SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
In another of our end of year roundups we spoke to Ari Lewski, Executive Director at Digital Sports Tech.
Clearly not one to believe in patience being a virtue, Digital Sports Tech only launched in 2016 but has already entered Australia and the UK, whilst it has ambitious, and advanced, plans for global expansion in the new year. The company offers bookmakers new bet types based around player proposition, or ‘prop’, bets and is focused on personalised betting.
SBC: You only launched earlier this year, how have the first six months been for Digital Sports Tech?
Ari: Very busy and very exciting at the same time! We first launched with Madbookie in Australia and then Coral in the UK, so it has been all hands on deck.
All of the feedback from both of those operators, including their players, has been excellent so far. Our momentum with signing new operators is building quickly. We have recently announced two new deals in Australia with Ladbrokes and TopSport, and have also started integrations with major Russian and LatAm operators which we will be announcing shortly. The first wave of sportsbook operators that have come on board all realise just how important it is to put the power back into users’ hands when it comes to the markets they bet on and Player Props is by far the most effective and engaging way of doing this.
SBC: You’re live in Australia and the UK, what other markets are you looking at?
Ari: Australia and the UK are large markets and are of major importance to us. Sport is phenomenally popular in both countries, and betting markets are established, mature, and ready for a product such as Player Props.
We are also in very advanced discussions with a number of operators in LatAM, Eastern Europe, Scandinavia and Africa. The latter in particular is a very interesting market for us given their customer base is highly opinionated when it comes to betting, which ties in very nicely to our product offering.
SBC: What innovations are you expecting to see in sports betting in 2017?
Ari: I think there has been a real lack of innovation in sports betting in recent times. Sure, cash out has been a big positive for the industry, but that was introduced quite a few years ago and not much else has surfaced since then.
The online betting industry is moving forward at such a rapid pace, with competition hotter than ever before, so operators and suppliers need to find something new that engages players – in particular the millennial generation coming through – by enhancing the experience. And we believe Player Props does just that.
We also believe “player betting” is going to grow quite rapidly as a segment of the betting market, while personalisation will continue to be a major focus for operators as they try to better tailor their offering to specific customer’s interests.
SBC: What are your plans for 2017? Are you planning any new product developments or bringing in new sports?
Ari: The current product roadmap is extensive and we will be evolving and enhancing our product in a number of exciting ways in 2017.
The big one that we always get asked about is our in-play offering, which we’re hoping to go live with in Q1 next year.
We will also soon be adding a number of new bet types, many of which will be firsts for the sports betting industry, and we think the punters are going to love them as they will add a whole new dimension to how users get to bet on and engage with their favourite sports. Our sales pipeline is also very strong with a number of operators gearing up to launch Player Props over the coming weeks and months. So overall 2017 is shaping up to be a very busy year for us!
