Product Archives

September 1, 2023

Ontario: The state of play

More than a year on from the regulation of the Ontario gaming sector, gambling businesses have each adapted to the market in their own way. But how can operators stand out from the crowd in North America’s most competitive market?

With every gold rush comes the prospectors.

In the 16 months following the regulation of the gaming sector in Ontario, gambling operators of all shapes and sizes have thrown the dice to get a slice of the biggest and most dynamic market in North America.

Those involved range from former grey market players trying to make the regulated transition, the big European operators, media brands which have grown a betting wing and land-based companies trying to get in on the action – plus everything in between.

The landscape

Ontario has become an incredibly competitive market, with iGaming Ontario recording 46 companies operating 71 brands as of Q1 2023.

However, one trend to note is its diversity. This is especially striking when compared to the US which, butt..

July 5, 2023

Sportradar wins bid for CONMEBOL data rights

Sports data analytics and technology business Sportradar has announced that the continental governing body of South American football, CONMEBOL, has chosen the business as its new betting data rights partner.

The outcome of the competitive bidding process will see Sportradar become CONMEBOL’s exclusive audio visual and betting data rights partner.

The multi-year deal covers the worldwide rights for three CONMEBOL football competitions – the Copa Libertadores, the Recopa Sudamericana and the Copa Sudamericana. Under the terms of the agreement, the rights will run for the next four seasons.

Sportradar and CONMEBOL strengthen relationship

CONMEBOL’s secretary-general, José Astigarraga, said the organisation was “glad” to strengthen its relationship with Sportradar.

“We are sure that the prestigious CONMEBOL club tournaments, with more than 60 years of history, will be a great showcase to be able to get closer to the true fans of South American football,” he added.

since 2019, sport..

March 22, 2023

GiG banks on the power of two

Richard Brown’s tenure as Gaming Innovation Group (GiG) chief executive began with a major change of direction, with the sale of its B2C assets to Betsson. Almost four years on, and with business booming for the B2B supplier, he’s poised to make another huge call with plans to split the business into media and platform suppliers.

When he was confirmed as permanent CEO of Gaming Innovation Group (GiG) in November 2019, Richard Brown pledged a focus “on delivery, execution and optimisation, putting us on a path for great focus and renewed growth”.

The business reported revenue of €43.0m for 2019, at a time it encompassed B2C operations, a platform business and affiliate marketing operations under the GiG Media banner. Brown then divested the B2C operations to Betsson early in 2020.

This, he has explained previously, created a focused business, with staff putting all efforts into the B2B platform and media operations.

In 2022, Brown’s third full year as GiG CEO, revenue hit €90.1m,..

March 13, 2023

Fredrik Elmqvist: Other side of the coin

Slots veteran Fredrik Elmqvist is turning his luck to the mad bad world of sports betting – but will it work?

Elmqvist is well-deserving of his reputation as the king of slots.

However, more than 10 years on from his epoch-making launch of Yggdrasil, the Stockholm native is turning his luck to the decidedly different proposition of sports betting in his latest project ParlayBay, which seeks to make its name as the new champions of micro betting.

The Swedish entrepreneur certainly has a nose for where the action is, describing it a “pretty interesting” time to be setting out on a venture such as this.

Elmqvist describes a US sports betting landscape that is shifting into a new, subtler gear following the marketing wars that characterised the earlier days of the PASPA repeal.

“For a few years there’s been a shift into sports betting and you see, in the United States rollout, both the need for new products and to keep the marketing costs down, as well as still [the need to] get new..

January 20, 2023

Genius Sports enters NFL data and betting deal with TSN+

Genius Sports has entered into a partnership with Canadian sports channel The Sports Network (TSN), wherein Genius will supply TSN’s streaming platform TSN+ with its proprietary data feed for NFL games.

Under the terms of the agreement, Genius will deliver its real-time overlays to TSN+ which will include graphics and visualisations as well as its Next Gen Stats (NGS) data.

Since April 2021, the sports data business has been the official data partner of the league – an agreement which was expanded to include streaming options for US operators in November 2022.

Read the full story on IGB North America

January 5, 2023

Fanatics confirms Amelco will power its sportsbook

Sports apparel giant Fanatics will use Amelco’s source code to power its sports betting product, the business announced in a Massachusetts licensing meeting.

Fanatics had long made its intentions to enter the world of sports betting known. The business was part of an application for a licence in New York back in 2021, while last year it created a betting and gaming arm and made a number of major hires within this division.

The business has also applied for a number of licences. Besides Massachusetts, it also received a retail betting licence in Maryland and is approved in Ohio.

Amelco source code for Fanatics

However, the technology it intended to use had remained unknown. Reports claimed that Fanatics would use Amelco’s source code as far back as April 2022, but at the time the operator said that there was no deal in place with the supplier.

Later reports alleged that Fanatics would acquire German sportsbook operator Tipico and use its platform, but Fanatics opted not to comment ..

December 20, 2022

South Africa in focus: Can product be a selling point?

In the third part of a series taking an in-depth look at the South African gambling market, Daniel O’Boyle looks at the standard of product in the market.

