Month: August 2022

Since the repeal of PASPA in 2018, the US has become the biggest single market for Better Collective, supported by the acquisition of brands such as VegasInsider, Rotogrinders, SportsHandle, ScoresAndOdds.com, Action Network and Canada Sports Betting.

The business has also struck up partnerships with New York Post, Chicago Tribune and, as of today (23 August), Boston.com to support further growth in the US market in particular.

Better Collective co-founder and chief executive Jesper Søgaard said the group will continue to seek out new acquisition opportunities, both in the US and elsewhere, citing the recent purchase of Futbin, a series of esports brands focused on the FIFA series, as a way of driving further growth across the business.

“M&A is part of our DNA and our target list remains strong,” Søgaard said. “We expect to remain active, but we also have a clear focus on our capital allocation and are aware of the current market turmoil that makes capital raises less relevant – and sometimes share buybacks more relevant. 

“On the back of this we are working on other financing options should an opportunity arise.”

Turning to the results, group revenue for the three months to 30 June amounted to €56.0m (£47.3m/$56.5m), up from €40.0m in the corresponding period last year.

Breaking this figure down, publishing revenue, which includes revenue from proprietary online platforms and media partnerships where the online traffic comes directly or through organic search results, was 46.0% higher at €38.1m. Paid media revenue also increased by 27.9% year-on-year to €17.9m.

In terms of geographical performance, revenue from Europe and the Rest of World segment jumped 29.6% to €42.9m, while US revenue rocketed 88.9% to €13.2m, which, as Søgaard said, makes the country the largest single market for the group.

In addition, Better Collective noted that across its business, the number of new depositing customers (NDCs) for the quarter increased 93.0% year-on-year to 387,000.

Looking at spending, expenses were higher across all core areas, with revenue costs up 45.8% to €20.7m, staff spend 86.3% to €17.7m, other external expenses 46.0% to €5.4m, amortisation and impairment 86.7% to €2.8m, and depreciation 15.3% to €483,000.

Better Collective also noted a net positive of €638,000 in special items, whereas last year this was negative €5.6m due to M&A costs, while finance costs amounted to €728,000.

However, despite the overall increase in spending, the jump in revenue meant pre-tax profit was 122.5% higher year-on-year at €8.9m. The group paid €1.8m in tax, leaving a net profit of €7.1m, up 407.1% on last year.

In terms of how this impacted its performance in the first half, revenue for the six months to 30 June was up 56.6% year-on-year to €123.4m.

Costs were again higher across all core segments, with the exception of special items, where net expense was lowered from €5.4m to €1.0m. The difference in special items was mostly due to higher costs related to mergers in 2021, when Better Collective closed many high-profile acquisitions such as that of the Action Network.

Such was the impact of revenue growth in the half that pre-tax profit was 80.5% higher at €26.9m, while after paying €6.1m in tax, net profit was €20.8m, up 108.0% on last year.

“Since founding Better Collective, we have managed to stay largely unaffected by the business cycle and the external environment – a trend I expect to continue,” Søgaard said. 

“I now look forward to an action packed H2 where we expect all time high activities in Q4 mainly driven by the NFL kick off and the new FIFA game launch in September, and most major sports leagues being live. 

“Lastly, I look forward to the 2022 World Cup being played out in November and December – conceivably, under upright conditions and in the interest of football.

“I feel extremely confident in our strategy and position in the market, all which makes us well prepared to execute.”

The early stages of the US betting and igaming market have been typified by a race to build as big a customer database as possible, at whatever cost. Each state that launches experiences advertising shock and awe, as operators bankroll vast campaigns to use each rollout as a land-grab for new sign-ups. 

Rush Street Interactive (RSI), the business that listed on the New York Stock Exchange in December 2020, has looked to take a different approach. At a time when there is greater scrutiny of company spending, and investors query how long hefty losses can be sustained, it has managed to keep its spending in check. 

While the push for profitability is still relatively new to the wider industry, RSI has been maintaining cost discipline for years. In Q1, for example, an increase in adjusted EBITDA loss was attributed to the New York launch (without this it would have fallen below $15m) and in Q2 the loss narrowed to $18.6m. 

The second quarter also saw chief executive Richard Schwartz announce that a sixth state had started to generate positive EBITDA. 

