666Bet – Can betting’s new boys upset the balance?

666betworldcup
666Bet – CEO Barry Martin & Brand Ambassador Harry Redknapp

A look into what it takes to enter an aggressive and highly competitive market amidst the arrival of new kid on the UK gambling scene; 666Bet.com.

Using Gaming synergies and Microgaming software the firm currently offers an online sportsbook, casino, live dealer games, a lottery feature and live in-play betting. Initially it will target just the British and European markets with updates concerning its Asian launch expected in the not-too-distant future.

CEO Barry Martin recently spoke to Team SBC and this article follows that up with a further investigation into what it’ll takes to break into the industry, and how 666Bet may fare.

Martin has claimed that they’ll be challenging the established players ‘within 18 months’ thereby setting the tone of the sportsbook’s ambition and self-belief. There will need to be a lot of bite to go with such a bark but having made their debut promotion the most historically generous of all time, it’s not a bad start. Odds of 1966/1 for England to win the World Cup (for their first 1966 customers only) was a brave marketing ploy. Whether it will pay off (or pay off in dividends for those who got there first..) remains to be seen but fortune tends to favour the brave, and this is one industry where any new arrival looking to establish themselves needs bravery by the bucketload.

Explosive Welcome

Martin has stated their plans to ‘truly shake up the betting industry’ and was delighted to announce Harry ‘don’t call him a wheeler dealer’ Redknapp as their ambassador, a man who he referred to as ‘the perfect fit’ for the company. The initial adverts, which feature both Redknapp and Vas Blackwood (of Lock Stock ‘I’ll kill ya’ fame), entertain and set a style for the bookmaker who realise, as Paddy Power have shown, that the best way to maximise reach (largely boiled down to social media coverage), is pure and simple good humour.

Both the advert and outrageous England bet are part of an audacious £8m marketing drive which will see them enjoy pivotal TV coverage during both the World Cup and the following Barclays 2014/15 Premiership season.

Martin has openly admitted the difficulty of entering a “very competitive and cluttered market” but added that there are ample opportunities for an “operator who is agile, takes customer service seriously – not just about its interaction with its end user but the whole spectrum of brand perception and deliverability”.

This highlights that whilst they may on the surface be looking to the Paddy Power model of cheeky chappy with a focus on customer interaction, it’s evident that Martin has envisaged a wholly separate and individual identity for 666Bet. This identity, how their brand is perceived, is one he will set about creating in the coming months. Indeed the CEO told SBC how they ‘have a very aggressive but creative plan over the next 24 months which should see 666Bet.com become a household brand’.

It’s a firm which has done its background research , Martin noted how they had spent six months systematically reviewing the marketplace to assess what needed to be done for a new UK sportsbook to succeed. Their dedication to customer care is a central philosophy with 666Bet; their tagline is ‘Get Involved’ and the early realisation of the utter importance and prioritising of customer engagement is a major bonus in ensuring their long-term success and targets.

Martin is a man who knows about the necessity of customer engagement in business from his days at Gutshot Poker. It is this level of personal engagement and bridge building between brand and member that he is aiming to replicate at 666Bet.

Origins & background

Based in central London 666Bet are owned by Novigroup Limited and operate via an Isle of Man license. Barry Martin is the former CEO, and founder, of The Gutshot Poker Club, which was sold to Betsnetwork Group in March 2013.

This was a highly successful venture, which Martin was a key part of from 2001 as he nurtured its growth. The gaming enterprise earned itself a reputation of being amongst the best value as well as offering the best customer support amongst players online. Martin’s previous experience in the gaming industry will be a useful tool in breaking into the UK market.

The competition

It was as recently as May 1st 1961 that bookmakers in the UK were legalised. Those who are today known as ‘the big three’ (William Hill, Ladbrokes and Coral) hold somewhat of an advantage having already operated for decades by this point.

