iGaming Business magazine iGB 111 July/Aug | Page 65

Sports Betting Focus 2018
EVERYTHING
to play for
With such monumental decisions being made about sports betting across the pond,
Alistair Boston-Smith discusses the opportunities in the market
What is your assessment of the US market’s potential?
The seismic nature of the PASPA decision cannot be overstated.
It heralds a real shift for the industry, with operators and suppliers
primed to take advantage of the opportunities it offers. In the last
few weeks we have seen the first bets struck in New Jersey and
Delaware, and draft or emergency regulation progressed in various
states including Mississippi and West Virginia.
It could be one of those big pivotal moments in our industry’s
history and it will be fascinating to see how it pans out. The truth is
that nobody knows. The emergency regulations being drafted on a
state-by-state level are, in the short term at least, creating a relatively
low barrier to entry for license holders, and for most the priority is
speed to market and to learn what works and what doesn’t. This has
created considerable excitement, but in many states that enthusiasm
is tempered with the reality of trying to make the economics work,
especially in the face of the huge black market.
How should European operators look to approach US
market entry?
Several have already entered the US market in New Jersey,
Delaware and Nevada. They will look to replicate this model in
other states, either as an operational partner or as the operator
if skins are permitted.
The challenge for operators and suppliers alike is the
contrasting regulatory set-up, as while each state takes insight
from others, there is no single elusive gold standard. This will
likely create a patchwork ecosystem with state or regional strength
holding sway over national dominance. Over time, through growth
and likely corporate M&A, we would expect to see a smaller group
of operators and suppliers becoming market leaders, and we firmly
believe that those who put a digital platform at the centre will be
the winners.
How will successful operators in the US stand out from
the competition?
US operators are clearly very excited by the potential of what sports
betting could do to their businesses. They have all been wrestling
with the challenges of how to address an ageing customer base,
and sports could be a significant way to keep casinos relevant
while adding to the entertainment at the racetrack.
Alistair Boston-Smith is chief strategy officer
at Bede Gaming. He joined in 2015 and is
responsible for defining Bede’s business
strategy, winning new business and using
market insight to create new business units.
He was previously corporate development
director at GAN (taking the company public
and securing $37m in funding, and owning
the US market entry strategy) and head of
gaming at Sportingbet plc (responsible for
$100m revenue across 25+ markets).
However, it’s not about just standing out versus the other operators
in the state, but versus those in neighbouring states (where the tax
levels and product may be different) and, more importantly, versus
what is available on the black market.
One of the key questions and variables is whether customers
will be able to bet on sports on mobile/online. Nevada has already
demonstrated the channel’s worth: despite offering a challenging
mobile experience (customers have to go to a retail location to
complete their account set-up), 30% of revenue is coming via
that medium.
Whether it is retail-only or mobile, the key to future growth and
differentiation is having a proven platform at the core; one that not
only offers best-of-breed sports betting solutions, but also has a
single player account management system across retail and mobile,
can enable the cost effective acquisition of players, and which
uses real-time data to trigger automated and personalised
customer communication.
Given most operators lack of experience in sports and in digital,
many have been saying we need help, we need a true partner;
we need proof that not only can you deliver fast, but that you’ve
done this before. Flexibility and speed to market are essential to
making a success in any new territory and the US is no different.
From our work with operators including the Rank Group and Sun
International we have seen the importance of being a true partner
and of supporting operators end-to-end across all their technology
and operational needs. While Rank’s digital transformation is
underpinned by the migration to the Bede platform, it is this deep
working relationship which is critical to its success.
iGamingBusiness | Issue 111 | July/August 2018
63