SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
Aly Lalani, Head of Marketing at BetRegal.com, reflects on his company’s Betting on Sports debut, sharing expertise to the tune of a ‘Latin Beat’ and finding folks with a focus on “getting things done”.
It’s now been almost a month since the Betting on Sports conference took place in London, and I thought it would be a good time to reflect on that week. This was actually my first Betting on Sports conference (I was scheduled to go last year but wasn’t able to make it). Overall, BetRegal had a very productive week at this year’s conference.
If nothing else, this conference served as a great excuse for a general catch up of the ownership and senior management group of BetRegal. We all speak fairly often on Skype chats, but the value of actually being able to meet face to face, have dinner and/or a drink, and have a personal conversation is undeniable. If nothing else, the trip was worthwhile for that reason.
Fortunately, there was a lot more value to be had at this conference beyond just a meeting place. Again, as my first time here, I had no real frame of reference. My only real comparison for a gaming show in London would be ICE.
Betting on Sports turned out to be quite a different experience. ICE, because of its tremendous size, is great for casting a wide net looking for contacts, and then engaging in an aggressive follow up (or potentially dodging an aggressive follow up).
Conversely, I found the Betting on Sports audience to be much more targeted. The folks I was speaking with seemed to have a genuine interest in getting things done, rather than loosely discussing future plans. It seemed to be that the people in attendance were decision makers of their respective companies and had come with specific agendas in place.
To be honest it was refreshing. I am in no way discounting the value of general networking with a broader audience, of course that has its own value, it just seemed that this show was much more targeted. I can say personally that we left with contacts for a couple of different product-based companies that I am excited to explore a further relationship with.
Looking at these types of products wasn’t on the radar going into this show, so it was nice to depart with some unexpected value. Isn’t that what conferences should be all about?
I would like to join all the others I have seen on LinkedIn congratulating Rasmus, Andy, Luke and all the good people at SBC for putting on a great conference. I can’t imagine how much work and planning goes into putting on a show of this quality.
However, what was even more exciting for me personally was that I was able to participate in my very first panel as part of the ‘Latin Beat – Opportunities Further South’ discussion.
This was especially interesting for me not only to provide my insight as a new operator looking at establishing a brand presence in key Latin American markets, but also to hear the opinion of the other panelists, who all represented different components of the LatAm iGaming corporate structure.
I can honestly say that I left that panel experience with a greater knowledge, and a couple of great contacts which I anticipate will pay immediate dividends in terms of our short-term future planning.
I think it was important to put the BetRegal brand alongside more developed brands such as Sportradar and BtoBet. Let’s hope that sharing the stage with these guys is a sign of things to come.
