iGaming Business magazine Sports Betting Focus 2017 | Page 3

Sports Betting Focus 2017
very agile, because we don’t know exactly
in which direction, or directions, the market
could go. Getting the business models, tech-
stacks and data in order that will allow you
to respond is the key challenge right now.”
Grasping opportunities
Sport is preparing for a big year in 2018
– with the Winter Olympic Games in
Pyeongchang, South Korea, followed by
football’s Fifa World Cup in Russia.
However, Lögdberg is convinced that
traditional and established events now
represent only part of the sports-betting
story as the sector edges closer to the third
decade of the new millennium.
Referring to the example of the rise in
popularity of esports worldwide, Lögdberg
says: “I think sports betting can reach more
demographics that have never really been
wagering on sports. Around the world,
interest in sports is huge, but the interest in
sports betting is only a fraction of this.
“Esports is one example that really can
work for some of the new players. It is
defi nitely a product that can speak to people
who have never seen themselves placing a
sports bet.”
The daily fantasy sports (DFS) market,
which is straddling the regulatory sports
betting line in North America and remains
in a tumultuous state as a result, is another
area in which traditional operators can
fl ourish with the right approach.
Although signifi cant question marks
remain over DFS, Lögdberg does believe
that the appeal of the sector amongst a
younger demographic shows that there is
untapped potential.
“DFS is a tricky one as if the US had real
sports betting, how big would DFS be?
We are yet to see DFS fl y in Europe from a
revenue perspective. Regulation in the US is
something that everyone keeps an eye on, as
this would be a major change for the whole
sports betting industry,” he says.
“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. The younger generation are
not necessarily fans of a team, but more
a player, and they will follow that player
wherever he goes.”
Just as media companies have evolved
their coverage of sports to accommodate a
more tech-savvy and data-hungry audience
in recent years, sports betting providers also
need to refl ect on how they are perceived by
the next generation.
“For Millennials, you are probably looking
at a repackaging of sports betting and it is
likely that new channels will be important
as well.” Lögdberg says.
“With mobile, the player always has your
product in their pocket, but at the same time
you face more competition from various other
forms of entertainment. You really need to
make yourself relevant as a sportsbook.”
Reinvention
Despite the emergence of mobile betting
technology and a clear preference for
many punters to place wagers ‘on the go’,
Lögdberg points out that retail and the
opportunities with omni-channel absolutely
must not be forgotten.
Suggesting that retail still represents around
75% of the global betting market, Lögdberg
adds that there is still a lot to be gained from
the humble betting shop experience.
“It is important to pay attention to retail
as while this market clearly isn’t growing
like online, it is certainly not shrinking
either,” Lögdberg says. “Retail is defi nitely
reinventing itself by becoming more digital,
where players can get the in-play product
experience at a retail venue, and it will
defi nitely have a place in this industry for
a long time to come.”
With that in mind, innovation is key and
it is inevitable that some of the larger sharks
in the sea will swallow up some smaller fi sh.
Lögdberg says that despite advancements
in recent years – in particular the growth of
in-play and mobile betting – the desire to
improve mass-used sports-betting services
remains as acute as ever.
“The market is maturing and becoming
increasingly crowded,” Lögdberg adds.
“Everyone needs to fi nd their place in the
value chain and identify where they can
deliver more value than their competition.
“This will inevitably lead to M&As,
outsourcing and, in some cases, insourcing.
Companies need to use all of these
measures, while at the same time identifying
where they need to be in the value chain.
“Better use of data is going to become
important for all companies in the sports
betting industry over the coming years.
Once we begin to use data properly, we are
going to see the end user experiences being
different for different users and see more
niche propositions.
“But right now, it is a big risk to be one of
the fi rst to go and do this sort of thing as the
traditional product has been working quite
well. It’s about making that transition and
companies need to be able to do both, so I
think it’s time for some companies to start
trying things out.”
Erik Lögdberg is chief business
development offi cer at Kambi.
Erik started working for Unibet
Group plc in 2005, as head of live
betting from an operational as well as
product development perspective.
iGamingBusiness | Issue 105 | July/August 2017 | 63