In The Spotlight: Sam Houlding

Sam Houlding, chief commercial officer of Spotlight Sports Group, looks at the successes of 2021 and what to expect from the company in 2022. 

Sam, first, 2021 was an eventful year for Spotlight Sports Group. In your opinion, what was the most important success the company had?

The most important success in my opinion has been the rapid global diversification of the company.  We have this as a key commercial objective of ours and I believe for a couple of years, we have had all of the components to enable us to be successful in globalising our business, but I believe that 2021 was a landmark year in really bringing them together for Spotlight Sports Group. 

The two key items that best characterises our success here for me are: 

• Our commercial and operational growth in the US. The thing that excites me most is the platform we have created for growth for years to come. The Pickswise team has done stellar work growing the brand and putting our B2C media efforts firmly on the map. We’ve also hired some exceptional talent at entry and leadership levels. The acquisition of Alarm Sports Network and subsequent integration of their fantastically talented team has led us to become a multifaceted business within the US across all B2C and B2B operations. 

• Securing and launching our AS Diario partnership. AS Diario are one the largest publishers globally and this joint venture means that we have a flagship media partner to build an affiliate business with across their Spanish audience and hopefully extend to their LATAM audience in the future. It is a huge testament to our turnkey sports betting capabilities. 

Is there anything in particular that occurred in the final months of 2021 that you are excited about leading into 2022?

I am really excited about some of the things we achieved in the last few months of 2021 and seeing them grow in 2022.  

First, to see us deliver successfully on our global publisher partnerships that are at different stages coming into this year. I am also really thrilled about some promising pipeline conversations we have from a B2B perspective in the US and hope to see some of them come to fruition. I am also very excited to witness the continued growth of Pickswise. And we are all eagerly anticipating the launch of our new Racing Post app and the positive impact that will have on users of Racing Post digital products and our bottom-line commercials. 

With loads to be very excited about it is hard to pick one!  

With the acquisition of Alarm Sports Network and the partnership with AS.com in 2021, SSG has become a global provider of sports betting and fantasy sports services. What do you think has led to this growth?

Like everyone, we have been through the journey of multiple lockdowns over the past 18 months and we should view our growth in 2021 in the context of everything that the business has been through in the last two years. We always knew we needed to materially progress the business across certain global channels but with all the uncertainty, our plans that were due to deploy before the Covid pandemic struck were understandably stunted slightly. 

However, what the pandemic did was allow us to pull together a great plan for the business by taking a fresh look at all the options available to us and we have since done an excellent job of executing it.  

From a B2B perspective, the rebrand to Spotlight Sports Group has also helped enormously. As strong as the Racing Post brand is, we have shown everyone externally that we are so much more than just a UK and Ireland racing provider, even if this remains a critical part of our core and a key focus of our business.

We have built an excellent narrative around who we are and what we stand for and this is just the beginning of that narrative.

As the sports betting industry grows in North America over the next few years, where are the opportunities for Spotlight Sports Group to grow?

I think this is really clear and we have a great framework in place. Our current priority across B2B is in becoming a facilitator of sports betting monetisation for media companies in the United States. We also hope to become a leading supplier of racing and sports content to operators, which is so strong in our core.

From a B2C perspective, this is also straightforward as we have our brands Pickswise and Fantasy Alarm, which are both looking to grow and become dominant in their sports betting and fantasy sports sectors. It isn’t all about the US though; we do need to make sure we harness all of the great sports betting opportunities that are either emerging or have future potential for us in LATAM, India and Asia.  It is an exciting global marketplace right now and I am certain that really strong growth opportunities will emerge in all of these as well over the coming years.  

Spotlight Sports Groups industry-leading content engine Superfeed has been proven to increase dwell time by 40%. Why do you think Superfeed engages users at such a high rate?

With strong integrated content on a bookmaker’s markets page, in what is otherwise dead space for engagement aside from odds, there would obviously be a significant increase in dwell time as users have more information at their fingertips to digest. This is just a fundamental part of user engagement and I do think in the future integrating content feeds like Superfeed into sportsbooks will be commonplace. 

As a bettor I have to use multiple screens to properly analyse an event and place a bet, so why would operators not own the whole journey and provide this full service? Increased dwell time equals increased turnover and when we get into quantifying those measures for Superfeed (which we have done) it becomes really compelling for operators. 

Our ability to cover every sport and every event within that sport, in multiple languages, is a key part of our B2B DNA. I am sure we will see further traction in 2022 across this product. 

Lastly, do you have any New Year’s resolutions that we should hold you to throughout the year?

It is the same every year so I am either setting false expectations for myself or failing miserably. I want to get out running more frequently. I do quite a lot now but I’m always keen to push on further, believing that one day I might get back to previous fitness levels! It may be time to accept those days are gone, but I’ll carry on fighting that thought for a while yet . . .

Sam Houlding is the chief commercial officer at Spotlight Sports Group. He has held the position since October 2020 and has been part of the company since 2010. He has risen through the company’s ranks, originally starting as an Account Executive, and has helped the company become a global full-service sports betting and fantasy sports provider.