictions
017_018_eGR_ISportsbetting_2013_SBTech.indd 17
Itai Zak
◆ CEO
◆ SBTech
Itai Zak is the CEO
at SBTech. An
egaming veteran, Zak
previously served
as an executive vice
president of egaming
products at Spiral
Solutions and as the
general manager
and executive vice
president of egaming
products at Spin3,
the mobile division of
Microgaming.
17
06/03/2013 16:20
sports betting report
Featuring: SBTech
18
expand further into their regulated jurisdictions, offering
their members the wider variety of betting options
they’ve been waiting for. But there’s more to it than that.
The smart move for land-based operators
Any land-based sports betting operator worth his salt
knows he’s missing out on a fair chunk of revenue by
not having an online presence. Bringing their offering
to the online space allows them to offer their current
customers even more flexibility with the option to bet
from the comfort of their own home. It also allows them
to broaden their reach, appealing to those players that
are perhaps familiar with their brand but are more likely
to bet online than go to the shops.
As attractive as it may be in many cases, betting
shops are unfamiliar with how to make that leap online.
The three land-based operators mentioned above
have a distinct advantage
over their competition in that
SBTech’s next option is that
exact process of helping them
achieve an online presence that
ranks among the top sports
betting operators online today,
thanks to its award-winning
online betting platform and live Itai Zak | SBTech
betting options. These landbased operators benefit from
SBTech’s fully managed online solution, allowing them
to focus on developing their businesses commercially,
and avoiding all the hassle and expense of additional
trading, risk management and odds feed services. One
more important aspect to cover is regulation, which,
among the other business challenges, is arguably the
biggest threat facing land-based operators today. It’s
therefore essential to find a partner with experience
and that has the existing infrastructure in place and
the ability to smoothly comply with any requirements
raised by the regulator.
SBTech powers several successful operations in
regulated jurisdictions around the world, including
in the UK, Malta, Austria, Denmark, Isle of Man,
Georgia, Albania and Nigeria. SBTech’s experience
and proven ability in meeting the strict guidelines of
these markets also serves as an advantage to landbased operators, allowing them the option to penetrate
other territories but also giving them the reassurance
that the solutions provided are not only highly efficient
for them and attractive to their customers, but also
conform to the relevant region’s strict regulatory
017_018_eGR_ISportsbetting_2013_SBTech.indd 18
standards. Having fully managed and comprehensive
support at your fingertips puts these land-based
operators in a great position, but to be at the very
forefront of the sports betting industry, incorporating
a mobile betting platform into your current offering is
a must.
Going mobile
All three of the land-based operators mentioned chose
SBTech; not only because of its expertise in bringing
betting shops up to speed and allowing them to offer
their customers a better sports betting experience, but
also due to their capabilities in the online and mobile
betting media. SBTech’s mobile betting platform gives
these operators the unique opportunity to provide their
customers with a user-friendly sports betting interface
that’s fully compatible with any mobile device, including
iPhones, iPads and Android
devices. The HTML5-based mobile
betting platform features SBTech’s
wide variety of sports events, live
betting options and bet types, as
well as banking and transaction
capabilities, allowing punters to
deposit, bet and withdraw from
within the mobile app itself. This
means land-based operators can
offer their customers the freedom
to bet from wherever they like, bringing their entire
sports betting business straight into the 21st century,
and right ahead of the pack.
To be at the forefront of the
industry, incorporating a
mobile betting platform into
your offering is a must
The final frontier for land-based operators
Land-based sports betting operators are still alive
and kicking and in the perfect position to bring their
offline businesses into both the online and mobile
sectors, thereby extending their reach, growing their
business and landing themselves at the cutting edge
of the industry, which is exactly what their customers
want. SBTech’s partnerships with Betshop, Betland
and Xhoilloto – notably all of which were made in
quick succession of one another – are an indication
of what lies ahead for the sports betting industry with
land-based operators very much aware of developing
trends and keen to eager up. This year looks to be
full of exciting developments – which SBTech is
fully prepared for, with its focus set on continuing to
develop successful partnerships with forward-thinking
businesses by providing them with the fully managed
yet cost-effective solutions they need.◆
06/03/2013 16:20
SAMS03M-0910_Master_Vertical_Ad_V2_210x297_2012Feb_o.pdf 1 2/28/2013 3:47:37 PM
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Untitled-1 1
06/03/2013 11:20
SPORTS BETTING REPORT
Featuring: Perhead
Ahead of the curve
Travis Prescott
◆ General manager
◆ Perhead
20
Travis Prescott has
been with Perhead.
