SBC News SBC Interview - Mark Bosman International CEO BetTech 'Emerging Markets & Opportunities'

SBC Interview – Mark Bosman International CEO BetTech ‘Emerging Markets & Opportunities’

Markbosman
Mark Bosman

This week SBC catches up with Mark Bosman, International CEO of BetTech Gaming, to discuss African and emerging market igaming and development.

Mark co-founded BetTech Gaming, the global provider of premium technology solutions to gaming companies, with Chief Executive Officer Jesse Hemson-Struthers, in August 2009.

His role as International CEO sees him focus on business development and identifying new market and client opportunities for BetTech Sports, the company’s flagship, GLI-certified product. The technology allows smaller sportsbook operators the functionality to compete with the world’s largest bookmakers.

Bosman, a graduate of the University of South Africa, is an entrepreneur with a background in the fast-moving consumer goods industry. He has previously held roles at Red Bull and L’Oreal and was the Business Development Director of a Swiss hedge fund

SBC: Mark, pleasure meeting you. Can you give our readers more insight into BetTech services and how you operate?

Mark: Through a range of packages, all comprising a choice of software, BetTech facilitates world-class online and mobile operations for established sports betting, casino groups, media and entertainment companies and start-ups alike.

We have recently launched our Fully Managed Solution, whereby companies inexperienced in the wagering business, for instance media companies, now have a chance to offer their own unique online and mobile betting product, where they drive the marketing and we oversee and manage the operation. BetTech also offers a serviced software solution that provides the platform for a partner to then handle the operation themselves, as well as a white label option.

Where regulation allows, we operate in markets off the beaten track – we are bullish on igaming in territories such as Africa, South America, South East Asia and Eastern Europe and are already beginning to help our partners exploit opportunities in developing regions. We understand that each market has its own challenges, from legislation to payment channels. Most of the markets we operate in are complex, diverse environments which require local knowledge – and out-of-the-box thinking.

As an example, the mature gaming markets are developing application-based mobile solutions, whereas we focus heavily on a mobile web based solutions and developing specifically to cater for low end feature phones in Africa. It’s key to focus on the man in the street – understand the challenges he faces to logging into a mobile-based gaming site using a handset like the Samsung e250. There is so much talk about smartphones, but it is important to remember that, no matter how popular they already are, not everyone who enjoys betting and gaming has one.

 

SBC: What drove you to set-up an igaming solutions provider, you must have known that this was competitive and saturated market?

Mark: Competitive? Yes. Saturated? No. The team that set-up BetTech are serial entrepreneurs and we certainly wouldn’t have entered igaming lightly – we firmly believe that it is a world of opportunity. We have complemented our business know-how with experienced industry and technology professionals.

There is still massive room for improvement, especially in the newer, emerging markets. Here in South Africa and in the east of the continent, for example, the demand for sports betting is burgeoning. Punters are developing a taste for new live sports and exotic bets placed on mobile. Bookmakers and tech suppliers need to adapt to accommodate this.

 

SBC:  BetTech are a very unique gaming solutions provider with development and operational teams based in South Africa. What advantages does operating away from traditional igaming development areas hold for BetTech?

Mark:  We have a level of local knowledge that not many of our peers can match and which gives us insight to the betting landscape around us. We develop unique gaming solutions based on our appreciation of these challenges and experiences.

In a lot of ways we are paving the way for how to operate in developing markets, like those in Africa, both in terms of technology and how to run the client operations side, such as with customer support and call centres.

The reason why our partners approach us in the first place is because they know that we understand and deal with individual challenges for each client rollout. There is no set template to launching a betting and gaming operation.

 

SBC: Your Company has many partnerships with African based bookmakers.  How do African igaming customers differ from western igaming customers, what common trends is your team witnessing?

Mark: The biggest factor in Africa is the mobile device. It has a two-fold influence on igaming: it is the primary method of both connecting to the internet as well as banking. Mobile is a way of life here. As an example, in a market like Kenya there is a mobile-based currency system called Mpesa which the majority of the market uses to transact. Credit cards are uncommon in Africa, whereas in Western markets they are widely used, so it is one of many factors to adapt to.

An African bookmaker feels comfortable licensing software from a local tech supplier who understands their challenges, billing them in their local currency and is able to talk to them in their local language. There is a good cultural fit in this sense between us and our clients.

 

SBC: What common misconceptions are placed on the African igaming market, do you hear a lot of false rhetoric regarding the region?

Mark: The main one is that the business in general and its protagonists – the operators – are shady and unregulated. It’s simply not true. Transparency is important and markets are becoming a lot more regulated. South Africa sets the benchmark for how to regulate an African igaming market and a lot of the East African markets such as Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania are working hard on regulating their markets.

The next one is that it is difficult to make money. Again, this is untrue. It takes hard work – if it was easy then everyone would be doing it – but you just need to know the markets, the mentality of the customer and how to engage with them, based on the unique challenges that I’ve talked about, such as localised payment gateways.

 

SBC: What are the key factors to take into account when building digital products for developing and emerging markets?

Mark: There are three. Number one is legislation. It’s obvious; you need to have an understanding of what is and isn’t allowed in different countries and act accordingly. Secondly, education. Work out how people currently transact through online and via mobile devices and try to build their igaming experience around their preferences and customs. People will readily interact with a new product if you make it simple and accessible around depositing and playing. And, lastly, technology. What are the unique requirements? In Africa it is low-end feature phone handsets which form the bulk of the market.

 

SBC:  Is it good or safe practice to take igaming methodologies or strategies honed in the West to developing markets, or do you feel that these are non-applicable to companies trying to break into the new markets?

Mark: As with any industry, a one-size-fits-all approach will never be the most successful, but common practices emerge for a reason – they tend to work. Ultimately it is about finding a balance.  A lot of the methodologies have been, and are still being, perfected in Western markets, so to ignore them would be imprudent.

The key is to identify requirements important to the local providers and consumers, and adapt a tested platform. Simply bringing a foreign-based approach or methodology to a local market and hoping for success will be tricky. The secret is to localise the product and your approach to the market.

 

SBC: Finally how do you see igaming evolving in the African continent in the coming years and how will BetTech progress in this region?

Mark: BetTech was set up just over four years ago and, according to government figures, betting volumes in South Africa have doubled since then, with the latest data showing an annual turnover of R17.7 billion.

And we’re just getting started – the industry has so much room to grow. Markets will regulate, many countries on the continent are going to realize the size of the industry and the value it can offer them through taxation.

From our point of view, BetTech will continue its focus on the developing markets, finding clients and opportunities in markets where others are not equipped and not yet looking.

 

__________________________

Mark Bosman – International CEO BetTech

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