iGaming Business magazine Sports Betting Focus 2017 | Page 2

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 signifi cant 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 fl exible,
relevant and, above, all engaging products,
is greater than ever from a demanding pool
of potential customers who have more
choice at their fi ngertips than ever before.
Erik Lögdberg, the chief business
development offi cer 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
62 | iGamingBusiness | Issue 105 | July/August 2017
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.”
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 defi ne the whole of the gaming sector
moving forward. Previously, we were looking
at product aspects such as bet offers, limits,
“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.
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