MOBILE SPORTS BETTING FEATURE
BRINGING IT HOME
ew operators have truly started working towards the inevitable mobile-?rst, or even mobile-only online gambling environment. Betfred, the Manchesterbased bookmaker with a strong offline presence and a small but rapidly growing online business, might just be creating the model to follow. In the past 12 months, the company has grasped the opportunity to build a marketleading mobile portfolio – starting with standalone products for its ?agship games – by gradually bringing the entire development function in-house. This transition began with standalone mobile apps for its Goals Galore, Lotto and Virtual Sports products and culminated in the launch of its own mobile sportsbook platform in April. And it has already started reaping the bene?ts. In the last ?nancial year ended 31 March 2013, Betfred’s online and mobile EBITDA grew year-on-year by 52%, while mobile sports betting now represents approximately 45% of overall online sports turnover and 60% of pro?ts. Part of this success is down to the implementation of managing director Chris Sheffield’s long-term vision of moving away from the operator’s third party mobile suppliers and revenue sharing agreements. Ditching its Mfuse sports betting platform for example, also used by the likes of Ladbrokes and Betsson, is a brave move. But it will provide a crucial opportunity for Betfred to innovate and lead where it has failed to, by its own admission, with its website.
Having seen its competitors steal a march in the mobile sportsbook market, Betfred is taking matters into its own hands by bringing the entire development function in-house. Tom Washington reports
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a live dealer and casino solution to its mobile portfolio with software partner Playtech, and the operator’s recent focus on the channel is no doubt in?uenced by Sheffield’s background. Way back in 2003, Sheffield founded and ran mobile
"THE MOBILE DEVELOPMENT TEAM NEEDED TO BE ABLE TO ATTRACT AND RETAIN CREATIVE PEOPLE, WHO ARE PROBABLY NOT GOING TO ENJOY WEARING SUITS AND THE CORPORATE STRUCTURE"
CHRIS SHEFFIELD BETFRED MD
SHIFT IN FOCUS
This year has already seen Betfred add
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gaming business Million-2-1 which, by pioneering the reverse auction concept, was eventually rolled out across countries including the UK, US, Australia and China. The company also developed mobile casino and slot games and was eventually sold to IGT in June 2008. It was at Million-2-1 that Sheffield ?rst hired Andy Daniels, who he again recruited in June 2011 to head up Betfred’s new mobile development team following the decision to bring the function in-house. But this was no half measure. Beginning with
a team of just seven developers, the team decamped into the remarkable 250,000 square foot Sharp Project facility (see box out) in Manchester – quite a departure for the traditional British bookie founded by Fred and Peter Done in 1967. The shift in mindset away from the company’s core corporate structure is vital. It not only offers the mobile team autonomy but allows them to attract the sort of development talent which would
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