And while some operators have adjusted the date by which they expect to post positive earnings, RSI remains on track to be profitable by the second half of 2023.

Earn sportsbook players, don’t buy them

“Our philosophy is you have to earn players, not buy players,” Schwartz says simply. 

“By doing so you focus on user experience and try to target players less interested in shopping around for the best odds every day, [players who] want a premium experience that’s reliable and trustworthy,” he says, expanding on the point. 

“Ultimately you can grow market share by spending a lot on marketing, but you can lose that share just as easily when you stop spending those unsustainable amounts of money. Our focus from day one has been on retention, which is a harder part of the industry.”

Schwartz believes that market share can be faked to some extent; hundreds of millions spent on advertising can give the impression that a company has built a huge database. Keeping them engaged and betting, without losing them to a competitor that offers a higher bonus or that pumps even more millions into advertising, is harder. “And we don’t think you can fake retention,” he adds. 

“We’re positioning ourselves to be [the company] that gets a large percentage of [wallet share] because we do all the little things right, and players feel an affinity and trust towards what we do.”

Stay ahead of the game to stay in it

While that approach may have once put RSI ahead of the market, the vast majority of the industry has evolved to the same way of thinking. Caesars, for example, described its $553m EBITDA loss in Q1 2022 – of which about $400m was attributable to the Louisiana and especially the New York launches – as its peak losses. DraftKings, in the same reporting period, spoke about reducing local marketing spend for a more cost-efficient national approach, while talking up positive contributions from some of its more mature state markets. 

Schwartz, on the other hand, points out that it’s much easier to define a strategy of improving user retention than it is to execute on it. “It requires a few things that aren’t common in many of our competitors,” he says. 

“It requires you to own your own player account management technology, where you can earn and retain the players. It requires you to understand the player mindset and to have the capabilities to develop solutions that are fun and engaging. Many companies don’t have that in their DNA.”

It ultimately requires a shift in approach, from a marketing-driven brand, to an experience-driven business. “That’s not a transition that is easy to make,” he says. “Perhaps on paper, it’s easy to define that as a goal but to deliver the right culture to do that is very challenging.”

Schwartz is therefore dubious as to whether this can be achieved, pointing out since its formation in 2012 Rush Street Interactive has maintained cost discipline. “I think we’ve built a sustainable model that allows us to grow and invest in our team, and develop our resources further.” 

This, he adds, has allowed it to keep losses far below the rate of competitors, for a similar scale of revenue. 

Closing the loop with online casino

Many industry stakeholders believe the swing to profitability will ultimately be driven by the expansion of online casino regulation in the coming years. Currently it is live in just six states: Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Michigan, and Connecticut. 

Rush Street Interactive is live in four of these: New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and West Virginia. Schwartz points out that the vertical generates far better margins and profits for the operators, as well as stronger revenue and tax take for states. This effectively means that the vertical’s returns make up for the lack of markets. 

This, he continues, is likely to change as RSI’s peers grow more vocal in their calls for further regulation. The likes of MGM, Caesars and DraftKings have all spoken out in favour of further legislative progress, giving him confidence that there will be more movement in the coming years.

But in order to create an offering that continues to engage and retain players on a deeper level, Rush Street Interactive looks to build something extra to compete effectively. The underlying premise for this, according to Schwartz, is that all products are commoditised, and every operator has a variant of the same game libraries. 
“So it’s up to us to build our own layer of innovation beyond the commoditised content.” This initial layer, he adds, is “critically important”, as the foundation on which everything is built. 

“We have to expand that further, to create a differentiated user experience, to deliver unique features,” he says. This, in turn, aids engagement and retention, and keeps them playing on RSI’s site despite the bigger promotions on offer elsewhere. 

“Ultimately the goal is to differentiate through not just unique features, but features that resonate with a gambling audience, and knowing how to leverage insight from the psychology of a player, and to build things in-house, for something that’s unique to us. Most of our peers don’t do this as well because historically they leverage a lot of their technology from third parties, and are primarily publishers of third-party content as opposed to developing their own.”

This, it could be argued, is also taking hold across the wider industry, whether that’s through operators acquiring technology platforms, building their own systems, and launching or patenting proprietary studios or features. 

Inspiration for the RSI iteration

But Schwartz says RSI is taking inspiration from a trio of industry heavyweights in its approach to product development.

