How to choose a sports betting technology partner? Brands are taking a look at the opportunities that present themselves as sports betting is regulated across the states. But how do you know what you need, never mind who you should be teaming up with? The betting supply chain can be multi-faceted, so how can you ensure that you are covered? 

If that piqued your interest then the ‘How to choose a sports betting technology partner’ panel from day one of our Betting on Sports America – Digital conference is a must watch for you.

Who is it?

Kresimir Spajic, SVP of Online Gaming, Hard Rock International

Vik Shrestha, Senior Director of Business Development, IGT PlaySports

David McDowell, CEO, FSB Tech

Michele Ciavarella, Group CEO, NEWGIOCO Group

Dan Phillips, CEO, NEL Advisory

What is being said?

Spajic: “I agree and disagree with everything that my colleagues have said. Again, it boils down to your position and in which phase of the development you are in, what your strategy is and where your strengths are. It’s really you cannot say this is the ideal scenario. 

The truth will be told if you look at all Tier 1 operators, they have 95% of the things in house. If you look at GVC, if you look at bet365 they almost own all the technology. Even the biggest operators outsource something and this is mostly certain services which are either marketing or  whichever KYC, geolocation and so and so forth. So you are never really on the full technology in-house.

“For a media operator I also agree with David it is very hard to build kind of technological expertise and to build something which is first and foremost scalable and reliable because this is the start of all operations and once you have something that is scalable and reliable then you can focus on innovations and differentiation. 

“A different approach where you are focusing on innovation differentiation, without satisfying the basics of operating a business, is not good at all. We are actually going through all of these stages.

“In our case, we want to focus on everything that is consumer centric, everything that consumers can touch and feel because this is what we do. We want to provide our customers an authentic experience and try to replicate a lifestyle of a Hard Rock brand digitally. That’s why, what we are doing currently, we have taken over the front end which is basically the website and the apps, and we are managing that part of the experience together with some services which we think are crucial for the customer experience.

“In the future, if we grow to be a billion dollar revenue company, we will think about having the full technology in-house as this could be a possibility as well. But that’s why I am saying you need to be realistic about which stages your company is in. Think about what you want to focus on because it’s very hard to be great in everything. You can’t be great in technology, great in operations and great in marketing – you need to kind of decide what you want to focus on and slowly but surely build other capabilities in-house.” 

Why should I watch it?

To look at how to choose the best technology partner for you in our fast moving industry. The panel looks at what the important factors are when you are selecting a betting and gaming partner. Speakers talk about pricing for suppliers and operators, how to differentiate offerings, and analysis of the in-source and outsource model. 

Where can I see more?

Source: SBC YouTube Channel