SPORTS BETTING FOCUS IN ASSOCIATION WITH: ALSO SUPPORTED BY:

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1 2016 SPORTS BETTING FOCUS IN ASSOCIATION WITH: ALSO SUPPORTED BY:

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5 Sports Betting Focus 2016 REGULATION REQUIRES INNOVATION Kambi s chief commercial offi cer Ian Freeman on why innovation throughout the value chain is the only way to face modern regulatory challenges. Europe s regulated sports betting markets present operators with something of a paradox. On the one hand, unprecedented consumer demand and new technologies are creating the opportunity of a lifetime for operators across a number of jurisdictions. But at the same time, complex and variable regulation across these jurisdictions has made servicing customers a greater challenge than ever. The move from a dot com to a dot country model in Europe has helped legitimise online betting and gaming, but it has also meant that those firms with outdated tech stacks, dating back to a time when European sports betting was still lacking maturity, will now struggle to succeed in the new market reality. As we have seen over the past couple of years, a classical approach to solving this dilemma has seen a big industry trend towards M&A and consolidation, but is this really the optimal solution? While this process is bound to continue, I would posit that there is another solution for tier one operators in this situation: delivering your sportsbook via a platform which is flexible enough to cope with Europe s regulatory demands and enable rapid scaling in new markets. Delivering on promises Innovation is more than skin deep. For some time now, our sector has bemoaned the lack of real innovation in sportsbook. But it is demonstrably false to argue that there has been no significant innovation across sportsbook over the past couple of years. The error many have made is to equate innovation with front-end product features, such as cash out. Certainly cash out has been a huge success across sportsbook, and operators and providers alike dream of developing a product which could have a similar impact. But innovation throughout the value chain has been creating new opportunities for those who know where to look. For example, integrations which used to take months are now doable in the matter of weeks. This industry is used to big claims, but those with access to the latest and most agile tech stacks are now able to deliver way beyond operators expectations. Regulatory landscape More tier one operators are now looking at this technology as a way of taking on the challenges posed by the new regulatory landscape. It is certainly a cost effective and more scalable approach in newly or currently regulating jurisdictions such as the Netherlands, Bulgaria and the Czech Republic. Previously, multi-jurisdictional operators could waste time and valuable resources looking for solutions with an outdated tech stack in a bid to find a compliant way forward. In the meantime, local competition or more agile competitors raced into a lead which could only be caught via M&A or eyewatering marketing budgets. Therefore any operator which wants to compete across a number of markets simply with a.domain approach should seek to position with a tech stack which is flexible and adaptable. More often than not, the easy way to achieve this is through a proven thirdparty which understands the requirements. Value throughout the chain Now our industry is finally waking up to the notion that innovation can take many forms. It may not be as glamorous as a new front-end feature, but it is important to ask if your platform can rapidly adopt to new market regulations and conditions, i.e. tax, reporting, offering management and so on. Since the fragmentation of the European sportsbook market, only those firms who have made a strategic decision to have a presence in all regulated jurisdictions can hope to be competitive across the board. It is not enough to roll out the same turnkey product in multiple markets. Beyond the compliance issues, users are now demanding a localised, personalised product which speaks directly to them. Getting the boring back-end stuff right also allows for some exciting front-end features, such as the next occurrence instant markets rolled out during the Euros. A major operator, even one which has enjoyed considerable success across a number of markets, will not be afforded a second chance in many of these emergent jurisdictions if the offer isn t tailored. New regulation can no longer be viewed as an inconvenience. Instead, this legislation is opening up new markets and opportunities for those operators which can offer innovative and flexible products. It is an exciting time to be a part of European sports betting, but only if you have the service delivery proposition which can survive the ride. Ian Freeman is chief commercial offi cer of Kambi. Prior to joining Kambi, Ian spent fi ve years in B2B service delivery in the sector, working with many Tier 1 operators across Europe. igamingbusiness Issue 99 July/August

6 Sports Betting Focus 2016 THE STATE OF IN-PLAY BetConstruct CEO Vahe Baloulian surveys the state of in-play betting in 2016 for igaming Business, and asks how it s evolving to meet the expectations and needs of the always-on consumer. I think that, intentionally or not, in-play betting was born to address the desire for incessant and instant gratification something that has become one of the defining attributes of our lives. The challenge for the betting suppliers and operators is to make certain that the data that makes in-play betting possible is precise and quick to arrive, and that the coverage is diversified, consistent and constant. Considering how many links are in this supply chain before the final product arrives on the player s screen, the task seems daunting. And it is. knowledge and ability to manage the risks. Match-fixing is a scourge that requires an enormous effort to eradicate and nearacademic levels of knowledge to recognize and be able to draw your defences to render its effects innocuous. Betting relies on trust. It s that simple. Is in-play betting evolving? Do we know what the current expectations and needs of consumers are when it comes to in-play? Unless someone is working on certain secret market-changing features, the enhancements at the moment are focused on quantity of both matches and markets. Unless someone is working on certain secret market-changing features, the enhancements at the moment are focused on quantity of both matches and markets. Is the quantity of the live events really important? I can sometimes hear suppliers who offer a limited number of events argue that most punters often prefer the most popular sports and therefore the quantity is a hyped-up differentiator. To me, this is akin to arguing that because most people eat staple foods, we should stick to them and forgo everything else that nature has to offer us. However, pure quantity will not translate into a successful offering unless appealing markets are continuously created and the events are not placed there just to fill the space. Everything has to be done with the end-user in mind will the bettor engage with what we offer, is there a 24/7 opportunity to bet on a variety of sports, is the presentation simple enough to be understood? With diversification and sophistication in supply comes the challenge of having the 36 igamingbusiness Issue 99 July/August 2016 Expanding on what turned in-play into such a ubiquitous fixture in the first place, the so-called quick-fire markets like next point in tennis, or what happens next? in football, are becoming ever more popular as punters seek quick bets and quick settlements, contributing to the operator s increase in turnover. The same goes for cash-out still continuing its successful march across the betting sites, bringing along partial cash-out as an extra layer which again gives customers a chance to feel more in control by engaging more often and making decisions they didn t have an opportunity to make until recently. Contributing to in-play betting success is the availability of visual data through streaming, for the companies that can afford it, or animation. These give the bettor an unprecedented chance to be informed, particularly on minor matches where information or pictures are very scarce. Allowing bettors to customize their in-play betting experience as they do for prematch and offering them more opportunities to do that will gain more steam. We continue to discover more ways to learn and analyse our customers behaviour and habits and put that invaluable intelligence to use. As we move along, there are new and innovative markets being offered and our specialists predict that we will see more of these, depending on the level of will to delve into the unexpected. With the development of esports we are coming across a huge demographic. This growing vertical could potentially offer an impressive number of matches and markets. The challenge is for betting suppliers and operators to offer something which appeals to an esports fan who is not interested in traditional sports and betting. Notwithstanding all the noise around esports, it is abundantly clear that no one has perfected this yet. I hope to be called on this, but the major functional innovations in in-play, like cashout, are fairly recent and are not yet fully digested to warrant something similarly innovative and exciting in the near future. This does not mean innovation in in-play is stagnating. There are many new ideas being worked on in our labs and I believe in the R&D departments of our peers. I wish I knew which one will be the next big thing! Vahe Baloulian is CEO of BetConstruct and an awardwinning industry veteran. During his long career in the gaming industry, Vahe has served as Director of Gaming at 888, COO of LVFH and CEO of Red Planet Gaming. He is a frequent guest speaker and judge at leading industry events.