com for 15 years and is
currently the general
manager and senior
sales consultant.
He has been in the
gaming industry for
over 18 years with
heavy focus on the
per head business
model. Being an
expert in all facets of
the business, he is the
driving force behind
Perhead’s global
endeavours.
As the sports betting industry becomes
increasingly crowded, Travis Prescott
of Perhead talks to eGaming Review
about the main differentiators a
company should consider in order
to remain competitive
W
their players satisfied as well as increasing their
turnover. To remain competitive in today’s market
you need to have the ability to offer a complete range of
products to your customers. An abundance of options
should be offered, along with the flexibility to adapt
to any needs an agent may have. In-play wagering has
become very attractive to players because it lowers
risk and keeps interest high in games as they unfold.
ith the rise of mobile playing a main role in
advancing betting solutions and in-play wagering a eGR: In the 16 years you have been operating, what
key characteristic of any successful sports betting operator, have been the most significant changes that you have
adapting and differentiating to the market is key to staying witnessed?
on top of the game. Perhead’s white labeling is a unique
TP: We have seen many changes but I would have
business model that lets you enjoy all the benefits of being
to say that the most significant one has been the
a bookmaker without the high operational costs involved
transition from desktop to mobile wagering. If your
with running your own office and without the need to split
players cannot place wagers on your site with a
your profits with our service. Perhead charges a flat fee per
tablet or a smartphone, you are obsolete. To remain
active player betting per week, and you keep all the business
competitive, you need to offer the latest, fastest, and
revenue. Perhead’s gaming software and turnkey solutions
most convenient ways for players to place their bets.
include online and mobile
wagering, customisable websites,
eGR: What challenges and
comprehensive and user friendly
opportunities lay ahead for the
real-time reporting, sportsbook
company this year?
call centre, free phone number,
TP: The challenges we will face
sharp lines , 24/7 line grading,
in 2013 will be penetrating new
live in-play betting, and realmarkets. But this also translates
time charting among our other
into opportunities. As more and
◆ Travis Prescott | Perhead
services. You have the ability
more bookmakers find out how
to monitor and control every
easy and inexpensive it is to own
aspect of your player’s accounts, including wager deletion
your own sports betting business with Perhead’s white
capability, and line changes.
label solution, the more business owners will turn to
Travis Prescott at Perhead gives his view on the most
our business model.
important characteristics of a competitive sports betting
operator and how his firm is adapting to the technological
eGR: In what ways is the rise in mobile impacting sports
changes in the industry.
betting solutions?
TP: Mobile has made online sports betting more
eGaming Review (eGR): In what ways are white label
accessible to players creating a greater demand,
solutions benefiting from the surge in in-play betting?
therefore pushing us in a direction that means we now
Travis Prescott (TP): In-play betting has become an
employ a large department of in-house programmers
essential product for white label solutions to offer their
to constantly enhance our user interface. There is no
players. By offering in-play on all major and minor
longer any such thing as ‘being done’ with a product. It
sports, it will give the white label the ability to stay
is a constantly evolving area that requires us to be on
competitive with the larger bookmakers by keeping
the cutting-edge in order to stay ahead of the pack.
To remain competitive, you
need to offer the latest and
most convenient ways for
players to place their bets
020_021_eGR_Sports betting_2013_Perhead.indd 20
06/03/2013 16:21
SPORTS BETTING REPORT
Featuring: Perhead
21
Another area of extreme focus for us is in technology. We strive to stay
ahead of everyone else by constantly improving our customers’ experience
and our infrastructure
◆ Travis Prescott | Perhead
eGR: As the sports betting market becomes increasingly
crowded, what should companies consider in terms of
differentiation?
