SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
Paolo Personeni, Managing Director of Managed Trading Services at Betradar, has predicted that “voice activated sports betting is around the corner”.
Speaking at Betting on Football 2017, Personeni was part of a panel discussing the evolution of the trading floor, the increased use of algorithms to define odds and the presence of more data which “means automation will become generally more accurate and attuned”.
Personeni expressed doubt over the notion that traders may become extinct within the next few years, by suggesting they would just be “applied in different areas”.
GVC Holdings, Group Trading & B2B Director Jim Humberstone said that there has been a “gradual change in the role of the trader over the last few years”, and that more automation on the trading floor has dictated that he is now hiring more customer risk profilers than traders.
Humberstone also cited the outright market in football betting as “completely inefficient” and an example of a “follow the market mentality” within the industry.
Meanwhile, Danske Spil Head of Sportsbook Jens Nielsen defined his company’s pyramid approach of using automated models to put the foundation of its operations in place, while retaining the ability to be flexible around local sports, a point of difference for the state-owned operator.
Nielsen also stressed the risk involved with “trusting the biggest market line without your own opinion”, and the need to follow mathematical models meticulously to check for leaks, particularly in niche areas such as Esports.
Finally, Gaming Innovation Group Managing Director Christopher Langeland attracted a few closing questions from the audience after claiming that the “Asian sports betting market is getting smaller”.
The session, which formed a key part of the second day Trading & Operations Track at #bofcon2017, was moderated by Betsson Co-Founder and Oddslife Advisor Chris Duncan.