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8 Sports Betting Focus 2016 DAILY FANTASY SPORTS CROSSES THE POND Norayr Yesayan of Fantasy Sports Solutions says Europe provides a huge but largely untapped market for the daily fantasy games that have already taken the US by storm. Daily fantasy sports already extremely popular in North America has crossed the pond and begun its invasion of Europe. In 2012, daily fantasy sports had barely 300,000 active users; three years later, the DFS community had grown into a nine million-strong fan base spending more than $3 billion in player entry fees in The prediction: it can only get better when DFS crosses the Atlantic. The European fantasy sports market is too huge to leave untapped. Major DFS operators are already turning their attention to the European market by passing legal and legislative processes and appealing to the most popular kinds of sports in Europe. Although the legal status of fantasy sports varies in different European countries, it is evident the situation will slowly but undoubtedly improve for DFS. UK the obvious fi rst step Let s take a look at the current situation in the UK. In spite of the fact that fantasy sports in the UK is in the same category as betting and requires a licence from the Gambling Commission, the British market remains very attractive. Why? Because 5% of the population already participates in fantasy sports, predominantly on the official Premier League website on a season-long basis. It is therefore unsurprising that DraftKings started its European expansion in the UK. It began by providing the opportunity for UK fantasy players to play the same fantasy games as US- and Canada-based users, with a wider range of daily games and more prizes. Soon more European sports fans will become aware of the unique concept of daily fantasy and the advantages it presents compared to the season-long fantasy that UK players are accustomed to. Compared to season-long fantasy sports, daily fantasy has a more appealing concept: the player joins a DFS contest where he can pick his fantasy squad and win prizes on the same day. No longer does he need to participate in a season-long tournament during which time he must follow all the season s games, analyse the current state of affairs and make changes to his team, if necessary. In a nutshell, seasonlong fantasy requires a lot more time, patience and involvement on the part of players to get the prizes. On the other hand, daily fantasy provides instant gratification and is similar to betting: a player makes a quick bet while picking his team and sees the results right after the game finishes. With the great popularity enjoyed by soccer, tennis and racing, among other sports, the expansion of fantasy sports via daily fantasy will quickly take over the UK and other European countries with a solid sports fan base Germany, Italy, France, Spain, etc. and fantasy sports operators will be encouraged by the boost in revenues. Opportunities for established operators Which operators can enter this new market niche? Daily fantasy sports appeals to a solid fan base, those who continuously follow sports events and results, and who know all the ins and outs of the world of sports. DFS can give them a new opportunity to compete with each other in an alternative betting concept, allowing them to play within the community, as well as head-to-head by using their knowledge of sports reality and skills in statistics. For this reason, adding a DFS business is a good way for betting operators with an established user base to introduce a new service. Online gaming platforms, casinos and gambling portals can quickly add a new attraction, and by capitalising on their user base, save time (and money, why not?) on promoting the new game to Europeans. That is a good start to expanding to a wider audience and gaining a bigger piece of the fantasy sports pie. European sports fans will soon become aware of the DFS concept and it opens up a huge number of options for gamification, introducing opportunities for applying not only common DFS skills, but also to use new betting options. Combining fantasy sports with traditional betting in a new mixed concept could give betting operators a strong advantage compared with standalone DFS systems. Offer bettors something they are familiar with and they will seamlessly become an integral part of the fantasy sports community. They are fond of wagering, so offering them the opportunity to bet on a fantasy team or single players can be a good choice. DFS, as a new promising new business niche, has already arrived in the European market. Online platforms and new start-ups which react in time and properly assess market demands and expectations have a good-to-great chance to increase their revenue based on the successful experience of US fantasy sports operators. Norayr Yesayan is marketing manager and chief business development offi cer at solutionsforfantasysport.com. He has been involved in the fantasy sports industry for three years, in particular in the development of custom fantasy sports web and mobile applications, and in providing consulting services and solutions regarding fantasy sports projects. 38 igamingbusiness Issue 99 July/August 2016

