"We have everything a bookmaker needs to create a successful sportsbook"

In an exclusive interview with Yogonet, Lorenzo Caci, Director of Business Development and Strategic Partnerships in South Europe and Latin America at Sportradar, spoke about the innovations Betradar will be unleashing at ICE London 2020. The biggest industry-related event in Europe, ICE London is taking place on February 4-6 at ExCel London.

What will be Betradar's focus and highlights at ICE London 2020? What are your key expectations and goals for the show? 

As always, we are really looking forward to this year’s ICE London event, as one of the biggest occasions on our annual calendar. This year will be particularly exciting for us following our acquisition of the OPTIMAMGS platform. This means we can offer audiences a full turnkey solution, enabling them to build a successful sportsbook from the ground up or enhance their offering in whatever way they like. The omni-channel platform is fully agnostic and completely customizable, meaning clients can integrate it easily with their existing offering, or use it together with our full range of betting products and services to build a sportsbook that can help gain an edge in today’s crowded market. 

In addition to the platform, as always, we’re looking forward to showcasing our 360-betting portfolio. From the most comprehensive pre-match and live odds in the market, to our Betting Stimulation tools, a brand new Virtual Baseball In-Play product, and new features added to our marketing and sponsorship solution, ad:s. Betradar is truly a one-stop-shop for visitors at ICE London 2020. 

Could you share your prospects and outlook for the global sports betting industry in 2020, regarding trends, emerging markets and technologies, new demands and player generations, challenges, and opportunities?

There’s no doubt the global industry is growing as more and more regions embrace legal sports betting. This isn’t just about the US. Other emerging and potential markets like Latin America and Asia provide plenty of prospects that bookmakers ought to keep an eye on. This is good news, not just from a commercial perspective, but also from a regulatory one.  

An increase in legal betting markets means more controls and licenses to ensure the industry, on a global scale, can better manage and stamp out any corrupt activity. 

Across the world, each market is at a different stage of development. If we look at the Latin American market in particular, retail betting is still popular, while betting via smartphone is not as prevalent in some areas. Despite this, similar to the US, LatAm is still experiencing a growth in online betting. This insight should signify to operators where they ought to invest. Online sportsbooks are increasing and therefore attracting next-gen markets is key there. As a region with a large population that is full of sports fans, LatAm is expected to attract more and more operators too. This isn’t all bad news for small sportsbooks and those just starting out as, given there are a number of different countries and therefore audiences across the region, providing plenty of opportunities to localize. And this is crucial, especially if you want to ensure you are providing the right offering with the most appropriate betting markets, channels, and sports for the audience you want to target. 

 What are your strategies and approach in that sense? Do you think Brexit could have any impact on the sector?

There are plenty of aspects that will continue to have an impact on the industry in 2020, including further advancements in technology, emerging trends, the various legislation that is being passed in emerging markets, and other government sanctions. This will obviously affect different regions in a variety of ways. Our main commitment is ensuring our clients can make their way through this successfully. This is why we continue to develop our products and services with their needs in mind, ensuring they are as flexible and customizable as possible so they can be tailored and adjusted to suit any internal or external requirements. With our experts located across the world, we understand the factors influencing various individual regions. This is one of the reasons we decided to invest in a new platform, so we can continue to help bookmakers supply and license across markets. Together with our extensive range of betting products and services, which covers a variety of sports and markets across the world, we have everything a bookmaker, no matter what region they are operating within, or what their size, needs to create a successful sportsbook.