Sports Betting Focus 2017
SPORTS BETTING ’ S NEW CHALLENGE
What are the challenges that lie ahead for the sports betting industry in 2017 and beyond ? Erik Lögdberg , the chief business development offi cer of Kambi Group , offers his perspective .
The sports betting sector , like many strands of the global gambling market , has undergone considerable change in recent years , with more formats , products and competition from different providers .
This significant expansion has been fuelled by multiple factors , including a broad acknowledgement by sports organisations worldwide that responsible , regulated gambling has a crucial role to play in not only generating interest and funds for their activities , but also in terms of identifying wrongdoers and fraudsters .
However , whilst mobile and in-play betting have offered new dimensions to punters , the appetite for more flexible , relevant and , above , all engaging products , is greater than ever from a demanding pool of potential customers who have more choice at their fingertips than ever before .
Erik Lögdberg , the chief business development officer of Kambi Group , a sportsbook supplier and B2B risk management service provider , is well aware of the challenges which lie ahead for sports-betting companies in 2017 and in the years to come .
“ There has of course been big growth in the whole sports betting industry with lots of companies enjoying success ,” Lögdberg says . “ Growth has historically been achieved by doing the fundamentals . However , partly because of democratisation of sportsbook , this is no longer up to just a few companies that could afford it at the time . Now , you can more or less buy a sportsbook off the shelf and this is enabling more companies to try to attract players in new ways .”
“ I do believe in DFS in that for many players it is a more accessible way to bet on sports rather than the more traditional product and is more attractive to a younger audience ”
New demands According to Lögdberg , one of the greatest challenges facing companies that operate in the sector is the inevitable shift towards catering for a new type of player who has fresh demands and expectations . When and what these demands will be remains to be seen .
“ The end use of product is still similar to what it has always been , but we have seen changes and movement in strategies in many places where sports betting hasn ’ t been before ,” Lögdberg says .
“ Everyone believes it is going to change , but it is just the question of in which direction or directions it is going to go .
“ There is a new type of player coming in the form of the Millennial and they will have a different view of what ‘ good ’ looks like .
They will likely have a shorter attention span , demand transparency and be more social , but we will face more competition from other forms of entertainment to gain their attention .
“ The approach is going to have to shift to customer centricity and this is going to define the whole of the gaming sector moving forward . Previously , we were looking at product aspects such as bet offers , limits ,
live events and paybacks , but I can see that shifting and becoming far more complex and interesting . How to deal with data and packaging to put all this together to create relevance is what ’ s going to be absolutely key .”
Pivoting a business on the whims of an unpredictable market will prove a major obstacle for established operators , Lögdberg acknowledges .
“ The major challenge in this shifting landscape is to protect your existing revenue , while at the same time making yourself prepared and attractive to a new type of player , and with threats coming from left , right and centre , this is challenging ,” Lögdberg adds .
“ The gaming management system and the core sportsbook platform need to be
62 | iGamingBusiness | Issue 105 | July / August 2017