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11 Sports Betting Focus 2016 A LACK OF INNOVATION IN SPORTS BETTING? Sportradar s Michael Maerz says that without a major external disrupter on the horizon, sportsbooks will need to look closely at their internal processes to come up with new innovations. Taking a look at the evolution of the sports betting industry over the past 20 years, it is absolutely amazing to see the developments that have occurred. Most of us remember a time when placing a bet was only possible in a retail shop or via the phone. And when I say phone, I m not talking about an app, but making a call to a human operator! But the end of the millennium saw the first betting websites spring up, thanks to the internet revolution a technological development which gave rise to a billiondollar industry soon afterwards. The internet revolution has changed our entire life and society. Not only has this external factor had a huge impact on the innovative side of a large range of industries, but it almost forced the key players in those industries to lead with their own innovations. The internet had a massive impact on the sports betting industry. Online betting, live betting and mobile betting all stemmed from this fundamental technological leap, changing and shifting consumer behaviour and inspiring all manner of disruptive ideas. Looking inside for innovation But what if we take a step back from the external factors and try to identify innovations which arose out of internal factors? What are the most recent innovations in this field? Products such as cash-out, in-play betting games and increased number of markets spring to mind. But can these really be considered innovations? The answer is: absolutely. But is there a lack of innovation in the sports betting industry? Yes and no. A truly seismic game changer is hard to identify, but nevertheless on a product level we continuously see new developments and innovations. The term innovation comes from the Latin word innovare, which translates to renew. The sports betting market is increasingly saturated these days, which requires creativity and imagination when creating new products. As there doesn t seem to be a disruptive external factor such as the invention of the smartphone on the horizon right now, it is difficult to see where real innovation will spring from. Anticipating consumer behaviour and needs, thus building a product or a service that makes the customer s life easier, has to be the main driver for innovation. From a company perspective, this also requires better or more effective processes and products, coupled with the answer to the question: What is the punter after these days and is it going to change? To understand customers and develop products matching their needs is a big challenge. Punters appreciate an increasing number of markets and, of course, speed of delivery. Give the punters what they want Innovation in a sportsbook needs to give punters what they want and has to be aligned with consumers general behaviour. In addition, the creation of products needs to consider the aim of being as efficient as possible to offer it to clients quickly, easily and in a price-efficient manner. Innovation doesn t need to be complicated. Sometimes, it is the simplicity that counts. Utilising existing infrastructure and technology, along with efficient in-house data handling and operations, is what enables companies in the sector to develop and roll out innovations. When products are designed, one simple question is very important: How does the fan watch the game? A consumer behaviororiented approach is clearly demonstrated in the latest products, which stimulate punters, are intuitive and also let the punter decide which bets they want to see and take. Why not choose your own price by setting how long your bet lasts for? One minute, three minutes, two minutes and 23 seconds let the punter decide. It s the natural way people think about football so product need to be made to fit the punters instead of asking punters to fit the product. Ron Johnson, CEO of JC Penney, once said: Innovation is this amazing intersection between someone s imagination and the reality in which they live. This quote perfectly captures the reality and opportunity in the sports betting sector. Who would have believed in the 90s what would be possible today? That s what makes the field of innovation so exciting. Performance data tracking will lead to innovation, and augmented reality, virtual reality and voice control also have the potential to do so. Most certainly, technology will change, and there will be better tools, connections and infrastructure. Personalisation, customisation, engagement and user experience are buzzwords these days which will find a material way into the market shortly, of that there is little doubt. Michael Maerz is managing director for betting at Sportradar, where he is responsible for Sportradar s in-play betting products, among other things. He has been in the online gaming industry for 20 years, having started his career in 1996 with Intertops. igamingbusiness Issue 99 July/August

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15 Sports Betting Focus 2016 THE RISE AND SPREAD OF CASH-OUT David O Reilly of Colossus Bets says that while UK sports betting operators have been quick to cash in on cash-out, there s plenty of room for growth in other regions and verticals. The UK gambling sector is very familiar with cash-out, the sports betting feature which enables the player to bank profits on a live bet/ticket before the bet is ultimately resolved. Over the past 18 months, cash-out has spurred a series of product-led marketing campaigns, with operators which provide the feature seeking to differentiate their offering from rivals which are scrambling to incorporate cash-out within their platforms. More recently, the trendsetting firms have embraced partial cash-out, a feature which enables a player to cash-out part of his bet and keep part to play for a corresponding share of the jackpot prize/full dividend. The most obvious benefit of cash-out to the operator is that it generates a second revenue stream from the original bet via the cash-out margin. For example, halfway through a traditional accumulator bet the operator might offer a player 80 for a bet which at that point has a true value of 100. The feature, however, provides a number of other benefits, including: reducing the volatility of the operator s revenue, with players closing positions earlier for smaller but more frequent profits; improving the recycling of player returns, because a bigger number of players are repeatedly banking smaller amounts rather than a small number of players winning bigger amounts; enabling players to avoid the near miss frustration of traditional multi-leg/ accumulator betting; and improving player engagement and stickiness, with players frequently checking their cash-out offers before the match/series is resolved. It could be argued that the Premier League victory of Leicester City in May this year represented the coming of age of cash-out as an essential UK sports betting feature. In the weeks before the League was resolved, there were a number of feel-good PR stories about punters who had backed Leicester for the title at up to 5,000-1 and cashed-out five figure profits. In particular, where the cashout offer was partial, every armchair expert on Twitter had an opinion on how much of the bet the lucky punter should cash-out. The possibility that the punters in question might well have been banking life-changing profits on modest and ultimately losing bets brilliantly demonstrated one of the great product benefits to players. While the UK is a liberalised and mature betting market where the player base is comparatively sophisticated, the same is not necessarily true in other territories. As part of expanding the B2B distribution of Colossus pools it quickly became very clear that in Africa and Asia, and even in many parts of Europe, cash-out as a product feature has not landed, and I expect that in the next three years the feature will invade sports betting globally. Take Africa, for example, where top-tier European football is king, where the players love shooting for big wins from small stakes via multi-leg bets, and where the internet is largely accessed through mobile devices. As a feature which is ideally suited to on the move mobile access and the staple diet for which is multi-leg football betting, cash-out ticks all the boxes. Separate to what I see as the inevitable geographical expansion of cash-out in sports betting, I also believe it is could be applied to other gambling verticals. Slots, casino and particularly lottery have been far more starved of innovation than sports betting and if a player cannot emotionally or economically handle the all or nothing volatility as a sports bet closes in on a big payout, the same is surely true in other forms of gambling. Nowhere is this more In Africa and Asia, and even in many parts of Europe, cash-out as a product feature has not landed. obvious than in lottery, where with five of the six balls drawn from the drum in your typical draw, the equity of any player who is five from five and needs one more number for the jackpot is likely to be in the tens or hundreds of thousands of pounds. There is surely an opportunity for an innovative lottery provider to build a format which makes Deal or No Deal look like small beer. We are at the relatively early stages of the development of cash-out. It has had its Leicester moment in UK sports betting but is almost nowhere to be seen elsewhere or across other gambling verticals. I predict that will rapidly change in the coming months and years. David O Reilly joined Colossus Bets in November 2012 and is responsible for the company s operational and regulatory functions. O Reilly spent the previous decade with Betfair, initially as part of its in-house legal team and later as managing director of Betfair s Gibraltar offi ce. igamingbusiness Issue 99 July/August