In almost every part of the world, the online betting experience has been heavily shaped by what retail betting looked like. So to understand the online betting experience in South Africa, you have to know something about retail betting in South Africa.

“I’ve traveled the world and seen betting shops around the world but I don’t think I’ve ever seen betting shops of the size I’ve seen in South Africa,” Kiron Interactive chief executive Stephen Spartinos says. “You’ve got betting shops of the size of a Wal-Mart and you’ve got 100 cashiers.

“You walk into these shops and you talk about two, three floors. At any time you could have 2,000-3,000 punters in your shop.”

But it’s not simply the size that makes South African betting shops stand out. Betting shops in the country are able to be so large partly because the betting experience..

November 30, 2022

CDI to develop DraftKings horse racing offering

Race track and gaming business Churchill Downs Incorporated (CDI) has entered into a multi-year agreement with DraftKings to develop DK Horse, a pari-mutuel wagering horse racing product for the sports betting operator.

CDI’s B2B horse racing subsidiary TwinSpires will develop the white-label solution. This will involve providing the company’s advanced deposit wagering technology to DraftKings.

While TwinSpires initially started life as CDI’s B2C online betting and casino platform, the business pivoted to being a B2B provider after facing intense market competition in 2021.

Under the terms of the deal, CDI will also provide the pari-mutuel wagering rights to content that the business owns or controls, such as the Kentucky Oaks and Kentucky Derby. CDI will also provide additional horse racing content on the operator’s behalf.

“We are excited to collaborate with Churchill Downs Incorporated, not only to give our existing customers an opportunity to engage with pari-mutuel horse wa..

September 2, 2022

Simon Hammon’s lessons from a lifetime in slots: The present

Simon Hammon, recently named chief executive of Relax Gaming, insists he’s not a typical “product guy”. But the games released under his watch, like Starburst during his time at NetEnt, have had a massive impact on the industry. In the second part of a three-part interview, Hammon offers advice for businesses in the crowded slots space of today.

Simon Hammon’s success at NetEnt ultimately took him to Relax Gaming. In part one of this series, Hammon outlined how the move might have looked to some like a “step down”.

But since joining, the business has been growing strongly. For the second quarter of 2022, revenue was up 20% quarter-on-quarter to £5.2m, with six new titles rolled out and the Dream Drop jackpot feature going live.

Its partner base expanded to 15 new operators in that same period, while 132 studios were integrated into its RGS, while its reach extended to Italy and Spain, with a licence for Ontario setting it up for entry to North America.

That business-minded view has..

August 9, 2022

The killer quartet of sportsbook performance

As sportsbooks in North America move from acquisition to retention, sportsbook performance has become more important than ever. But what does performance actually mean? Russell Karp of DataArt outlines the four key factors.

The promise presented by sports betting in North America has created severe competition. Beyond big casino and media giants like Disney, we see retail companies – such as Fanatics – trying to actively take their place in the market. New York sportsbooks alone brought $425 million in gross revenue in the first four months of 2022.

However, in a rush to be the first to attain licences and launch, operators often neglect the quality of their platforms. Early in 2022, when thousands of bettors flooded the freshly opened sportsbooks in New York, we saw betting platforms that were glitchy: a direct result of poor development. Bettors experienced technical issues such as login errors, the inability to place a bet or cash out, and more.

For example, Caesars faced a mas..

July 27, 2022

Kambi pivots to modularisation as DraftKings exit continues to hit Q2 revenue

Betting supplier Kambi will increase its focus on modularised products rather than its full sportsbook solution – and may seek to make acquisitions – after key client DraftKings’ migration away from Kambi’s sportsbook continued to affect its earnings in Q2.

Revenue for the supplier for the quarter ended 30 June was down by 18.8% from Q2 of 2022 to €34.7m (£29.2m/$35.2m), a change the business said was due to the migration of US betting giant DraftKings away from Kambi’s platform and onto the SBTech product it acquired in 2020.

While DraftKings has already completed its migration, two other key clients are also taking steps to move away from its platform in favour of in-house options. Unibet operator Kindred has been building its own platform, set to launch when its partnership with Kambi ends in 2024.

If DraftKings – which produced 25% of Kambi’s revenue the prior year – is excluded, revenue was up 16% from Q2 of 2021.

Penn National gaming, meanwhile, acquired theScore last year, ..

July 25, 2022

DIY or third-party: the sportsbook technology debate

The debate over whether operators should build their own technology or use a third-party solution has raged for decades, but it appears to have grown more intense as the US market opens. However, as Daniel O’Boyle reports, it may not be a question with a clear answer

It’s said that if you want something done well, you should do it yourself.

That appears to be an adage many sports betting operators have taken to heart.

Hop on any earnings call for a US operator, and there will no doubt be plenty of mentions of “proprietary sportsbook technology”.

The demand among operators for in-house solutions is backed up by their money. In 2020, DraftKings merged with SBTech, valuing the supplier at $634.1m. Last year, Caesars acquired William Hill for $3.7bn, mostly for its proprietary technology.

Meanwhile, theScore announced a long process to build its own sportsbook technology, which surely played a major part in Penn National Gaming acquiring it for $2bn.

“I don’t want to get distracted b..

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Tag: Product