TP: An easy to use interface, accessibility of
information, and more products will make all the
difference. This is critical to the survival of any
current operation. Ensuring you have the full offering
of sports, horse betting, casino, and poker is crucial.
Presenting this to the player in an easy-to-use and
accessible format has never been more important.
eGR: What sets Perhead apart from its competitors?
TP: Perhead’s commitment to our customers is the
main differentiator. A lot of companies like to talk
about how well they treat their customers. We get calls
from customers that are unhappy with other services
every day. It amazes us that some companies feel they
020_021_eGR_Sports betting_2013_Perhead.indd 21
can grow or continue to compete when this is not their
primary focus. Another area of extreme focus for us is
in technology. We strive to stay ahead of everyone else
by constantly improving our customers’ experience
and our infrastructure.
eGR: How do you see sports betting solutions
developing in the near, medium and long-term future?
TP: Mobile is the future and the entire industry will be
shifted in that direction. New products that enhance
the end-user experience will become prominent in
the future. Casino and software providers, as well as
operators, are already scrambling to keep up with this
new and exciting trend. Those that managed to get a
jump on this a few years ago are going to be ahead of
the curve, while those that waited until now, will be
left behind. ◆
06/03/2013 16:22
SPORTS BETTING REPORT
Featuring: Sporting Solutions
Keeping up with the times
Simon Trim
◆ Managing director
◆ Sporting Solutions
Simon Trim first joined
the Sporting Index
Group in 1998 and,
after a succession
of trading roles, was
made trading director
in 2006. He became
managing director of
Sporting Solutions in
October 2011.
22
eGaming Review sits down with Simon
Trim of Sporting Solutions to discuss the
company’s growth strategies
W
ith technological solutions becoming
increasingly sophisticated in the egaming
industry, sports betting businesses are rushing to
implement and release the most up-to-date and stable
products to market. Simon Trim of Sporting Solutions
gives his view on how the sports betting industry will
develop in the future.
To support the extra markets we have available we
have also increased our coverage levels across all
sports, so we are now offering more markets, on
more matches, in more sports, to more partners,
than ever before.
eGR: In terms of your new products, why have you
decided to introduce horse racing? Isn’t it a sport in
decline?
ST: To maximise the profitability of horse racing,
we believe you need market-leading algorithms and
industry knowledge overlaid with trading expertise.
That fits perfectly with the ethos of Sporting
Solutions. However, over the past few years a
eGaming Review (eGR): 2012 was a big year for Sporting
number of operators have considered horse racing as
Solutions. What has happened during the first part of
a sport that can be driven entirely from low quality or
2013?
illiquid price indicators while employing little or no
Simon Trim (ST): It has been a very good 2013 so
trading knowledge. As a result, it
far. We re-branded our
Global Trading Platform
has become increasingly difficult
to “Connect” and launched
for even ‘genuine’ customers to
this at the ICE exhibition.
get a bet on because the sports
Alongside the additional
book they are betting with doesn’t
sports and products Sporting
know what price to lay. Parts of
Solutions supplies, Connect
the industry have fallen into a
also carries the content of
pattern of declining margins and
◆ Simon Trim | Sporting Solutions
other providers, such as SIS,
poor customer service, while
Racing Post and RunningBall,
having no obvious way to offer
for example. This has been very well received. All
the new type of markets today’s customers demand.
our partners get access to the entire suite of Sporting
In contrast, we have added to both the quality and
Solutions content – which covers the whole lifecycle
quantity of our horse racing team over the last year
of a sports event from fixture creation, to pre-match,
or so. As a result, we now supply an end-to-end B2B
in-play, live content, scoreboards and instant resulting
pricing service for horse racing, including an early
– plus they can consume other suppliers’ feeds through
pricing ‘tissue’ service on the previous day, solid
the same single point of integration. We have found
morning prices that operators are comfortable to lay,
that the market is very positive to the idea of aggregated
derivatives and ‘exotics’ – such as betting without
content on a single platform, and trust the fact that
the favourite, insurance betting and distances. Our
Sporting Solutions only works with premium suppliers.