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17 Sports Betting Focus 2016 OPENING VIRTUAL DOORS Innovations in virtual sports are opening up opportunities for operators in both existing and emerging markets, argues Kiron Interactive co-ceo Steven Spartinos. Those who run sportsbooks will have little time to count their Euro 2016 profits or losses before the new domestic seasons get underway in Europe s big football leagues. For their colleagues in the online casino industry, hoping to have benefited from the extra traffic with clever cross-sell, the new calendar represents a great chance to retain that business. In the shape of virtual sports, however, both have the ability to engage their existing customers while attracting a whole new generation to their brand at the same time. When the vertical first entered the gambling food chain it did so as a filler product. It was pitched as an additional offering to plug the gaps between scheduled live sports betting events. Ten years on and it is hugely popular in its own right, with different types of gamers in widely different markets engaging via every channel imaginable. And as with sportsbook features such as in-play markets and the newer cash-out facilities, it has continued to evolve. Not only has the quality of the animation and graphics content improved immeasurably, so too has the breadth and depth of that content, encompassing far more than the rather mechanical-looking horseracing that first emerged. But what has really made its mark in recent times has been the move to concurrent events and the new bet types that have come with it. Breathing new life into the format As with sports betting, wagering on virtual football was originally done on the simple win-draw-win markets. The event took a fraction of the time, but gamers were still effectively betting on the result at 90 minutes. Gradually these markets have increased so that bets can now be taken on anything from yellow cards, total goals scored, first team to score and first goal scorer, to a penalty being scored in a game. In fact, the rapid nature of concurrent virtual football allows customers to bet across 25 or more markets across 10 football matches, which all take place in a matter of minutes rather than at 3pm on a Saturday afternoon. We are seeing the vertical being adopted by computer game enthusiasts brought up on fast-action fun on their consoles. That means that within the space of an actual football game you could watch 20 virtual games, or indeed 200 games during the 10 games that take place in the English Premier League each weekend. But, of course, it s not all about football these days, or indeed horses and dogs. Variety of content The product mix at virtual suppliers now includes motor racing and three pointer basketball shootout games. The latter captures the essence of the high-frequency nature of a virtual game, getting to the nub of the sport straight away. There are also regional variations such as archery and table tennis, which are particularly popular in Asian countries, as well as boxing, which has always had universal appeal among sports fans around the globe. All of these games have their own individual markets which run concurrently, allowing the customer to fully immerse themselves in quick-fire entertainment. Some are even spawning new bet types, such as the sequence of events the virtual competitors win their games in tennis or badminton, for instance. In reality, it is the same focus on in-play events which has transformed the sports betting industry from one rooted in antepost wagering to real-time engagement. All things to all men The graphical content is now so good that genuine sports fanatics have been encouraged to have a go. Yet we are also seeing the vertical being adopted by computer game enthusiasts brought up on fast-action fun on their consoles. This is particularly significant in many of the emerging markets in Asia, where traditional scepticism towards random number generator products is being broken down. Elsewhere, virtuals are opening the door to the highly sought-after Millennials, a generation everyone in betting and gaming is keen to entice. The main attraction to these Millennials is the rapid, high-frequency play that they are used to on their consoles. It is the same thing, effectively instant gratification, that attracts them to esports, another innovative and promising product of recent times. That s because virtuals present them with a gaming product with which they are familiar, on devices they use every day. That this generation are discovering these games on a daily basis now means no sports betting or casino operation land-based or online can afford to ignore them, as in the omni-channel age, it s arguably the true omni-channel product. Steven Spartinos is co-ceo of virtual sports specialist Kiron Interactive, which he helped found in Johannesburg in June In the 15 years since, he s helped establish its games with operators on every continent around the world. Prior to virtuals, he worked in banking and fi nancial services. igamingbusiness Issue 99 July/August

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19 Sports Betting Focus 2016 LEARNING TO LOVE THE GRAND NATIONAL Erlang Solutions founder Francesco Cesarini looks at why major sporting events still present huge technical challenges for operators. For anyone running an online sportsbook, the Grand National can be a real nail biter. Not just because of the drama of the race, or the potential for large payouts on long odd outsiders. But because it challenges your IT team s ability to balance service, growth and system stability to the maximum. Taking place on a Saturday afternoon, the Grand National typically results in millions of extra bets from casual gamblers. In addition, there s the usual large peaks of an eventful weekend of football. In fact, it s not unusual for it to be the busiest day of the year and a new zenith in player activity. William Hill for instance processed 400 transactions a second at peak and handled more than 1.5 million bets, and OpenBet reported handling 22 million sports bets across all channels during the day. With the sports betting market enjoying this kind of exponential growth, the question has to be how you can maintain an optimum service without a hitch and unnecessary investments in hardware or infrastructure. Juggling act Planning for this increased demand can be difficult. Your systems only have finite resources. So it s not unusual to juggle capacity between systems to make the necessary assets available. This might mean prioritising bet placement against bet settlement, or turning off less essential features. This type of graceful failure works but there s always a trade-off. Whenever you re forced to turn things off, player experience will be impacted. The hope is that it will be within bearable parameters and not visibly disrupt the customer experience. However, to add insult to injury, the organisers moved the race start time forward an hour to 4.45pm. This meant the peak period of bet placement, just before the race started, coincided with that for settling bets from the afternoon of football. This made things particularly difficult. Juggling capacity between the placement and settlement systems was out of the question. Changing the race time saw both systems at full throttle, with little capacity to spare. It s no wonder Grand National day can be fraught with so many unknown variables, especially when any negative impact on the customer experience can have serious business consequences. With so many options for your customers to choose from and pretty much zero barriers to entry, it s easy for them to jump ship and use a competitor s site, should they become dissatisfied. Removing the compromise The answer to this conundrum can only lie in innovation and the exploration of new technologies that are better suited to the job at hand. Take the open source programming language Erlang, for instance. It s a 25-yearold functional language developed by the Telecom giant Ericsson to handle spikes in phone calls and SMSs. It can support millions of concurrent activities in real-time, making it an excellent tool for building hugely scalable systems without compromising on resilience. Further, its concurrency and built-in fail and recover approach ensures it behaves predictably under a massive load. And because Erlang uses every core in a multi-core machine, you can also increase the yield you get from your existing hardware infrastructure. However, this kind of innovation can only happen if the right cultural mindset exists. All too often new approaches to doing business are blocked by the very people who are in charge of driving it forward. Having worked hard to become proficient in their given field, technical people, in particular, can be opposed to change. Rather than find the best tool for the job, it s a case of finding the best workaround using the tools they ve already got. This typically means more expensive ways of doing things or a less than optimal approach today, in the hope that it suffices for tomorrow. Considering the incredible growth that sports betting is currently enjoying, this approach is a real gamble. Reports suggest the Champions League Final was busier than the Grand National and it s anyone s guess what kind of peaks the Euros will deliver. The truth is that technologies exist to revolutionise your ability to meet the increasing demand for your services. The sector has already adopted a few, including Erlang, Scala and Elixir. These are proven technologies that are less complex to manage and cost you less to run. So with the new football season just around the corner, the question is, how will your IT teams spend their days? Watching events as they unfold on screen, or chasing their tails trying to keep up with demand? Francesco Cesarini founded Erlang Solutions in 1999 after working in Ericsson s Computer Science laboratory. He is also technical director at Erlang, which is a specialist technology consultancy that has worked with some of the biggest companies in the world, including WhatsApp, bet365 and Machine Zone. igamingbusiness Issue 99 July/August

