F E A T U R E TA L K I N G P O I N T S
“MAKING A HUGE IMPACT: BETFAIR’S SEVEN-FIGURE CASINO AD CAMPAIGN HIT SCREENS LATE LAST YEAR”
Betfair declined to comment when asked about the deal, but it looks like a major sign Corcoran wants the operator to be a global player.
EXCHANGE YOUR PLANS
Whether in New Jersey, Italy or the UK, it is the exchange offering that remains the ?rm’s core differentiator, and there are no plans to change that. However, changes are being made in other verticals including in ?xed-odds sports, where the acquisition of Blue Square assets for £5m is beginning to pay dividends with the new customer acquisition rate rising 60% in the UK and Ireland for the month of May. “It says something about the established capability at Betfair that we could switch on new customers here without really changing the cost base,” Corcoran says. The integration of the Blue Square player base comes almost immediately after Betfair’s ?xed-odds sportsbook was released to the UK market, and it is still regarded by Corcoran as complementary to the core exchange offering rather than cannibalistic. Some 24% of UK football customers use both, while the CEO hopes innovations such as cashout multiples ensure players are drawn to Betfair for more than just the exchange. “We’re getting to a place where we’re starting to reengage with consumers about unique reasons why they should come and engage with Betfair,” Corcoran says. “At this stage we’re focused more and more on giving people reasons not to leave us, and we hope to start rolling out new stuff to give new people reasons to come to Betfair,” he adds. “The cash out now feature is one of those – cash out multiples is unique, I believe, and some of the mobile stuff is unique, while winners are uniquely welcome at Betfair.” One area in which the operator has historically lagged behind its competitors is mobile, though the ?xed-odds progress has acted as a catalyst for growth from this channel. With 31% of
sportsbook revenues coming from mobile in FY 2013, Betfair is closing in on the likes of Paddy Power (42% of group online revenues from mobile in FY 2012) or William Hill (35% of sportsbook betting via the channel in Q1 results). However, Corcoran remains cautious, acknowledging: “It’s a moving target, meaning the good guys keep getting better, so I don’t want to start declaring victory. “Mobile is obviously playing a huge role for everyone and it’s great here,” he adds. “We have in-house mobile capability so it’s part of business as usual here that there’s just constant small improvements – it’s delightful.”
POINT OF CONTEMPLATION
It is in part due to these developments that Corcoran is reluctant to speculate too much on the future of Betfair’s core UK market, where the introduction of a point of consumption tax is expected before the end of 2014. “We’re conscious of the issue, and thoughtful about it, but have nothing to say right now,” he says. “I think we’ll talk more about that over the next 12 months but it’s all speculation at this stage about what any individual company will do”. He acknowledges: “The UK continues to be very competitive. It’s fair to expect some of the smaller guys to struggle [but] it remains to be seen what the bigger guys will do.” Betfair remains one of those “bigger guys” Corcoran mentions, and with his refocusing and restructuring of the company there is reason for optimism beyond the core exchange offering. However, now a lot of the hard work has been done and the hard decisions have been made, he needs to start delivering on his ambitious growth plans. And with a 950p takeover bid rejected shareholders will be keeping a close eye on progress. But with Betfair’s share price having risen 13% since his arrival, as he enters his second full year in the role the CEO seems to have convinced plenty of people that he’s the man to take Betfair forward.
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