Age

  • Ladbrokes – 1886
  • Coral – 1926
  • William Hill – 1934
  • BetVictor – 1946
  • Betfred – 1967
  • Bet365 – 1972
  • Tote sports – 1973 (acquired by Betfred in 2011)
  • Stan James – 1973
  • Paddy Power – 1988
  • Boylesports – 1989

By examining the recent performance of some of the most established UK bookmakers there comes the realisation that the stranglehold of ‘the big three’ is not as tight as it once was. The exception is of course William Hill who continue to make progress and dominate the market; the firm enjoyed pre-tax profits of £257m last year. Whilst this was down £27.7m from the previous year, it’s a figure which has risen from £187.4m in 2011 and moreover one which eclipses its nearest competitors. Ladbrokes meanwhile suffered a challenging year as pre-tax profits fell 66% (from £200.7m to £67.6m), it announced in February that it would be closing forty to fifty of its betting shops.

(http://www.ft.com/cms)

Gala Coral Group have also had a tough year, despite an increase in turnover of 6%, with pre-tax profits decreasing from £116m to £27.6m and large debts resulting in a loss of £218.7m in the last financial year. Two UK bookmakers who have been enjoying life recently are Bet365 and Betfred. Stoke-based Bet365 pre-tax profits rose to the tune of 50% from April 2012 to March 2014 with the figure at £148m, ensuring it leapfrogged even Paddy Power. Betfred meanwhile were able to considerably reduce their debts as their pre-tax profits grew from £53m to £69m.

In the previous financial year Paddy Power recorded a pre-tax profit of £141m, the past two years this figure has stayed very close to this mark after a period of growth which  has seen this figure rise dramatically from £67.2m in 2009.

All of this ultimately highlights that whilst it’s a busy and competitive market, this does not mean that there’s no more room at the inn. As Barry Martin put it; ‘there is still room for daring and aggressive brands that are prepared to offer something different’. With the statistics presented here it’s evident that he’s quite right, that the status quo can be, and is being, challenged. This is an industry that does not stand still, and one which will doubtless enter into a period of consolidation in the near future. Innovation is the key and how each bookmaker approaches the World Cup may provide some insight into their future.

2014 World Cup

666Bet burst onto the scene just before what is being recognised as the biggest opportunity for the gambling industry in history. This, of course, was no accident. By arriving quite so imminently before it all kicked off, they are hoping to reap the rewards of being fresh and new in people’s minds for the duration of the tournament.

That after all is their current mantra and biggest draw; they are new and therefore exciting. With Harry Redknapp in an ambassadorial role they have secured the man many wanted to be chosen for the England job over Roy Hodgson. Their current focus is geared toward those daring to dream with the best odds (66/1) for England to bring football home, as well as the patriotic bet promise of all losing first/last goalscorer bets refunded if a goal is scored in the 66th minute of any World Cup match. This campaign promises to be phenomenally lucrative for bookmakers should they play their cards right; and it’s bets like this which get everyone’s attention. Furthermore in a world of smartphones and tablets live in-play betting will be worth a fortune. Bookmakers are estimating that the betting total will surpass £1bn. Dubbed the ‘digital World Cup’, the late kick off times will also mean that betting shops are often closed and so the traditional method of placing a bet will not be an option. Ciaran O’Brien, Ladbrokes Corporate Affairs Director, said how ‘it’s going to be very mobile-driven’, to the extent that Ladbrokes are predicting 75% of turnover in the industry for the duration of the competition will be from online betting or via mobile apps.

(http://www.telegraph.co.uk)

Whilst there is no easy time to enter and gain a foothold in an already bloated gambling industry, there simply is no better time than now.

Other rival bookmakers are all too aware of the 2014 World Cup’s potential however and the inevitable new campaigns have begun. From ‘Ladbrokes Life’ to William Hill’s ‘Make every moment matter’, and whatever Paddy Power have up their sleeve, all will make it trickier still for 666Bet to lure customers away. Furthermore the forthcoming tax alterations, which will be in effect from December 2014 in a significant blow to the UK betting industry operators, are also a concern and should mean competition amongst bookmakers is fiercer than ever as each seeks to line their pockets, and secure a larger market share ahead of these changes. (http://www.gbgc.com/2014/06/world-cup-2014-they-think-its-all-over-it-is-now/

This World Cup will be an extravaganza wherein the excitement will not just be limited to the pitch as the pressure on bookmakers to succeed is higher than ever before. 666Bet have it all to do, but Martin for one seems more than up for the challenge.

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