aggregated solution means we supply ‘show’ prices
In addition, we have created a number of new sport
and have a range of content options (from silks to
product offerings by leveraging some of the underlying
analysis) on an unparalleled scale. Far from being
input feeds. For example, we now supply a number
in decline, we are finding it to be a sport that is
of new and innovative markets for horse racing. This
generating a great deal of market interest.
has allowed us to maintain a ‘fresh’ look and feel to
our offering, which is important for our partners to
eGR: What part does retail play in your growth strategy?
produce a market-leading service for their customers.
ST: While the majority of partners we supply
We are now offering more
markets, on more matches,
in more sports, to more
partners, than ever before
022_023_eGR_Sports betting_2013_Sporting solutions.indd 22
06/03/2013 11:06
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18/01/2013 12:08
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06/03/2013 11:20
sports betting reporT
The increasing sophistication of technology is
a feature of any maturing market, and the betting
industry is undergoing this change. The general
underlying state of technology in the industry is
largely sub-standard and this presents real difficulty
when a partner is trying to scale their offering,
especially for in-play. Connect solves a number of
these issues because we are based in the cloud and
offer ‘smart routing’ techniques to ensure partner
systems are not over-loaded. Business continuity
for the partner is secured and the risk of failure is
reduced as a result of these factors. There is rightly
much less tolerance in the market of B2B providers
that cannot ensure a technically robust offering.
Lastly, we believe that over time the power of the
‘community’ will become dominant in the betting
and gaming industry. The concept of consuming a
variety of suppliers’ products and services from a
single aggregated content platform – and giving the
ability for customers of one
product to become suppliers
of another – is well proven by
the likes of eBay and Amazon.
For most firms, achieving the
eGR: How do you see the betting
scale required to compete with
market developing?
operators such as Bet365 is only
ST: Both our existing and
going to come about by being
potential partners tell us two
part of a larger eco-system that
of the things they like about
acts in support of each other.
Connect is its affordability and
This is true even for dominant
value, and these are becoming
firms in single jurisdictions
increasingly important
that are having issues trying to
themes in the market. It is
scale in global terms. It is the
◆ Simon Trim | Sporting Solutions
becoming more expensive and
creation of such a community
time-consuming for all but
that generally solves the market
the largest ‘Tier One’ firms to offer the amount of
inefficiencies attributable to misaligned supply and
content the likes of Bet365 provides. The market
demand and issues caused by illiquidity.
needs a solution whereby they can consume feeddriven solutions at a realistic price point, and
eGR: Coming back to 2013, where will the focus be for
bespoke them according to their individual client
the rest of the year?
bases. Faced with the capital demands of marketing
ST: In a year without a major football tournament,
their brand and needing to invest in their product
we are seeing huge interest in our cricket and rugby
(plus the increasing pressures on margin)
services in particular. The Lions tour and The
operators need a rapid deployment mechanism of
Ashes are the pre-eminent sporting events of the
new products to the market and a demonstrable
summer, and we will offer an unparalleled level
return on their investment. The fact that we supply
of content for these tournaments. Similarly, the
the largest firms in the world – and operators
interest that cycling now generates means that our
across Europe and the ROW – is testament to the
intention to add this to the in-play service for the
speedy, flexible, cost-effective and high-quality
major summer tours, such as the Tour de France,
nature of our aggregated Connect services.
has been very well received. ◆
In a year without a major
football tournament, we are
seeing huge interest in our
cricket and rugby services
in particular. The Lions tour
and The Ashes are the preeminent sporting events of
the summer
022_025_eGR_Sports betting_2013_Sporting solutions.indd 25
Featuring: Sporting Solutions
are predominately online facing, retail is very
important to our strategy going forward. We are
the only B2B provider that gives a quality, realtime, cost effective solution for all sports that a
UK-centric partner requires. Alongside horses,
greyhounds and the core offerings of football and
tennis, we also provide cricket, both codes of rugby,
snooker and darts, for example.