20 䘀唀䰀䰀夀䴀䄀一䄀䜀䔀䐀䜀䄀䴀䤀一䜀匀伀䰀唀吀䤀伀一匀 倀漀眀攀爀攀搀戀礀㨀 ᰠ 圀攀搀攀氀椀瘀攀爀猀甀挀挀攀猀猀 ᴠ 䐀椀渀漀猀匀琀爀愀渀漀洀椀琀椀猀 䄀氀琀攀渀愀爀漀昀昀攀爀猀愀挀漀洀瀀氀攀琀攀昀甀氀氀礀洀愀渀愀最攀搀䜀愀洀椀渀最匀漀氀甀琀椀漀渀 伀甀爀猀瀀攀挀椀愀氀椀琀礀椀猀匀瀀漀爀琀猀䈀攀琀琀椀渀最 䄀氀琀攀渀愀爀瀀爀漀搀甀挀琀漀昀昀攀爀椀渀最昀攀愀琀甀爀攀猀䈀攀琀䤀渀䄀挀琀椀漀渀匀瀀漀爀琀猀戀漀漀欀猀漀昀琀眀愀爀攀眀椀琀栀瀀爀攀洀椀甀洀挀漀渀琀攀渀琀 Ⰰ 㐀砀㜀琀爀愀搀椀渀最 Ⰰ 爀椀猀欀洀愀渀愀最攀洀攀渀琀愀渀搀戀甀猀椀渀攀猀猀猀甀瀀瀀漀爀琀 夀漀甀挀愀渀挀栀漀漀猀攀昀爀漀洀眀椀搀攀爀愀渀最攀漀昀䌀愀猀椀渀漀猀 䈀攀琀䤀渀䄀挀琀椀漀渀匀瀀漀爀琀猀戀漀漀欀猀漀氀甀琀椀漀渀椀猀愀氀猀漀漀昀昀攀爀攀搀愀猀愀昀氀攀砀椀戀氀攀䈀 䈀洀漀搀甀氀攀 闰 アハ ート㔀㘀 㜀㠀㜀㘀 アハ ート ϰ 愀氀琀攀渀愀爀䀀愀氀琀攀渀愀爀 挀漀洀곰眀眀眀 愀氀琀攀爀渀愀爀 挀漀洀

21 Sports Betting Focus 2016 HARNESSING THE DATA EXPLOSION Live data and odds feeds have helped launch an in-play revolution, but how can startups realistically compete and differentiate in an area dominated by behemoths such as Bet365? Adam Conway, head of trading for SIS, investigates for igaming Business. It is without question that there is an insatiable need for more and more data in the gaming industry, as operators of all shapes and sizes look to offer more markets than ever before. The explosion in data is, in part, down to the boom in new online operators who have entered the scene with a bang, forcing larger operators to offer customers additional statistics and informative visualisations in a bid to hold market share. However, this is no one-sided arms race; startups and smaller operators now have a wealth of products and services from third-party suppliers at their disposal, which lower the costs of competition and help to differentiate themselves from the big beasts. One of the key issues for new operators is scaling up quickly without breaking the bank. In the hyper-competitive gaming industry, new operators who focus on building large internal teams rather than marketing efforts can find themselves failing to clear the first hurdle, in what is a very long and arduous race. A way to work around this issue is to outsource pricing to a third party who may have the knowledge and experience in an area or event that a new sportsbook may lack. It s unlikely that new sportsbooks in international regulated markets will have the in-house expertise to adequately price and trade UK and Irish horse racing or UK Greyhound racing, for example. Likewise, UK and Irish operators of all sizes may struggle to price and trade racing from France. That s even before you consider more specialised sports and events popular in the rest of the world, such as volleyball, handball or esports. Being able to offer a myriad of markets on as many sports and events as possible, while remaining cost effective, is vital to the success of new sportsbooks. Another way for smaller operators to differentiate themselves from the big beasts of the industry is to ensure they are taking their data from official data suppliers. With low-latency, which is often 10 to 15 seconds faster than off-tube suppliers, official data is also more accurate and robust, which can lead to better trading returns. Third party suppliers offering have changed dramatically in the past few years and now include much more than the no frills products of the past. Some suppliers harness the power of specialist teams of PhD-level statisticians to develop in-depth software and algorithms, and keep in close contact with bookmakers throughout the development process to make sure the best possible product is created. It s a fantastic time for smaller operators and startups, as fully outsourced pricing solutions on events as varied as UK & Irish horse racing, greyhound racing or Spanish football can be accessed cost effectively. Never before have startups been able to boast a bespoke trading floor from which to offer their rapidly growing customer base, for a significantly lower cost than building their own internal structure. Using this data in innovative ways is critical for startups and smaller operators in differentiating themselves in a crowded marketplace. Often sitting alongside inplay betting markets, many operators are now including player field positioning in football matches to give their customers additional insight into the game they may not be able to view on TV. This level of data was practically unthinkable just a few years ago, however The explosion in data is, in part, down to the boom in new online operators who have entered the scene with a bang, forcing larger operators to offer customers additional statistics and informative visualisations in a bid to hold market share. advances in in-stadium technology and data collection can now track every move of a footballer, enhancing the appeal of in-play betting for punters. Football has naturally led the way in this area, but other sports are on the cusp of making a similar leap in technology that is set to transform the way customers consume data, and could be a real boon to sportsbooks of all shapes and sizes. Adam Conway, head of trading for SIS, leads a dedicated team of live traders delivering comprehensive pricing for sports including UK, Irish and international horse racing, as well as BAGs greyhound racing. Conway has more than 15 years experience in the betting and gaming industry. igamingbusiness Issue 99 July/August

