Trustly – Sponsor Profile – #bofcon2017

Trustly is sponsoring Betting on Football 2017, the fourth edition of the largest international football and betting trade conference at Chelsea FC’s Stamford Bridge.

Ahead of the 3-5 May event, we spoke to Trustly Director of Gaming Sam Barrett about why football is such an attractive sport for betting, how the market is changing from a consumer perspective and what new technology will have the biggest impact on football betting.

SBC: Why is football such an attractive sport for betting?

SB: Plain and simple, football is the world’s most popular sport, with more than 3.5 billion fans gathering in arenas and in front of TVs to cheer on their favourite teams. When it comes to betting, the Beautiful Game offers more betting markets than any other sport.

You can bet on the number of throw-ins, corners and pretty much anything that could happen minute to minute. Combine that with the fact that it’s played all year round, with major international tournaments held in the summer when most other sports are out of season, and you get almost limitless opportunities for betting.

SBC: From a consumer perspective, how is football betting changing?

SB: For consumers, instant gratification has become a hygiene factor. They want to be able to place bets on in-play action and interact with the game as it’s happening. This puts operators under an increasing pressure to provide as many betting markets as possible and ensure the feed is up to date.

As a result, there’s a real need for a solution that lets consumers deposit funds instantly and directly in the betting interface. We believe Trustly’s new Direct Debit product is a brilliant solution for that.

Wearable technology will also be an interesting space to watch. It’s gaining traction and pretty soon we might see consumers able to place bets while on a run via a smartwatch.

SBC: What new technology do you feel will have the biggest impact on football betting?

SB: Trustly’s new Direct Debit product lets consumers register a digital direct debit mandate once and then make subsequent deposits instantly with just one click. It takes less than a minute to sign up and the process is just as simple as making a payment with Trustly.

It also eliminates the need for paperwork on the merchant side, which has traditionally been a major burden. We see Trustly Direct Debit as an evolution in payments, but a revolution in convenience and speed. It has the potential to make a real impact on football betting.

Beyond payments, wearable technologies also have huge potential if they continue to gain traction. A future where consumers can place bets from anywhere and at anytime is really exciting, especially if it can be done using a voice recognition API.

SBC: What key agenda, debate or discussion do you want to hear at BOFCON 2017?

SB: There are so many great speakers and discussions happening at BOFCON, but we are especially looking forward to “New brands in football betting” and “Creative approach – innovation in football betting” for a peek into what the future of football will look like. And, of course, “Scandinavia: a hotbed of gambling innovation” will be fun to hear because Trustly is a Swedish company.