SPONSORED EDITORIAL
SPORTRADAR
SPORTS BETTING FOCUS
Sportradar continues
to succeed
Erik Lorenz, managing director for sales
of the international Sportradar Group,
tells eGaming Review how his company
is shaping the future
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portradar is the worldwide leading supplier of sports and bettingrelated data by providing exciting solutions with its bespoke
Betradar and Scoreradar tools to the international bookmaking
and media industries. Erik Lorenz, managing director for sales of
Sportradar, explains how his growing company will face the upcoming
challenges with its Betradar brand.
eGaming Review (eGR): Betradar has recently launched a new
live channel for retail operators. How do you think this extends the
attractiveness of sports betting for operators?
Erik Lorenz (EL): With our live channel, we are able to provide our clients
with a truly revenue-driving product. Being able to offer live pictures from
sports events around the globe and around the clock is the perfect tool
to increase the attractiveness of sports betting for retail operators. Most
importantly, it’s the first time ever that a product combines live statistics,
live odds and live pictures on one screen. Guaranteeing live sports all
day, the live channel is an entertaining solution increasing customer
loyalty through betting opportunities around the clock. Therefore, we
have purchased an international mixture of sports media rights for our
live channel portfolio. Retail betting shops will also benefit from our
partnership with the International Tennis Federation (ITF), as we are in the
position to produce live tennis throughout the year from ITF tournaments.
Next to tennis, the live channel also streams live sports pictures of football,
handball, volleyball and ice hockey leagues, to only mention a few. The live
channel is currently incorporated in nearly one thousand betting shops
across Europe and we are about to expand into Africa.
eGR: How does the live channel work and how can operators
incorporate it into their current offering?
EL: We are focusing on the easiest possible way to allocate and
Erik Lorenz joined the Sportradar Group
in October 2008 coming from the German
Football League (DFL). As managing
director for sales he is responsible for
the operational and strategic sales and
marketing activities for Sportradar’s core
brands Betradar and Scoreradar.
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integrate the live channel into the existing betting shop infrastructure.
The solution is browser based and does not require any additional
hardware in the shop. Our in-house developed broadcast content
management system allows managing the live channel locally or
remotely depending on the client’s preference.
eGR: What gaming products can Betradar provide to operators and
how do they enhance a sports betting portfolio?
EL: Betradar’s virtual sports betting products are the perfect
complement to any product portfolio, enabling bookmakers to tap
into new revenue streams that require no resources at their end.
Therefore, with the launch of the Virtual Football League (VFL), Virtual
Horse Classics (VHC) and SoccerClub, Betradar offers entertaining
and innovative gaming solutions, with more to come. Currently we are
working on the launch of further virtual sports betting products. Virtual
tennis and virtual dog racing are currently being finalised and will be
available in the near future. Several other sports will follow during 2014.
eGR: What competitive advantages can Betradar’s virtual gaming
products give to bookmakers?
EL: Since its launch the VFL has already shown that it is a great success
story. The unique league concept and artficial intelligence driven video
animations for each single game differentiate the game clearly from
other virtual offers in the market. In our products all odds are based on
Betradar’s market-approved live odds algorithm and guarantee stable
margins. Punters can use their existing account to place real money
bets online and obtain immediate payouts. This use of Betradar´s
existing infrastructure is a key benefit that makes our products very
easy to integrate into any client website and requires very limited
resources. Furthermore, both VFL and VHC are available for all relevant
distribution channels including mobile and betting shops. In January
2014, our own self-terminal betting solution for virtual games will be
available, which makes it even easier for our clients to introduce the
games in their points of sale.
eGR: What do you see the future developments being in both virtual
sports and live sport sectors?
EL: Game concepts which engage users to place even more bets, such
as Betradar’s new Soccer Roulette, enable bookmakers to offer a new
live betting experience in an innovative and playful way, as well as to
address new target groups such as online casino players. Furthermore,
bookmakers need to increase their efficiency by automating processes
in a cost-effective manner. A good betting service is characterised by
its ability to help optimise the profit of each bookmaker. Sophisticated
live odds monitoring tools, such as Betradar’s Live Monitoring, help
bookmakers to watch and track the progress of multiple sports
and matches simultaneously as their odds change in real time. This
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