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23 Sports Betting Focus 2016 THE BIG DATA CHALLENGE SBTech s head of product Greg Karaolis argues that the industry needs to better leverage all the data at its fi ngertips in order to offer truly tailored and customised offerings. A hot topic at the last few igaming conferences has been big data. In a nutshell, this is how operators can leverage all the data they collect to improve their operations (mainly pricing) and engage their customers. This comes in three parts: 1. Collecting all the right data, having the right business intelligence (BI) to be able to store as much relevant data as possible; 2. Having the know-how and tools to be able to manipulate this data to improve their operations; 3. Using this data to provide truly bespoke and tailored customer experiences and propositions for all touchpoints through customer modelling and predictive analytics. The first point is a bit trivial and any operator or platform provider worth its salt has good BI. The second, again, is what trading departments should already be doing (and most are) to optimise trading strategies, manage customers effectively and notice when the market is out of kilter. Customer management and profiling should be standard, though I know of many examples of big operators which have restricted genuine customers who got lucky. Here, understanding the big data and the customer profile would give operators the knowledge to distinguish between luck and skill much more easily. There was a period a few years ago when the market was far too short for favourites in the English leagues away from home. Operators that took the time to deeply analyse the data and were brave enough to stand out took the business for the favourites and still made a good margin. There are many examples of this, including the pricing of both teams to score (BTTS) market for a very heavy favourite versus the underdog around whether BTTS should be odds on or not. Challenge or opportunity? The third point, the tailoring and customisation of proposals, is where the industry needs to make bigger strides. In the next few years, those that leverage their big data to provide an engaging and personalised experience will be the ones that stand out. In a crowded space where the last thing operators want to do is compete on price, what will give brands a bigger share of the punters wallet is an engaging, intuitive and bet stimulating proposition. However, creating a personalised interface and CRM strategy where customers are provided with bespoke bet stimulating recommendations and more data has its In the next few years those that leverage their big data to provide an engaging and personalised experience will be the ones that stand out. challenges. If the front end is too gimmicky, or the customer modelling is not robust, bookmakers will find that the experience they give is more confusing than engaging. One approach for overtaking this challenge is to begin our behaviour-driven personalisation by targeting the big macro segments, but giving them consistent messages across all customer touchpoints. Obvious buckets are separate sport VIPs, or inactives, who will get bespoke and coordinated content on web and mobile as well as through push messaging and s. This can be overlaid with extra data picked up from customers themselves, such as their country and city of registration, to target these users further. Gamification mechanics are also being increasingly looked at, where users are rewarded for providing extra information that will allow further segmentation: e.g. favourite sports teams. The final piece of the puzzle is looking at the micro-segments to predict the likely behaviours and paths that new customers will take after a few bets and managing them through this process. This can include: mapping out the journey towards becoming a VIP after only a few bets; identification of likely churners through changing betting activity; and identifying likely up-sell and cross-sell opportunities based on behaviours of similar customers. Obviously, one of the keys to this is to have a platform that is able to interact with players at the opportune moment in their customer lifecycle be that to stop churn, up-sell or stop a potential problem gambler. One thing is clear though the key to success in this endeavour is joining the customer perspective. The data must be used for CRM, personalisation and recommendations so that the customer receives a clear message and a consistent experience through all their interactions with the operator. The challenge is not an easy one, especially when retail and omni-channel is thrown into the mix. But given the fact that, on average, customers share their wallet with four-five different operators, it is one that if embraced and tackled properly will yield big rewards for operators that get it right. Greg Karaolis is the head of product at SBTech. Having spent more than 10 years in online gaming and as an Arsenal season ticket holder, he is passionate about building platform interfaces and experiences that will excite and engage sports fans and punters. igamingbusiness Issue 99 July/August

24 INTELLIGENCE CENTRE The Intelligence Centre provides access to a large online, digital resource containing key pieces of igaming Business s past, present and future material. This resource is designed to provide you with the tools and resources to improve your business performance. ACCESS TO THE INTELLIGENCE CENTRE INCLUDES: All igaming Business research reports available in a digital format. Exclusive content from industry partners including H2 Gambling, PWC, Deloitte, Morgan Stanley and more. Content that covers the entire discipline of igaming Access to full webinar and conference archive Print and digital copies of igaming Business/iGaming Business North America Print and digital copies of European Gaming Lawyer Magazine News analysis an exclusive service designed to exploitthe behind the scenes and facts on industry developments and breaking news. info@igamingbusiness.com or call +44 (0) for more information.

25 Sports Betting Focus 2016 HITTING THE MILLENNIAL SWEET-SPOT Millennials are fast turning into the dominant consumer group, but sportsbook operators and marketers are fi nding it hard to tap into this increasingly key revenue stream. Sabrina Solda, CMO, BtoBet, looks at what sets this demographic apart and suggests ways in which these players can be effectively targeted. Millennials influence is growing and soon they will turn into the dominant consumer group in the gambling industry. The most important thing for this group is the ability to express themselves. Sometimes that means tattoos or podcasts, while other times it means finding a hashtag for themselves and sending hilarious emoticons. It has however become an increasingly difficult challenge for sportsbook operators and marketers to tap into this key revenue stream. Engaging and diverse offerings are are what s needed to help operators and marketers in their pursuit of this growing demographic Millennials want to enjoy action through technology, and the gambling industry certainly has the potential to provide this and therefore attract and retain them. It can make Millennials betting experience a new source of entertainment, fun and also income. Technology has played a crucial role in the advancement of sports betting, and Millennials tend to adapt to it faster than older generations. Betting from phones or tablets has become the norm nowadays, and it is a must for the younger generation. Offering new side bets and exciting games is the way to appeal to this Millennial audience, with unique and seamless experiences. Numerous studies have identified that Millennials prefer playing and betting when an element of skill is required. Land-based shops should also consider diversifying their offer; not just in terms of gambling options, but also creating a comfortable and entertaining atmosphere where they can meet with their peers; for example, digital and interactive zones with Wifi and phone charging facilities that make the environment more attractive and fun for this particular demographic. The betting industry must innovate to find gaming and social environments which appeal to the millennials. But what needs to be done? Here are a few of my own suggestions: Provide the opportunity to wager money ($10) and have some hours of action experience to share with friends; Enable new audiences to earn points and compete against fellow punters; Combine the excitement of sports betting with the interaction of social media to create the ultimate social betting experience; Create a social network for the sports betting community, allowing users to stay connected while betting; Add the best-performing tipsters so that the player can choose the one that best suits their needs, subscribe to him and bet on his tips, also receiving an alert once he has picked new bets. The player s betting account will grow monthly, depending on the tipster s performance; Include DFS (daily fantasy sports), a product that retains the attention of the new growing audience and requires skills and creativity in picking their own team, therefore providing that blend of commitment, challenges and fun that young players like. Operators don t only need the right new products to target the crossover, but also the right software to improve the experience for the new generation of players and bettors It is vital that bookmakers are aware that this new prospective young target likes to feel special, and for this reason they are particularly attracted by personal and personalised offers. Advanced technology and artificial intelligence allows operators to register Millennials, monitor their behaviour and verify their preferences to provide them with the ultimate personalised experience. For this, we have developed an intelligent recommendation engine to personalise the gaming offer according to each individual player s needs and requirements, giving them a truly personalised gaming experience. Millennials were born in a time where technology has enabled them to socialise and connect with friends through the digital realm, with technology playing a fundamental and fully integrated part in their day-to-day lives. They access their entire world through technology; whether it s for work or play. By choosing an omni-channel platform, an operator can offer Generation Y the opportunity to choose what they want and how they want it, which will invariably lead to an increase in customer loyalty. Millennials are tech-savvy, natural-born multi-taskers, and they consider self-expression extremely important, which is why operators need to make venues more relevant to them, giving gamification and social gaming the special attention they deserve. As BtoBet Chief Marketing Offi cer, Sabrina Solda plans and implements BtoBet s inbound marketing strategy to drive awareness and demand in the global market. She has over 15 years of experience working closely with multinational advertising agencies and has enjoyed a successful career as a marketing and communications manager for many companies in the igaming industry. igamingbusiness Issue 99 July/August