Similarly, in-play betting is getting an increasing
share of the retail sports business, especially
with the advent of shop terminals and the various
successes that the larger ‘Tier One’ firms are having
with cross-selling their online products to their
retail customer base. We have had plenty of interest
from the independent retail sector especially, and we
supply a large number of independent shops through
our relationship with the Bookmakers’ Technology
Consortium. We also have existing deals in place
to drive our content through various terminal
providers, and this has been
beneficial to the growth of our
European and American sports
in the retail environment.
25
06/03/2013 16:23
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Untitled-4
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8QWLWOHG
18/04/2012 11:25
SPORTS BETTING REPORT
Featuring: Sportradar
Resounding success
at ICE 2013
Enhanced virtual betting experience at the shop
ICE Totally Gaming 2013 was very
Betradar’s Virtual Football League (VFL), launched in
successful for Betradar. There was
2012 as an online sports betting solution, has also been
a great interest in the products on
optimised for retail operations in betting shops. The
display, with the new Virtual Gaming
product is available as a terminal or a shop solution and
brings the magic of virtual football to betting shops.
products a real crowd-puller. Erik
The VFL can be enjoyed as a flat screen shop solution
Lorenz of Sportradar takes a look at
with the option of running as a single or dual screen
the company’s latest innovations and
(in full HD resolution). Alternatively, the product is
developments
also available for both single and dual screen terminals
(suitable for touchscreen). The intuitive and userCE Totally Gaming 2013 was a great opportunity
friendly Graphical User Interface (terminal) optimised
for us to showcase some of our cutting edge
for touch screens guarantees a highly authentic and
developments and meet with great people from across
unique betting experience in the betting shop.
the industry. But in those whirlwind few days, we
The VFL takes virtual football betting to a new level
weren’t able to meet everyone, therefore here are a
of retail distribution. The Russian-based bookmaker
number of our exciting products in case you weren’t
Liga Stavok has already successfully rolled out the
able to drop by our stand.
VFL with over 100 retail outlets throughout Russia.
The product has also been
Virtual money turns real
successfully launched in Africa
Soccer, as the number one sport
with client Nairabet. The
in the world, attracts billions of
launch of this retail solution
fans across the globe. Given the
follows the great success of
turnover it generates, bookmakers
the VFL online version on
are constantly looking for ways
planetwin365.com, europeto offer their clients additional
bet.com, interwetten.com and
betting opportunities around-themany more.
◆ Erik Lorenz | Sportradar Group
clock. However, as the number
The VFL’s great success
of available events is limited,
as a 24/7/365 real money
Betradar has developed exclusive virtual gaming
and virtual reality betting solution is largely due to its
products that provide a 24-hour betting experience –
unprecedented match simulation and 3D visualisation.
any time of day.
The match simulation applies the latest artificial
Virtual Gaming has become an important part of
intelligence methods. Unlike other virtual products
every bookmaker’s sports betting offer. Betradar’s
in the market which offer a predefined number of
Virtual Gaming products are the perfect complement
match scenes, each match is unique. The VFL also
to any product portfolio enabling bookmakers to tap
outclasses competitors as it provides a league of 16
into new revenue streams that require no additional
teams which play a match schedule in a similar way
resources.
to a real league. This guarantees a highly authentic
Following the launch of the Virtual Football League
betting and entertainment experience for the punter
(VFL) and SoccerClub, Betradar’s offers now include
while simultaneously driving a bookmaker’s revenues.
entertaining and innovative gaming solutions with
The product delivers a wide range of fixed odds on the
plenty more to come.
outcome of each single match. Furthermore, extensive
I
Erik Lorenz
◆ MD sales
◆ Sportradar Group
Erik Lorenz, managing
director of sales,
joined the Sportradar
Group in October
2008 from the
German Bundesliga.