“There’s been three leaders globally in poker, sports and bingo: PokerStars, Bet365 and Gamesys,” he says. “They took those product categories to the next level by bringing in a differentiated user experience, and we embraced that same mindset of building things that are unique and innovative, and allow us to [stand out].”

Having been active in online casino long before the repeal of PASPA, that vertical had a head start in his view, whereas sports is still a relatively new product, though one that has “dramatically improved” in recent years.

“But now it’s the fun part, where we get a chance to apply a lot of the infrastructure that we built for online casino to a sportsbook experience. That’s where the true innovation is about to start for us. We’ve not rolled out those features yet, but we’re working on them.”

Lessons from Latin America

Much of that early experience in online casino came from its 2018 launch in Colombia, which saw RSI become the first US sportsbook operator to go live in Latin America.

It has since expanded its presence further by launching in Mexico, in partnership with Grupo Multimedios, in July this year. 

That in turn played a decisive factor in expanding its US appeal. Offering a platform optimised for a Spanish-speaking audience, with a Spanish-speaking marketing team, could provide lessons and opportunities for targeting a significant segment of the US population.

And further opportunities across LatAm are also arising, from the long-awaited Brazilian and Argentinean markets, to the likes of Chile and Peru. This could be a natural progression considering RSI’s investment in developing its platform, building its understanding of these markets and preferred payments solutions, and the work undertaken to optimise customer acquisition efforts. 

In Colombia, RSI “did things the hard way”, Schwartz recalls, ultimately growing to become one of the top three operators by revenue. “We started from scratch without any database, without any brand, so it was organically built from the bottom up. This created a really strong foundation which makes it easier for us to expand into other markets. 
“We don’t have to acquire another company and rely on a totally different technology stack and operational approach but can build things organically on a single platform that is updated every two weeks globally. 

“And frankly, a lot of the innovations we’ve launched in Colombia have been brought back to the US.”

Taking aim at a wider target

That ultimately speaks to RSI’s ambitions spanning the Americas as a whole, rather than North or South. The second quarter of the year, for example, has taken in launches in Ontario and Mexico, both home to significant populations that can be targeted with the full range of sports and casino products. 

“Being able to find opportunities of this kind, and the fact we own our own technology, allows us to customise and localise our solutions to make sure they deliver that compelling experience,” Schwartz adds. 

Only Ontario, it’s worth noting, is included in RSI’s full-year projections, which were upped to a range of $600m to $650m, following the Q1 report. A retail sportsbook has now been added in Maryland, as of 1 August, with the much-delayed mobile component still an outside possibility for 2022. 

This provides significant additional upside, and Schwartz adds that the slowdown in the new state launches arguably provides further opportunity. Fewer new launches means a greater focus on developing new products and innovative solutions to strengthen and grow its position in existing states. 

“Naturally, when the new market launches slow down it gives us the chance to put more of our focus on innovation, to deliver something really exciting for the users. We’re keeping up with the pace of new markets, but we would like to focus more on developing enhancements and improvements in operational efficiencies in markets where we already operate.”

This, ideally, will be burnished by new igaming opportunities – he picks out Iowa and Indiana as key states – because the focus remains unchanged. “Our goal has been to be profitable from day one. That continues to be the driving force behind our decisions.”

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The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said Lottery.com is yet to submit the final reviews of its financial statements for the period ended 30 June, and therefore has been unable to file its quarterly report via form 10-Q for the period.

While the SEC said the platform is working towards the report, the failure to complete the submission in time breaches Nasdaq Listing Rule 5250(c)(1). 

Nasdaq rules state a company that does not meet the listing standards set forth in the Rule 5000 Series are subject to delisting from, or denial of initial listing, on the Nasdaq Stock Market.

On 17 August, Nasdaq issued a notice Lottery.com about the issue, stating standard Nasdaq Listing Rules normally permit a company to submit a plan to regain compliance within 60 calendar days of the notice. However, Nasdaq said that this deadline will be shortened to 31 August. 

Lottery.com can regain compliance any time prior to this deadline by completing Form 10-Q. If this is not possible, the business can submit a plan to regain compliance, after which Nasdaq may grant an extension of 180 calendar days from the Form 10-Q due date, or 13 February next year, to comply with Nasdaq’s rules.

