Betdaq look to strengthen business with sportsbook launch
Betting exchange Betdaq achieved a long-held ambition this month with the launch of their new sportsbook, aimed at strengthening the brand as a standalone business.
Betdaq’s managing director Shane McLaughlin said that the brand was not expecting to rival their stablemates under the GVC Holdings banner and would remain focused on the exchange.
However, having a sportsbook would strengthen the business, McLaughlin said, as well as helping in international expansion.
Betdaq’s sportsbook launched on August 1 along with a marketing push including a new television advertising campaign and the thoughts of former England footballer Glen Johnson.
McLaughlin said he was pleased with how things have gone so far.
“We are obviously going from a small base but we are seeing week-on-week increases in staking and active numbers,” he added.
“The technology has bedded in really well. I think the marketing campaign on TV has been popular and signing Glen Johnson as an ambassador has put us into the football space and has been working really well.”
Among their innovations has been best odds guaranteed on Premier League football matches.
McLaughlin added: “There are a few things that we have in the background that we can introduce and carve ourselves out a bit of unique space in the sportsbook world.”
Nevertheless, McLaughlin said Betdaq were “not coming in to try to compete and be a tier-one operator”.
He went on: “We are part of GVC, we have tier-one sportsbook brands within the business. This is primarily for us about strengthening the standalone Betdaq business.
“It’s about share of wallet for existing Betdaq customers rather than cross selling people from the exchanges to sportsbook. We are still very exchange-led as a business and a brand.”
However McLaughlin said there were areas where exchange and sportsbook can cross over.
“For example, we start off with sportsbook pricing but in certain areas where we see the exchange has stronger pricing or where we want to be more aggressive we can switch ourselves over to offer people the exchange price,” he said.
“Then we have the ability to hedge that back automatically into the exchange if we want to. So we think we can do smart things around risk management using the exchange and the sportsbook together which will help us to attract and keep customers happy.”
McLaughlin sees the introduction of the sportsbook as a vital tool in their plans for international expansion.
“It’s a big piece of it,” he said. “It’s maybe a stepping stone or gateway into some new territories. For example, there are a lot of territories where we could go in as a sportsbook or sportsbook and casino but it is not yet legal or regulated to go in as an exchange.
“If we can establish the brand there and get a foothold in a market, once exchange does become viable in those countries then we would be able to very quickly turn it on.
“So that is very much part of the strategy.”
Having launched the sportsbook, McLaughlin said Betdaq would look to continue to make improvements across the business with focus returning to the exchange.
He said: “Our big-picture strategy has been to try to establish three strong products so we have the exchange, we’ve integrated GVC casino so we have a much better casino offering and now we have added the sportsbook.
“Our big-picture technology projects have been delivered and now we see it as incremental improvements to all three as we go along.
“Exchange liquidity is always something we are looking at and how we make it better. We do feel we have made giant strides with that over the last two or three years.”
GVC optimistic about German regulation
GVC Holdings’ chief executive Kenny Alexander said last week the company was confident it would be able to maintain its business in Germany in the face of regulatory pressures there.
Officials from Hesse, the state overseeing overall German licensing, last week confirmed rules governing interim licences due to run from January 2020 to July 2021 which analysts at Regulus Partners argued would weigh heavily on companies like GVC who operate in the country.
The measures included the requirement that no gaming is offered for the duration of the licence, restrictions to in-play betting and a staking limit of €1,000 per customer per month.
Regulus said this could reduce betting revenue by 40 to 70 per cent and gaming revenue to zero.
Nevertheless GVC said in their interim results announcement that “significant further clarity on both the regulatory details and timings is still required”, adding that if that clarity was not forthcoming this year there was an increased likelihood of delays and legal challenges.
That, GVC added, could mean the regulatory position not being resolved until 2021, “when positive re-regulation of the German online sports betting and gaming market is expected”.
Alexander told the Racing Post: “We’ve been in that market for over 20 years, we have a lot of knowledge and a lot of expertise around the Germany regulatory environment.
“We are confident we will be able to maintain our German gaming revenues as well as get a sports betting licence.”
GambleAware launches next wave of Bet Regret campaign
GambleAware last weekend launched the second wave of activity for its safer gambling campaign Bet Regret with the tagline ‘Think Twice or You’ll Bet Regret it’.
The campaign is supported by a sponsorship donation from GVC Holdings, notably including the Bet Regret logo being displayed by all 42 clubs in the Scottish Football League, Sunderland, West Bromwich Albion, Burnley, Sheffield Wednesday and Sheffield United.
The messaging is being targeted at the estimated audience of at 2.4 million men aged 16-34 who gamble regularly on sport, of which 87 per cent regularly watch football.
The charity said the first wave of activity in the second half of the 2018-19 football season had a 61 per cent rate of recognition among the campaign audience.
GambleAware chief executive Marc Etches said: “The Bet Regret campaign is really starting to gain momentum, and seems, at this early stage, to be resonating with our audience.
“This season, we look to build on that, drive more conversations around safer gambling, and help people Think Twice to steer clear of Bet Regret.”
Betfred to sponsor Spanish club RCD Mallorca
Betfred have signed their first sponsorship deal outside the United Kingdom with the news they are to back La Liga football club RCD Mallorca for the next two seasons.
The Betfred brand will appear on the match jersey, training kit and will also feature prominently around the club’s San Moix stadium and website.
Betfred boss Fred Done said: “The deal to be the principal partner of the Spanish club is one we believe will assist our planned expansion both in Spain and internationally.
“I’m delighted with the agreement and I feel that we are joining a club that continues to grow and look forward to being part of an exciting season ahead.”
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