Valentyn Kyrylenko, VP of Business Development, Betinvest.
Which are the keys to make a proper entrance into a new sports betting market such as the U.S.?This industry is about what you can envision and predict. We analyzed what the industry was requiring. I’m a firm believer that every vision has its specifications. The U.S. market has recently opened to sportsbook so, as a first step, we started looking for the right local partners. Then, we provide technology in order to achieve success. The second step would be to begin a B2C operation. The process takes some time, since the company has to obtain a certification and be authorized to operate in each jurisdiction that has regulated sports betting. Besides, every region must consume the local content. One of my tasks is to find content providers of the most popular sports for the U.S. bettors. At this stage, customization is a key. It’s also important to work along with the media to spread the word about your product. For the audience, it doesn’t matter the size of your company, but how loud you promote your products. Your company is celebrating 20 years in the industry. How important is experience to make a difference with local U.S. companies that are quite new to iGaming?
Experience is the ability to adapt fast to the conditions of a new market. These 20 years of our company’s operational experience let us easily perceive how things work and how a business is not going in the right direction. So we are more flexible to recognize a situation, accept it and make changes in order to succeed. At the end of the day, this process let us have a better product to offer. Moreover, it’s also essential to get a feedback from consumers about your platform. Which are the main solutions of Betinvest?
Betting Genesis is our omni-channel approach to the gaming industry to help companies expand their businesses. We have products for both B2B and B2C verticals: sportsbook, virtual gaming, lottery products, games of chance, live casino (with games such as Over/Under, Tombala and Kilic). We also offer third-party product integration, as well as some technology solutions: data feed, CRM, betting terminals. We can even help companies that want to start an eSports betting business. We started becoming successful in the moment when we defined our expertise and found the main strengths of our offering. In what territories is Betinvest present and what opportunities do you think exist for a company that wants to offer online gaming and sports betting in Latin America?
Currently, we serve clients across four continents: Europe, Asia, Africa and North America. About Latin America, I think iGaming legislation in that continent will move faster than the U.S. legalization of online gaming. It’s also more affordable for an operator to enter a Latin America market than a North American one, where there are giant companies trying to dominate the gaming scene. Maybe, the volume of business in the LatAm iGaming market is minor than the one from the U.S., but I consider LatAm as a more exciting territory, more interesting for some companies that want to be adventurers, with less barriers to get a license and start operating. Besides, there is still a lot of uncertainty in some U.S. states, and things will come clearer only in a 3-to-5 year period of time. That’s why I would suggest for companies to test their operations first in Latin America, where it will be easier (and less expensive) to correct and adjust any platform to customers’ preferences. It’s a territory where any company could learn their lessons well, and then take a big step to the different online gaming legalized U.S. jurisdictions.
