Exclusive Q&A with Chris Nikolopoulos, Commercial Director at BETBY

Is Latin America a market that BETBY is interested in, and do you think that the bettors have different preferences to those in other regions across the globe?

Yes, Latin America is definitely a region we are paying close attention too and I believe that it will be one of the main territories for us over the next couple of years. Emerging markets are usually receptive to innovation and that’s one of the main reasons that make me think that our product is perfectly suited to Latin America. Bettors are always craving for better and more unique experiences and products and LatAm is no different. We closely monitor markets and listen to our partner’s requirements to accommodate their needs and with experience of operators within the region, we can create exciting betting opportunities.

After the explosion of sports betting in the US after the repeal of PASPA, do you expect any LatAm countries to be the next big thing?

Markets such as Colombia, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Peru which are already either regulated or on the cusp of being regulated look very exciting. Those countries have a combined GDP of approximately 4 trillion EUR and a huge appetite for sports betting. Whilst there are obviously a number of factors which can affect this, the appetite and market size is there, so these markets are poised to be incredible opportunities.

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How have Esports and Virtual sports taken off during the recent postponement of Live Sport, and do you expect this to continue?

With such a limited amount of live sport to sate public appetite over the last couple of months, it was inevitable that interest would turn to any other sporting products available, such as virtual sports, esports and fantasy sports, among others. While these verticals do not necessarily appeal to all sports fans, obviously the industry at large saw an uptick in revenue from these verticals, despite turnover dropping as a whole for sports betting. I think that those verticals were able to convert some traditional sportsbook traffic and it is very likely they will be able to keep the trend over the coming months, with only a gradual return of sport.

Has offering more products, such as virtuals, esports, and live games, allowed Betby to reach even more players than ever before in a region that traditionally is heavily sport-focused?

Our aim was to provide the widest possible coverage of sports, including a big selection of virtual sports and an enhanced esports experience and I am proud to say that we were able to move quickly and efficiently and accomplish that. I’m sure the whole industry would agree that the last couple of months have been tough, but we came out of the period stronger. The ace in our sleeve were our in-house Betby. Games products, a combination of esports and virtual sports titles, with unique, realistic mechanics and proven, ultra-high conversion and retention rates of traditional sportsbook players. We continue to expand the product and add more and more sports and leagues, with lots in the pipeline, so stay tuned!