Bright future as OpenBet prepares for Brazil entry
This article first appeared on SBC News
Jordan Levin, OpenBet CEO, talks exclusively to SBC News about the company’s strong growth in H1 2024 and how the award-winning sports betting provider is firmly positioned to make waves across Brazil.
SBC News: What have been the key factors behind the company’s recent momentum in H1 2024?
Jordan Levin: Firstly, we have a great team in place who possess a constant drive to deliver success for our operators worldwide. Our people, many of whom have been with the business for several years, live and breathe sports and know exactly what it takes to bring immersive and responsible experiences to billions of players across the globe.
Product development has been another key factor in taking the business forward. The acquisition of Neccton enabled us to create a new regulatory technology vertical within our modular product suite, and deliver player protection software to operators of all types and sizes.
More recently, the launch of OpenBet Locator saw the introduction of geolocation software within our offering. Powered by Amazon Web Services and underpinned by our expertise of more than 25 years within the sports betting sector, the new product has further differentiated our proposition.
We have developed a low latency solution that enables operators worldwide to implement strong integrity and robust compliance measures in order to meet with changing regulatory requirements.
Above all else, we have remained laser-focused on our core business functions and continue to upgrade and evolve our platform technology. We consistently delivered 100% uptime during the biggest sporting events of 2024 so far, including Euro 2024, ensuring operators can perform at maximum capacity.
SBCN: What have been the key commercial highlights for OpenBet in H1 2024?
JL: Growing our customer base by more than 40% in the first half of the year was an incredible achievement by the team. Signing with Australia’s market leader Tabcorp was a notable highlight, with the operator entrusting us to take its sportsbook to the next level.
We are progressing well with a series of integrations across online and retail, including our fixed-odds betting platform and trading system for Tabcorp’s flagship brand, TAB. We also strengthened our 11-year alliance with Danske Spil to provide the Danish national lottery with our managed trading services to elevate its omnichannel sports betting platform.
This reinforced our commitment to servicing World Lottery Association members worldwide, which now stands at 20 partners, including our recent deal with Finland’s government-owned betting operator, Veikkaus. As Finland transitions to a more inclusive betting system, our unrivalled technology and MTS will power the Veikkaus sportsbook platform, expanding the operator’s online and retail betting operations.
Alongside the numerous deals for Neccton’s technology, there were also major agreements for SportCast’s BetBuilder, as well as the soft launch of its new in-play solution for the Euros, which performed very well.
SBCN: Where do the future growth opportunities lie for OpenBet?
JL: The regulated Brazilian market presents an exciting opportunity for OpenBet to deliver its responsible and immersive sports betting experiences to sports fans across the country. With Brazil estimated to generate over $4bn online GGR, it is set to become one of the biggest regulated marketplaces in the world, and we aspire to have a major presence in the region.
As you can imagine, interest in our complete modular product suite is high as operators seek a match-winning offering to succeed. We have held positive and exciting discussions with several entities and look forward to sharing further details in the near future as we look to build our presence in Brazil.
SBCN: What sets OpenBet’s offering apart from the competition in Brazil?
JL: With a modular product suite, we can be flexible in matching specific requirements. Whether an operator requires a full end-to-end solution, or simply looking for expertise within a particular business function, we are ready to step in and offer our globally renowned service.
Our reg tech forms a key component of our Brazil strategy. OpenBet Locator provides operators in Brazil with the required geolocation support they need. The combination of AWS technology and our expertise offers customers a compelling proposition to ensure they have superior compliance measures. Additionally, player protection tools powered by Neccton technology will deliver players the safest of user experiences.
Considering their passion for sports and love of football, we expect content to be king. This will require a broad offering of markets and bet types, as well as strong risk management. We believe we are well positioned to meet these demands. As we have seen in other regions across South America, our BetBuilder solution powered by SportCast resonates with a wide audience, while our robust and scalable platform technology will enable operators to meet the demands of increased bet volumes from day one of launching.
SBCN: With a potential change in ownership, what does the future hold for OpenBet?
JL: It’s very much business as usual. For existing customers, we remain laser-focused on delivering ongoing projects and maintaining the world-class service that they expect from us.
We continue to explore commercial opportunities and further extend our global footprint, including Brazil. Regardless of the ownership structure, there is strong momentum at OpenBet and the growth trajectory is very positive.