BtoBet is part of a group that includes NeoGames, Aspire Global and Pariplay. How do you complement each other?
Earlier this year it was announced that NeoGames acquired Aspire Global and all its subsidiaries. NeoGames and Aspire Global used to be the same company nine years ago. The former was focused on iLottery and the latter focused on iGaming and sports. So the foundations of the relationship between Aspire Global and NeoGames go back for quite some time.
Now that the acquisition has been finalized, taking a broader look at the iGaming industry, we are seeing a strong tendency for provincial, state and national lotteries to expand into other verticals, thus looking for more and more sports and online iGaming content.
With this in mind NeoGames, Aspire Global, BtoBet and Pariplay naturally complement each other, with all companies not only culturally fitting well together, but with the full value chain that is now offered by the group – from sports content to iGaming content, as well as managed services and support. They are a perfect fit for each other.
It goes without saying that even prior to NeoGames’ acquisition of Aspire Global, BtoBet and Pariplay, the North American market was high on its agenda. Now we are seeing a further acceleration from this point of view, being readily-licensed in multiple states in the US and provinces in Canada. This really changes the dynamics of who we are, what we can offer and where we can go live with our solutions.
How important is it for a sportsbook solution to be localized for the US market?
Realistically speaking, sports betting has been live in the US for around four years. What we’ve seen since the historic decision in May 2018 is a lot of operators wanting to launch immediately, get out ahead of the competition and register a market share advantage. The suppliers obviously were there to support them. Nonetheless, there has been some pain in the market. Solutions were not tailored for the traditional US market.
In the early stages, there were discrepancies in terms of the betting experience that the US punter was used to and what he was actually being delivered. One has to keep in mind that there are significant differences between the US and European markets, and one formula, albeit successful in one market, will not be equally successful in the other market.
Do you see a bright future for iGaming in the American market?
Although still in its infancy, the market has undeniably grown faster than predicted. There can be no doubt that the increase in regulated sports betting, coupled with the exciting prospect of regulation in many more countries, states and provinces in the years to come, has attracted the attention of an even greater selection of businesses for the first time, businesses that are keen to leverage the capabilities and assets they have built in other sectors.
This trend is particularly apparent in the fast-growing North American market, which has seen major corporations enter the iGaming foray.
The US market’s potential is further highlighted by the data published on a regular basis by the American Gaming Association (AGA), which has established that US commercial gaming generated record gaming revenue in Q2 this year, despite macroeconomic difficulties and increasingly challenging year-over-year comparisons. Despite all this, the gaming industry’s trade body stated that the consumer spending trend has maintained its momentum, with the US industry set for a second consecutive record-breaking year.
The AGA highlighted that this year’s second quarter should mark a stretch of challenging yearly comparisons, with the year-on-year growth rate slowing from the 13.1% registered in April to the 10.7% registered in May and which further decreased to 2.5% in June. Nonetheless, the fact that these months register among the top ten months in terms of gross revenue in US gaming history is an indication of the strong trend registered over the past year.
From a sport perspective, the $1.42bn in quarterly sports betting revenue marks a 58.7% increase from the same quarter last year. Of particular interest is that $449.8m of this revenue was generated by sports betting markets that were not live one year ago. Should one exclude these new markets, the sports betting revenue for Q2 2022 would still register an 8.4% increase when compared to the same period last year. The H1 performance for this year also promises to be another record-setting year for commercial sports betting, with the $3.04bn in revenue registered in the first six months of 2022 resulting in a year-on-year increase of 63.9%.
Where do you see BtoBet 18-24 months from now?
We are constantly reaching new heights. The company is in great shape, yet this is no reason to rest on our laurels. The global market opportunities ahead are exciting. The industry is brimming with considerable potential growth in the medium term, and this, coupled with ongoing digitalization, will only lead to further innovation. However, in order to capitalize on these opportunities, we need to keep on pushing with the development of our scalable sportsbook to meet the requirements of the local regulators and ensure that our partners will be able to launch a sportsbook that is unique to its brand and customer base.
As already mentioned, the US is high on the agenda, so hopefully, in the short term, we will be able to announce our entry into that exciting market. At the same time, I’m proud of our achievements in a relatively short period. We have consolidated our market position in Latin America and Africa and nowadays are considered the go-to sportsbook suppliers in the regions, while at the same time expanding our presence in the more mature European market.
