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iGB Live! 2019 is in the books. It was another packed-out event organised by the team at iGaming Business.
Running from Tuesday 14th to Friday 17th July at the RAI, Amsterdam, the event hosted approximately 5000 sports betting professionals and 200 exhibitors.
Naturally, the Xtremepush team was there, represented by our Head of Global Partnerships, Robbie Sexton, and our resident sports betting industry guru and Business Development Manager, Victor Sevciuc.
I caught up with them as soon as their plane landed to get an insight into the biggest trends and topics discussed throughout the four days.
In-play betting
We’ve talked before about the importance of offering in-play betting to your customers. Pretty much everyone we spoke to at iGB Live echoed that sentiment, with some arguing it’s become an essential component of their offering.
Depending on the market you’re currently operating in, it can be a competitive differentiator, elevating your sportsbook and creating exciting opportunities to play for your customers.
Within the more established markets, it’s vital that you offer it to keep pace with your rivals. As the U.S. market continues to grow, there’s a lot of excitement around the major sports like baseball, basketball and American Football. They are perfect for in-play betting, with detailed statistics available on pretty much every facet of the game alongside clear pauses in the action for players to place a bet in real time.
One of the biggest concerns that executives have is ensuring the data-streaming system used is robust and reliable. Naturally, any delays or disruptions to this live feed is going to kill any hopes of getting real-time odds out to players.
Fast, efficient data-streaming is something that we’ve placed a lot of emphasis on within our own system. We utilise platforms like Apache Kafta to guarantee our clients get the best results.
That’s why some of the major players in the industry like Paddy Power Betfair, Oddschecker, SportPesa, Rush Street Interactive and Pollard Banknote have all chosen us as a service partner.
You can see some of the use cases we’ve developed for those brands here.
Blockchain and sports betting
This was certainly one of the most fascinating topics discussed at the event. A small number of brands are seriously considering the potential benefits of operating a sportsbook powered by blockchain technology.
The inherent security advantage, a core feature of all blockchain ventures, is certainly an attractive draw. Cybersecurity continues to be a priority, with hackers and would-be fraudsters constantly seeking an edge. Delegates at iGB Live! were keen to hear about how their brands could protect themselves.
There is another aspect of the business that can potentially be improved by blockchain ledgers, however; proving the fairness of online gaming. This is according to Simit Naik of nChain.
As it stands, operators rely on regulators to verify the randomness of their games. Simit believes that a blockchain solution, which is both public and independently verifiable will eliminate the need for these external bodies.
It remains to be seen whether any of the large brands will actually make the move, and it’s unclear how long a transformation like that would take.
Smarter customer retention
What are the five scariest letters in the sports betting industry? C.H.U.R.N!
With new brands seemingly springing up every week, there’s a huge body of work to be done beefing up your customer retention strategy. That’s the opinion of David Gzesh, a longtime industry expert and principal at Gzesh Law, Ltd.
“[Affiliates] are going to have to find a way to compete,” said David Gzesh, (quoted here).
“The typical affiliate model historically has been, ‘Oh we just signed the player up, we don’t know anything about them, we don’t even know who they are.’ They’re going to have to take a more active role in the retention of customers. They’re going to have to get a lot more touchy-feely with their customers then they have been in the past”
So, how do you encourage loyalty in the face of enticing sign-up bonuses and offers designed to encourage players to jump ship?
Going back to what Gzesh has said, it’s first about understanding your players. What are their preferred games and how often do they play? How much do they typically bet? etc
Crucially, you need to be able to use this information to identify those players who are at risk of churning. Once you’ve done that, it’s all about re-engaging them on the right channel (whether that’s email, web push or through your mobile app) with a personalised, dynamic message that’s relevant to them and their individual interests.
And obviously, these re-engagement strategies need to be automated. iGB Live! patrons were eager to hear more about the campaigns we’ve helped roll out to reduce churn and increase the Lifetime Value of their userbase.
We believe these impactful use cases are why the Xtremepush platform was recommended for the sports betting industry in the 2019 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Mobile Marketing. Get a free copy of the report here.
Wrap-up
Congratulations to the iGB Live! team for organising another successful event, full of insightful talks and discussions.
The Xtremepush sports betting team will be at the Betting on Sports UK event in September, so reach out to us on info@xtremepush.com to arrange a meeting.
Or alternatively, click on the button below and schedule a demo to see how Xtremepush can help you acquire, engage and retain your audience.
