The document discusses opportunities and challenges for the sports betting industry in 2015. It states that as technologies improve, sports betting businesses that continue to adapt and innovate will thrive. While mobile and in-play betting will remain important, differentiation through personalized user experiences and content will be critical for success. The article recommends investing in research and development to gain a competitive edge through new initiatives like personalization.

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SPORTS BETTING / COLUMNIST
E X P E R T O P I N I O N
STANDINGOUT
FROMTHECROWD
F
ollowing on from a
generally encouraging
year for sports betting
operators, the industry now
sets it sights on opportunities
and challenges that lie ahead.
And as the impact of PoC is felt
across much of the industry, the
issues of business optimisation
will be more critical than ever.
This is not a time to rest and
take stock, as, irrespective of
how competitive the industry
seems now, a new era of
innovation is always around
the corner. And those sports
betting businesses that continue
to adapt, as their technological
capabilities and that of their
suppliers improve, will be those
that will thrive in 2015.
While product maturity in the
sports betting space has reached
a plateau, innovation and
differentiation in this area can
still act as a USP. For example,
while mobile and in-play betting
will continue to dominate sports
betting revenue, it will be an
understanding of content and
how to present it for a fast-
moving product that will be
pivotal to success.
Workingwiththerighttools
Very few operators have the
advantage of total technological
autonomy, and this is a route
unlikely to be taken by either
new or existing businesses
today. A sports betting business
and its operations can now
be outsourced in its entirety,
which is something that is fast
becoming a viable option for
even established names.
Such solutions allow an
operator to be more streamlined
and focus on its core skill set
and areas of expertise. However,
operators face the danger of
having a nigh on identical shop
window, product and customer
journey to a competitor unless
it nurtures and develops its own
ways of differentiation.
Even with a more traditional
model, with a greater number
of key functions of the sports
betting business being
outsourced, operators must
have the vision to adapt generic
user interfaces and present their
shop window in a manner in
keeping with their brand and its
values. Subsequently, effective
management of supplier and
third-party relationships will
continue to be a key internal
challenge for operators.
Increased external reliance
naturally represents a business
risk, which an operator must
address and be mindful of.
Innovationoverload
Many firms struggle to keep
pace with their own ideas,
concepts for growth and
innovation, and are likely to
have congested development
roadmaps. Suppliers can find
themselves oversubscribed
due to the increased demand
for their services, requiring a
strong collaborative effort by
both parties to ensure the timely
delivery of new products.
Next year is likely to usher
in a number of new initiatives
in the sports betting space,
with personalisation one of
the biggest issues facing
operators hoping to stand
out. It’s inevitable that a more
personalised user experience is
an area operators will invest in
during the course of the year.
Sports betting businesses
are able to gain an intimate
understanding of their users’
behaviour by analysing huge
amounts of data from customer
interactions with the site.
And technology advances
mean they have the ability
to scrutinise this customer
base in far greater depth than
previously possible.
Utilising such data and
incorporating it into a well-
planned customer engagement
strategy will allow an operator
to create a personal journey,
be it through pushing device
specific content, customer-
specific content or allowing its
clientele to customise the user
interface based.
The high street, too, still
has an important part to play.
As we gravitate towards
cashless societies, the retail
experience is embarking on an
era of considerable change. But
operators with retail arms can
utilise this channel to maximise
a customer’s value and lifetime
by incorporating it into its
cross-selling strategies.
The industry has come a
long way in the past 12 months,
but there is a great deal more
change yet to come. The early
adopters of such initiatives, and
the businesses who invest in
R&D and fine tune their delivery
pipelines, will continue to gain
the competitive edge.v
Sportsbettingfirmsneed
toembracethechallengeof
differentiationinorderto
thrivein2015,accordingto
consultantRobertPender
ROBERT PENDER
Robert Pender works
within the sports betting
sector advising gaming
organisations and
suppliers, providing
strategic insight into
ways to improve business
performance and drive
growth. He recently
advised Gala Coral on the
launch of its Flutter sports
betting product
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