SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
Martin Wachter, the CEO at Golden Race, is getting ready for the biggest industry event of the year. However, he took some time out of his busy schedule to speak to SBC News about his preparation for ICE 2017 (February 7-9), where to find him in the London ExCeL and his excitement over sharing details of the company’s new online and mobile platforms.
How I prepare for ICE
MW: Last year was an extremely busy year for us all, however we started talking about ICE 2017 at least six months ago.
It’s the biggest event of the year, and we enjoy and value being there not only to showcase ourselves and what we do, but also to network and share excitement for new possibilities.
Last year we launched Real Fighting at ICE, which was shortlisted for various awards around the world until we went on to win an award from SBC in December. This year is less about a specific product and more about a general presentation of everything we offer.
Many of our products and platforms have had a lot of behind the scenes work done, in some cases entirely renewed, and we plan to present them all together to cement our position as industry leaders.
What I am doing at ICE 2017
MW: I have a number of meetings already booked – it will be busy for sure! My time will be mostly with new customers – people just love what we offer, and demonstrating the value that Golden Race can provide them is at the core of ICE for me.
While it is nice to see competitors and what they are doing, and I will of course take a look around, my focus is the same as Golden Race’s focus: delivering the winning solutions which operators demand.
What I’m looking forward to at ICE 2017
MW: The exhibition is where the magic begins, although the networking and parties are a great opportunity to really connect with customers. For the exhibition, I am looking forward to people’s reactions to our new online and mobile platforms – our complete sportsbook with virtual results, available everywhere, 24/7.
We have had such great response already to that – it’s a beautiful but simplistic platform, and we will be expanding it more in the future – and although our cage fighters last year did attract a huge crowd, I look forward to the same from our products themselves.
Where you will usually find me at ICE
MW: We will be at stand S2-322 during the days – come and see us, our stand design this year looks really great. For the evenings… really that depends on what happens each day!
There is always some opportunity, and I expect I will be very busy. People who wish to speak with me should stop by to arrange a one-to-one – I am flexible and will find time for sure.
Favourite ICE memory
MW: There are many good memories, but last year our Real Fighting launch with our fighters in our cage – that memory is impossible to forget, because the whole year, everywhere I travelled, people would always talk about it!
The success of that cage and our fighters brought us a lot of extra attention, and led to another huge success in the conferences because of the numbers drawn by it.
Typical post-ICE activity
MW: We always have a huge amount work with new customers and potential customer follow-ups after shows, and we see a lot of new start-ups from any show – ICE just means that number is much bigger!
I am not even sure where I will be heading exactly after ICE, but Golden Race has a lot planned this year – new products, improvements, and so much more – I will be flying somewhere to meet with either potential customers or connecting with new or existing ones. Back to work – I am always working, because I am lucky enough to love what I do.