He is responsible for
the operational and
strategic sales and
marketing activities
for Sportradar’s core
brands Betradar and
Scoreradar.
27
Betradar’s Virtual Gaming
products are the perfect
complement to any
product portfolio
027_028_eGR_ISportsbetting_2013_Sportstradar.indd 27
06/03/2013 16:24
sports betting report
Featuring: Sportradar
28
pre-match and post-match statistics including line-ups
and players’ skills) allow the user to gain information
and analyse their bets.
Since its launch, the VFL has already shown that it
is a great success story. The unique league concept and
video animation differentiate the game clearly from
other virtual offers in the market. Now we are looking
forward to the launch of Virtual Horse Classics and
SoccerClub with several clients in the near future. We
will further expand our Virtual Gaming offering and
already have exciting plans for future products.
Real money pool betting experience
The focus is not only on bookmakers; gaming
platforms and casino operators are always in search
of solutions that offer their clients new and innovative
gaming experiences. Therefore, virtual football
products are increasingly becoming a key item in, not
only the bookmakers’ offer, but online platforms and
casino operators alike; irrespective of the sector. Yet
another innovative product, Betradar’s SoccerClub
appeals to multiple target groups and combines the
core features of a classic football manager game
with the impulsive nature and mechanics of a casino
product. Therefore, SoccerClub can bridge the gap
between virtual sports betting and the requirements of
an entertaining casino game.
SoccerClub is a unique, fast and fun game concept
where users are in charge of both their own teams and
their overall experience. In this concept, all teams
start with the same overall strength, spread randomly
across the different virtual players – it is up to the
user how to make the most of each team. Users can
personalise team tactics in detail and then compete in
competitions, deciding in each case on the stake they
wish to put into the Cup pool.
A series of fixed-cup types are always offered in
knock-out mode. In a similar way to online poker
tables, gamblers can participate in as many cups as
they wish, simultaneously. In each case, the realmoney pool pot will be given to the winner of each
respective competition. Once a cup has been joined,
users will be able to enjoy each competition by either
watching every individual 3D match video or skipping
directly to the results and check match reports for
detailed analysis.
The uniqueness of this concept resides in how it
lets end-users control their experience on-demand
without ever losing sight of the gambling mechanics
that are a part of the game. SoccerClub’s USP lays in
its 3D match simulation technology combined with
027_028_eGR_ISportsbetting_2013_Sportstradar.indd 28
its advanced pool betting integration. Revenues are
guaranteed without any exposure for the provider
since all cup-stakes will be deposited directly by the
end-user at the moment they join a Cup.
Gamification of live betting
One big challenge of the near future for bookmakers
is to take the next step in the gamification of their live
betting offers. Game concepts which engage users to
place even more bets, such as Betradar’s new Soccer
Roulette, enable bookmakers to offer a new live betting
experience in an innovative and playful way while
also serving to address new target groups such as
online casino players. Designed to provide bettors with
over 40 opportunities to bet, on key match incidents
throughout each match, Soccer Roulette will keep
players enthralled from kick-off to full time.
Casino bettors will immediately be comfortable
with the authentic design and feel of Soccer Roulette,
while sportsbook bettors will enjoy the fast pace
and impulsive nature of roulette. This is why the
gamification of live betting can bridge the gap between
sportsbook and casino in order to generate a lucrative
new revenue stream.
Many further products in the pipeline
Betradar presented visitors at ICE with a number of
other new products that will be launched soon. The
Virtual Horse Classics (VHC) product is designed
according to Betradar’s market intelligence and
experience in virtual sports and continues to extend
our Virtual Gaming product portfolio. Like VFL, VHC
combines artificial intelligence, 3D animations and a
unique betting experience in a highly authentic and
entertaining way and is a revenue-driving virtual
betting solution.
Integration is as easy as for the VFL using existing
Betradar feeds and infrastructure.