The SEC noted that while Lottery.com was not able to provide any assurances as to timing, the business said it does plan to file form 10-Q “as soon as practicably possible” to regain compliance.

The warning comes as a further blow to Lottery.com, which has suffered a series of setbacks in recent months.

In July, it was revealed that Lottery.com owed $425,000 in outstanding payroll obligations, just days after Lawrence (Tony) DiMatteo resigned from his role as chief executive of the business.

DiMatteo’s exit followed that of chief revenue officer Matthew Clemenson, who resigned a week earlier.

This came as Lottery.com revealed it “overstated” its cash holdings by $30m, soon after sacking president and CFO Ryan Dickinson after discovering questions about its compliance and accounting practices.

The broker said it initiated a review after discovering “instances of non-compliance with state and federal laws concerning the state in which tickets are procured”.

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Better Collective will provide the Boston Globe-owned organisation with betting odds, tips, analysis, as well as direct links to a variety of sports betting platforms – with Better Collective subsidiary VegasInsider co-branding the offered content as a provision of the deal. The partnership is set to be operational by the start of the NFL season before the end of August.

Kayvan Salmanpour, chief commercial officer of Boston Globe Media, said: “We are thrilled to partner with Better Collective to provide Boston.com’s millions of readers with a holistic one-stop resource for all the data and information they crave as some of the world’s most passionate sports fans,” he said.  

“Boston.com provides readers with the best in class content, data and statistics through its award-winning sports coverage and now will be a hub for information on the exciting world of sports betting.”

The deal follows Better Collective’s similar betting content deal with German multi-channel sports network Sport1 to provide content to the brand’s Sport1.de website.

Better Collective US CEO Marc Pedersen elaborated on Boston’s potential for growth as a large sports betting market: “Boston is the home of several great sports teams, all with huge crowds of enthusiastic fans, and we expect Massachusetts to become among the biggest markets for sports betting in the US.”

“Better Collective has experience in producing data, betting tips, and sports content of high quality to sports fans that want to learn more about their favorite sport before they place a bet. We look forward to presenting all this to the sports fans among the readership of Boston.com.”

The business also partnered with the New York Post in January – agreeing to provide content to the betting section of the tabloid’s website.

Chris David, SVP of operations and marketing at VegasInsider added: “This partnership gives our talented sports betting analysts and experts a larger audience. We look forward to sharing our unique insights and premium content with the readers of Boston.com as they decide what wagers to place.”

Better Collective revenues have risen significantly since 2021 as revenue sharing agreements and new depositing customers hit record heights, with the business’s Q1 financial report showing a 73.7% increase in revenue year-on-year for the three-month period ending 30 March. The business’s Q2 report showed that the strong performance continuing, as it outlined an additional 56.6% revenue growth for the 6-month period ending 30 June.

SuperBook does not currently have a Maryland sports wagering licence and the deal will be operator’s first foray the state’s regulated sports betting market. As such, the partnership will be subject to the relevant approvals from the Maryland Lottery & Gaming Control Commission (MLGCC).

Active in Nevada since 1986, SuperBook’s online brand has expanded as sports betting has grown to other states. In June, the operator expanded into Tennessee through a platform partnership with International Game Technology (IGT).

T.J. Brightman, Orioles chief revenue officer lauded the deal in a statement: “The Orioles are thrilled to partner with SuperBook to enhance our gameday experience with the introduction of their first-ever on-premise sports lounge,” he said.

“While our organisation is striving to build the next World Series contender in Charm City, we are constantly exploring unique opportunities to engage with Birdland’s diverse fanbase and welcome new visitors to downtown Baltimore. The addition of a SuperBook sportsbook only reinforces our iconic ballpark’s standing as one of the premier entertainment destinations in the region.”

The sports lounge will combine allow fans to simultaneously place bets while watching live games, allowing for the placement of both retail and online bets.

In addition to the construction of the physical premises, the partnership will also include SuperBook branding being placed throughout the venue. This is including on the center field scoreboard, home plate signage and on on-site activations during games. The operator’s brand will be featured in the MLB Ballpark app and on the team’s social media pages.

Kristen Mackey SuperBook Sports VP of marketing added: “SuperBook Sports is excited about this partnership with the Baltimore Orioles,” he said.

He continued by emphasising the stadium’s historic nature.