26 SPORTS BETTING igaming PLATFORM OMNI-CHANNEL & RETAIL Live Streaming & Cashout 2016 EGR B2B Award Winner: IN-PLAY BETTING SOFTWARE

27 Sports Betting Focus 2016 THE EVOLUTION OF ODDS COMPARISON Nico Jansen of Bet IT Best on how near frictionless single-point-of-access marketplace services similar to those provided by aggregators such as Uber, Hungry House, and JustEat are set to revolutionise mobile sports betting. For those companies that operate within the sports betting supply chain, the word innovation has arguably become an muchoverused part of marketing hyperbole, bandied about from the boardroom to the trading floor. All businesses are striving for the next big thing to appease shareholders and stakeholders in the battle for market share dominance and, of course, profits. Within the furore to become recognized for innovation and secure the accolades and plaudits from our contemporaries, we can sometimes miss the obvious. Consumers want solutions to everyday problems and tasks, at times very simple ones, not necessarily innovation. Today s consumer belongs to the first truly digitally connected, on-demand generation, which is driving the decentralized internet and the growth for disruptive virtual marketplace services within one accessible application platform. This connected generation demands instant gratification via the multitude of discovery and recommendation apps and ondemand services that inhabit their desktop, tablet and, some would suggest, their second brain - the smartphone. For the 20-somethingyear-old sports enthusiast, everything is on-demand and almost immediate. Don t feel like hailing a taxi in the rain in London s West End? No problem. Use the Uber app and it s there in minutes. Need a companion of the opposite sex? Open Tinder! Fancy something to eat? Use Hungry House or Just Eat and your favourite Chinese is ordered. With these digital marketplace services, everything is just a mere tap, pinch and swipe away. Removing the barriers Let s take a look at sports betting. Mobile is a huge marketing and acquisition channel for any sportsbook, but could the process of acquiring this on-demand generation be more frictionless? In the sports betting value chain, players are confronted with anything but a frictionless experience; from discovering new and reputable bookmakers with which to open an account, to comparing odds on their favourite team and placing the bet. However, there are now solutions emerging that aim to provide sports bettors with a near frictionless single-point-of-access marketplace service on mobile, similar to that provided by other marketplace aggregators such as Uber, Hungry House, and JustEat. These mobile applications provide a single wallet across all devices to multiple sportsbook betting partners. At a consumer level, the sports betting customer installs the app and registers his or her account the exact same way as they would when going direct to the individual sportsbook s website, thus fulfilling all necessary regulatory and KYC requirements. Staying within the app, the user can discover who has the best odds, similar to browsing a standard odds comparison service, based on their interests or search criteria for a particular sporting event. However, the single wallet app approach provides a significant advantage. If you have used an odds comparison service, you will know that the user has multiple betting accounts and thereof betting funds to manage in order to secure the best odds on the sports event of interest. But what if Sportsbook X has the best odds, but the user only has a betting balance with other sportsbooks? This presents them with somewhat of a dilemma - do they open a new betting account, transfer funds from existing sportsbook and hope it clears in time, or accept lower odds and bet with the sportsbook where they have a balance? Using the single wallet app approach removes these all-too-common recurring problems of time and money for the bettor, by providing a centralized money management and account interface to bet with their preferred betting brand. Too disruptive? Of course, some sportsbooks may consider this digital wallet service too disruptive, as after all their business model is predicated on ownership of the customer data and wallet within their platform. However, there is one direct benefit which may just appeal to ultra-conservative bookmakers, which is cost savings. At the moment, the igaming space is seeing massive consolidation, with the behemoths merging to deliver cost efficiencies. However, they may, and most probably will, find that their customer databases aren t as unique as they initially thought, containing many shared account holders. The digital wallet approach, therefore, could provide reductions in standard marketing acquisition costs, administrative expenses, transactional processing costs and KYC, as the digital wallet app absorbs this on behalf of sportsbooks joining the service. Will the demand for a digital wallet, single-access-point marketplace aligned to sports betting flourish? For sure it will. The reason is simple; it s the consumer driving the change for a frictionless, instant and on-demand service-led experience. Digital wallets and digital brokerage marketplace services are already working in other high-demand, price- and value-sensitive, commodity-based entertainment industries. It will come to the sports betting industry whether the antagonists like it or not. Nico Jansen is a digital information technologist and entrepreneur, holding degrees from RWTH-Aachen, the Goethe University of Frankfurt and Stanford University. He is the founder and CEO of Bet IT Best in Munich, which specializes in disruptive mobile application solutions for the sports betting vertical. igamingbusiness Issue 99 July/August

