SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
It’s hard to find anyone for whom 2020 has not been a difficult year, writes Soft2Bet CEO Boris Chaikin, but the gambling industry has had the online sector as its glimmer of hope.
As we near a Christmas period that will be highly unconventional in more ways than one; businesses and individuals alike are still shaking from the global tremor caused by Coronavirus.
The gambling industry is no different. Sportsbook revenue took a sizable, if temporary, hit from the pause on live fixtures earlier this year. Many land-based and retail outlets have yet to fully reopen after the closures and restrictions caused by the outbreak. Of those that have, most have yet to fully recover from the financial impact of the lockdown, or the reduced footfall that remains to this day.
But for our industry and others, there has been a glimmer of hope. With retail and land-based players unable to visit their favourite outlet now searching for alternatives, the online sector has stepped up in markets across the globe.
Take the example of Latin America (LatAm). In Peru, even after the government reopened land-based facilities, online activity has not dropped. Its neighbour to the North, Colombia, has had a similar experience.
The country’s land-based casinos are now reopening, but the closure they faced earlier this year stimulated a growth in online acquisition. Add in the proactive approach adopted by the national regulator, Coljuegos, and it’s clear why Colombia-based online casinos are burgeoning with customers.
The Soft2Bet-powered online brands launched this year have also been a success story. We’ve released seven B2B and three B2C projects alongside our in-house affiliate program, attracting an army of players from regulated markets throughout the world.
Our MGA-licensed online casino, Cadabrus, is a case in point. Packed full of gamification features, and with a magic-loving rabbit character as the star of the show, it has enjoyed an average of 90,000 unique visitors per month since we pulled it out of the hat in October.
One of our most recent B2B projects, Casombie, has also experienced the surge in customer demand for online casinos that has been a key pattern in 2020. The site’s success is largely due to its unique theme, Zombies, which distinguishes it from the other brands on the market and is a hugely popular concept across almost every 18+ age bracket. Since launching last month, the site has already attracted over 40,000 unique visitors.
Soft2Bet has also been at the forefront of the increase in online activity amongst players based in LatAm. On a continent traditionally dominated by the retail sector, 2020 has been something of a transformative year for the regional gambling industry.
Having launched two of our top-performing brands, YoYoCasino and CampoBet, in the key market of Brazil, we recently expanded our LatAm customer base even further with the launch of MultiApuestas. That sportsbook and casino has tapped into the growing regional demand for online betting experiences, and features the most popular local content, payment methods and currencies.
LatAm is crucial, but the growing appetite for online gambling options extends to other corners of the globe too. That’s why our commercial reach stretches to the Oceanic and African continents, where our cutting-edge B2B solution, Irokobet, offers premium live casino, virtuals and sportsbook options.
From Sao Paulo to New Zealand’s South Island, Soft2Bet stands ready to deliver for partners looking to capitalise on the burgeoning commercial prospects of the online gambling industry.
