SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
Betbazar is fast becoming an ‘industry matchmaker’ finding the right bookmakers for the carefully chosen components of its portfolio.
We spoke to the company’s CEO Alex Iaroshenko (pictured) to learn more about its growing role in the market, key contributing suppliers, scouting new opportunities for its global ‘sales house’ and getting involved in the newly regulated Ukrainian market.
SBC: Hey Alex, can you give us a short introduction to Betbazar?
AI: Betbazar is a leading global sales house for companies within the gambling industry. On the one hand, we scout and validate products for a bookmaker, and on the other – we help a supplier sell their products by becoming an external sales office for them.
With the amount of betting content currently being produced, it is easy for a traditional sportsbook to get overwhelmed by the variety. This is where we step in as an innovation native and gradually introduce the bookmakers to new exciting opportunities.
SBC: How do you go about matching these opportunities for the right sportsbooks?
AI: Our role is to help each sportsbook find its perfect supplier with a product that meets their average player’s needs. We believe that business is about chemistry. Therefore one can say that we have a role of the industry matchmaker – we want a bookmaker to be head over heels about each supplier’s product we sell.
SBC: The Betbazar offer is made up of several key products; can you explain how each of these contributes to new deals?
AI: There are no random products in Betbazar’s portfolio. We carefully choose who we partner with – after all, it is our reputation.
One of the key reasons for us to offer one or another product is an existing or hidden demand for it in the market. For example, when there was a lack of events during 2020, BETER provided fast esports betting content.
The same with all other products – we strive to preordain the next big thing in betting. Once we get it, we try to do our best to deliver the product in the best way possible. We create a tailored solution to meet the needs of a specific company.
Despite the name, we are less of a Bazar and more of an igaming boutique where a bookmaker finds exactly what it needs.
SBC: Has your approach to scouting new products changed in the last 12 months? For example, were the deals with partners like BETER always in the pipeline, or triggered by the pandemic?
AI: For the last 12 months, 90% of our time was in sales and only 10% in scouting — this was due to the pandemic and market requirements for any kinds of betting events. If we started scouting in March 2020, it wouldn’t get us anywhere.
But back then, we already had a number of conversations going with the potential clients regarding the content and platform. That is why when all sports activity in the world unexpectedly froze, we were on top of bookmakers’ minds to ensure audience retention.
However, the world has adapted to the new normal where our products have already filled their niche – we see it as perfect timing to start doing more scouting for new opportunities.
SBC: You have been working with both established clients and new market players; how have your products affected partner incomes so far? And has this varied at all depending on the size or pre-existing market position of the client?
AI: Depending on the client’s profile, the products we offer can play a different role and bring different results. Of course, a well-positioned brand with a betting audience will achieve more with the content and marketing tools we offer than the igaming startups.
However, the same startup will have a chance to attract more clients with the iframe sports betting platform we provide, and this will be an easy and efficient way to get things going. For example, we achieved great results from the first month with bet365, Fortuna, William Hill and BetVictor.
Others need a bit more time to get a ball rolling. In both cases, we tune the product to the clients’ needs to maximise the results.
SBC: How does the return to a normal sports calendar influence demand for your products? Might the end of the pandemic mean that esports and other sports like table tennis will lose its relevance for betting companies?
AI: The market structure will be restored with time yet it will never be the same. Some bettors have already been hooked up on esports and high-velocity sports.
These events have the same mechanics and logic of bets, only the bets require significantly less time. Betbazar introduces the suppliers to the quality content: broadcasted matches are the best on the market.
Before the crisis, high velocity and esports had around 5% of betting activity. The number grew to 30-40% during lockdown, depending on the client, and a massive shift to casinos.
Now, coming from our clients’ available data, we can say that there is 15% of all betting activity after the pandemic period. I’m glad that we spotted the niche and were able to expand it.
SBC: Looking close to home, what is the future for betting in Ukraine after the recent regulation? And how does Betbazar plan to get involved?
AI: It’s a turning point for Ukraine to become regulated as it opens great opportunities for further development. We are looking forward to welcoming international companies here.
Betbazar will do its very best to fulfill the needs of the growing market in Ukraine. We are proud that our company holds the leading position of an igaming supplier of Ukrainian background and we will do our best to keep it.
SBC: Where else has Betbazar operated so far? And what are the company’s expansion priorities in the upcoming year?
AI: We have a solid and stable presence and partnerships in the CIS and European markets. We also are getting acquainted with the Asian market, developing our partner network in the region. The US would be the next priority market for Betbazar expansion.