Furthermore, Tennis Mini Games such as Tennis
Roulette and Reels of Fortune attracted considerable
attention. Tennis Roulette offers live tennis betting
through a roulette table user interface and gives bettors
the opportunity to think strategically about which
match incident they think will happen next. Reels of
Fortune offers a slot-like visualisation for the next
three upcoming events. Punters can select their choice
and all three predictions must be correct for payout.
The hosted front-end solutions can be easily
integrated in existing or new websites and offers
real money betting including around-the-clock data
management with non-stop tennis live action. ◆
06/03/2013 16:24
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Untitled-1 1
[email protected]
www.sbtech.com
06/03/2013 11:21
SPORTS BETTING REPORT
Featuring: Betting promotion
Richard Hogg
30
◆ CMO
◆ Betting Promotion
Richard Hogg has
been involved in
online gaming since
1999. In a career that
has spanned across
three decades and
three continents, he
has overseen the
induction of many
brands and products
into various market
places. He is now CMO
for Betting Promotion,
leading market
makers in the betting
industry.
A game of two halves...
and countless bets
With the possibilities of live, in-play
betting constantly expanding, Richard
Hogg of Betting Promotion examines
the opportunities this presents
Every sport has its own unique opportunities for
instant gratification betting, and what better thing to do
with that computer sitting in your pocket?
This type of betting will also have its own unique
selling points with increased margins being the main
one. You can bet to over 120% on markets like these and
ive betting is the fastest growing segment in sports they won’t be shown on the odds comparison sites.
gambling. Some reports suggest 70% of all sports
With the popularity of this type of betting growing,
bets in Asia are live bets. Coupled with the fact that
developing a system which enables bookmakers to
mobile betting is also taking a considerable position
add this new set of instant-gratification markets into
in the market, this phenomenon is about to get much
their portfolio is going to be something we are likely
bigger. In large part this is due to the pervasiveness
to see more of in the future. It may be a client-facing
of mobile devices, coupled with
application built and optimised
some innovative approaches from
for smartphones, with nativecontent providers. At Betting
app capabilities delivered in
Promotion we understand our
a web application format. In
clients (B2C sports betting
plain English, that means a
operators) need new and more
punter doesn’t need to download
innovative betting opportunities
anything – they just go to their
for their customers, so we are
favourite bookmaker’s website
happy to work with businesses
from their mobile phone, and they
who wish to deliver this kind of
get an iPhone-like experience
◆ Richard Hogg | CMO
service and we have developed
without any download or
additional products to satisfy these
installation. That is one of the
needs.
reasons why the industry has seen an exponential
Today’s live sports betting focuses on the outcome
investment into mobile products of late, to the point
of the game itself. You can bet 1x2, the spread, and the
where it is expected of the ‘household’ brands of
over/under, and watch as the odds for each change as
egaming.
the game continues to progress. These markets open
Any user interface should therefore be optimised to
– and close – while the game is going on, hundreds of
ensure punters are automatically presented with newly
times in each match. For European football, punters
opened markets, in real-time, as they open and when
can now bet on which team will score the next goal,
the odds change. Bets should be settled within seconds,
or which team will get the next corner kick, offside,
so the punter’s winnings can be recycled and used again
booking or shot on target. However, you don’t cash in
immediately.
your chips until the end of the event, when the clock
Betting Promotion is one such company taking
has stopped and the game is over.
advantage of these new markets. With the mobile
Live sports betting can be progressed to include
revolution and innovations like this, punters can place
in-game bets – also known as ‘instant gratification
wagers while sitting on their sofa at home, from their
betting’. For instance, in the Open Championship, will
favourite pub, or right inside the stadium. Watching
Tiger hit the fairway with his driver off the 15th tee?
sporting events will never be the same. Turn on your
Will Luke Donald get up and down from the bunker?
TV, sit back in your recliner, pull out your mobile device,
Will Sergio Garcia birdie, par or bogey the 16th?
and welcome in the new face of live sports betting. ◆
L
030_eGR_Sports betting_2013_Betting promotion.indd 30
Bets should be settled
within seconds, so the
punter’s winnings can be
recycled and used again
immediately
06/03/2013 16:29
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06/03/2013 11:17