28 Sports Betting Focus 2016 THE NEW ERA OF MOBILE GROWTH Mobile is now the dominant channel among sports bettors and continues to grow, even for operators for which it accounts for more than 70% of the business. But is this growth sustainable, and if so, where will this come from? Peter James of OpenBet investigates. For years we speculated on when would be the year of mobile, but with it now firmly established as the dominant channel for sports betting, is there further growth to be had and how do we continue to develop further functionality on the small screen? To take the first part of the question first, the answer is undoubtedly: yes. Over the past two years we have seen growth rates of over 20% for sports betting via mobile and there is no indication of this slowing - even for those operators whose mobile proportions are 70% plus. But what continues to drive this growth? Is it just that we are all using our mobiles more for everything we do? Or is it just the convenience factor of using the device that s already in our hands/pocket? Mobile phones haven t had any particularly game-changing development over the past couple of years - except that screen sizes do continue to increase and perhaps this is improving usability for players and so channel use. Perhaps it is just a reflection of operators focus on the channel as it has become more and more dominant. Everyone aims to be mobile first and omni-channel these days which can only be good for mobile usage where there is the conflicting desires of players to have more betting options and a more immersive experience but on a small screen with a (relatively) slow mobile network. Convenience and ease of use is key to overcoming this conflict, and if that also bleeds through to the desktop experience then all the better for players. Cash-out is just such a feature and now a must-have function. On mobile, ease of access to my bets and cash-out has brought it front-and-centre in the apps designs. And cash-out continues to develop, with features such as partial cash-out and the ability to edit in-play accas. When you have your phone with you at all times, having instant access to your bets and being able to cash-in or edit them at will is a really powerful draw back into the app and further betting. Convenience is also delivered through greater use of coupons and one-touch betting features such as default stakes and top bets being placed by other players. On the iphone, TouchID also improves usability by removing the need for entering your password, but keeping the app secure. Any features that negate the use of the keyboard are highly beneficial. Access to desktop-like features on the mobile have grown, especially as HTML5 has become mainstream and more capable and screen sizes have increased. Live streaming of racing and sports is not only possible, but on the newer, larger and high density screens actually looks pretty good. So where is future growth going to come from? Cross-channel alignment through leveraging mobile use in the retail environment perhaps. Betting shops need to offer competitive in-play options, and enabling mobile access via in-store wi-fi to retail pricing will allow a widening of market options and real-time pricing. Once the player has their phone in their hands, then it also makes sense to build the bet slip on there, with an ability to hand off the bet slip at the till. Queues will be reduced, as will time at the till - improving everyone s experience. Phones will also continue to evolve, but maybe more importantly mobile networks will soon be offering 5G which give speeds of over ten times those of 4G, and with much lower latency so downloads are faster and videos play that much quicker. This can only improve the overall experience of betting on-the-go and imagine what it could do for mobile gaming. However, returning to sports betting, we should continue to see the development of player centric features such as cash-out, but expanded to personalised pricing and market offerings and maybe even Shazamlike personalisation of the app which listens via the microphone and recognises what match you are watching and displays betting opportunities relevant to that event. Finally, I d like to touch on wearables. These are at a very early stage of development and as they develop further we should start to see their uses increase. I can envisage, for example, using your watch to keep an eye on your cash-out values and grab them when the timing is right, or to set an alert on in-play selections that you d like to take at the right price which shows on your wearable for instant placement. In today s omni-channel environment, it is a matter of finding the right usage of a channel to enhance the player s experience, rather than trying to force all functionality onto all channels. Peter James is Director of Product Marketing for OpenBet. Peter has over a decade s experience in the betting and gaming industry covering a wide range of experience from development to sales and, more recently, product management and marketing. 58 igamingbusiness Issue 99 July/August 2016

29 29th November 2016 Gran Hotel Florida, Barcelona Join lottery CEOs at the Lotnext Summit Connecting lottery executives, private operators, policy makers, technology providers, investors, and charities in a private environment where delegates can discuss issues freely, behind closed doors. Keynote session: The lottery industry in 2025: Looking at economics, monopolies and digital transformation Speaker: Yanis Varoufakis, the former Minister of Finance of Greece Visit Summit.Lotnext.com for more information.

30 Sports Betting Focus 2016 Q&A: ARMIN SAGEDER, CEO, BGT BGT chief executive Armin Sageder updates igaming Business on the betting terminal specialist s new tech and ventures in Italy, Russia and Belgium. BGT have been the leader in selfservice betting terminals for a few years now, but at recent trade shows we have seen more fi rms trying to make an impression. How does BGT stay ahead of the pack? We recognised several years ago that the online and mobile space was very competitive working on very tight margins. The predicted decline of retail betting was always overhyped in our opinion - there will always be a cash economy and those who choose to bet in cash have many more motivations than simply price and therefore our vast array of events and markets has proven very popular with betting shop customers. It is no surprise that many others have now chosen to follow suit, this keeps us focused on innovation, development and working more closely with our customers. There s no time for complacency, we have to work even harder, developing more innovative products and features to stay ahead of some impressive competition. New projects in Italy and Russia must be exciting but also challenging. How are these territories proving different and how have you managed to adapt to local regulations and customer habits? As we expand throughout Europe and wherever regulated sports wagering is permitted, the one-size-fits-all approach no longer works. Each time we customise to comply with legislation in a new country, we see it as a major milestone for BGT. Any operator who has completed the AAMS integration knows it is a massive project, but once that has been achieved, it also serves as a big endorsement of our people and our product. If you can comply with Italian regulation, you can handle anything a regulator imposes. Russia has been a large market, just sitting in the background waiting for regulatory certainty before we made our move. Our first partner in Russia has grand If you can comply with Italian regulation, you can handle anything a regulator imposes. ambitions - instead of the typical British betting shop or European sports bar, they have renovated a former shopping centre with two floors and 75 terminals/tablets. Russia is a big opportunity and the future may be restricted to bigger, grander venues rather than vast estates of retail shops. Integrating with the PMU for Ladbrokes Belgium is a major milestone for a B2B supplier. Do you see this as a big driver in horse racing business and a blueprint to work with racing authorities and tote operators in other jurisdictions? The PMU integration is a project I am very proud of. To combine the biggest European pool operator with our largest customer, Ladbrokes (Belgium), within our state-ofthe-art self-service software is one of the finest achievements of our great team. Horse racing is a passion of mine and with the recent launch of the exclusive Racing Post content on our terminals in the UK, we see racing soon becoming a major part of our business. As the public adopt self-service technology in all parts of their lives, the time is ripe for betting on racing to follow suit. Delivering better options for the retail racing customer also supports the local racing industry, supporting levy and tax schemes which underwrite the sport. Betting shops come in all shapes and sizes, as we can see with the Russian project. Do you have any other hardware options coming up to complement your fl agship SSBTs? Operators now realise the added value of SSBTs in shops with the average UK site hosting three terminals, some as many as 12. Unlike gaming machines, there is no legal restriction on the number of betting terminals per shop (as we have essentially created self-service tills), it becomes a matter of available space. To complement our flagship, double touch-screen SSBTs, we now offer a range of compact terminals, from small single-screen tablets up to large, wall-mounted single-screen units. Watch this space for a mobile app designed specifically for retail customers using personal devices. We believe that this product could be the game changer for Dr. Armin Sageder, CEO of BGT, graduated from the Technical University Vienna and the Stern School of Business (NY University). Armin was Senior Vice President Business Development at VA TECH until Following this, Armin co-founded paysafecard.com at Wertkarten AG. He resigned from his executive position in 2005 and established BGT (Best Gaming Technology GmbH). He is a happily married father of three. 60 igamingbusiness Issue 99 July/August 2016