“The heritage and tradition of the Orioles brand fits perfectly with the SuperBook brand. To be a part of ‘the ballpark that forever changed baseball’ is an honor, and we look forward to bringing a one of a kind sports lounge experience to fans.”

“The future of the Orioles is bright, and we look forward to continuing to grow together for years to come.”

Maryland legal retail sports betting launched in December 2021, with state republican governor Larry Hogan placing the first bet at the MGM National Harbor. There has nonetheless been legislative pushback to the new status quo – with in January state Senators Ronald Young and Michael Hough putting forward Senate Bill 297 to restrict betting licenses within a 15-mile radius of sports betting venues.

The land-based gaming giant in May this year struck a deal worth $607m (£513m/€605m) to purchase LeoVegas, with the aim of expanding its online gambling offering into Europe and other markets outside the US.

The LeoVegas board unanimously recommended the offer, but MGM required a series of approvals in order for the acquisition to go ahead.

MGM said it has now secured all necessary regulatory, governmental or similar clearances, but still needs to satisfy other requirements set out in the official offer document.

The acceptance period for the offer expires on 30 August, with MGM having until 31 August to fulfil all conditions in the offer document. MGM said it expects to secure these final and that the acquisition will go through on or around 7 September.

“Our vision is to be the world’s premier gaming entertainment company, and this strategic opportunity with LeoVegas will allow us to continue to grow our reach throughout the world,” MGM chief executive and president Bill Hornbuckle said at the time of the original announcement. 

“We have achieved remarkable success with BetMGM in the US, and with the acquisition of LeoVegas in Europe we will expand our online gaming presence globally.

“We believe that this offer creates a compelling opportunity that allows the combined teams of MGM Resorts and LeoVegas to accelerate our global digital gaming growth and fully realise the potential of our omnichannel strategy.”

Earlier this month, MGM reported a 54.3% year-on-year rise in revenue for the first half of its 2022 financial year.

Speaking in an earnings call about the results, Hornbuckle hinted that MGM may take further steps to expand to new territories after the LeoVegas deal. 

“We recognise it’s not as large scale and therefore, needle moving as we might want over time,” Hornbuckle said, “but we thought that it was a great place to start, and most importantly, we like the platform and the team.”

After the deal was announced, Swedish authorities launched a preliminary investigation into suspected insider trading of LeoVegas shares in connection with the deal.

The social casino boom of the early 2010s, sparked by what was then Caesars Interactive’s investment in Playtika in 2009, opened up a new audience to the gaming industry and sparked a wave of M&A. The likes of DoubleDown, Big Fish Games, Product Madness and Buffalo Studios were among those to sell at significant multiples. 

The smaller challengers tended to have to fight for market share, which in turn saw the market leaders turn to them as acquisition targets to further shore up their strong positions. 

Bryan Bennett entered the fray as vice president of marketing for slot developer Rocketplay, one of these challengers, and one that was ultimately snapped up by slot manufacturer AGS. This saw Bennett, who previously worked for strategy games developer Kabam and casual publisher Booyah, shift into a career in real-money gaming. 

After a spell working for AGS’ interactive division, then a period as an investor and advisor, he joined the sports betting wave sweeping the States when he was named chief operating officer of Betfred USA Sports in 2019. 

Fighting 800lb gorillas

Sports betting appeals to an entirely different audience to social casino and looks set to have a more transformational and disruptive impact on the established real-money gaming sector. Yet Bennett points out the market dynamics of the two industries are very similar. 

“Obviously we’re talking about very different user bases, completely different target customers and different technologies, but in terms of the macroeconomic forces at play, I think it’s very similar,” he explains. 

“I’m back in a position where I’m fighting multiple 800lb gorillas on a regular basis, which is very similar to how the social casino market played out.”

Just as the likes of DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM and Caesars Sports dominate the betting market, the likes of Playtika, Scientific Games and Aristocrat ruled supreme in social, while businesses such as Rocketplay fought to carve out a niche. 

“It’s very similar now,” he continues. “Betfred, on a regular basis, is continuously up against some really large companies with big brands and big budgets. We’re trying to pick our spots and do the things we need to do to be successful.”

Betfred and Bengals to bare teeth in Ohio

This means the business has to be strategic in picking its opportunities, and the appetite to attack every state market as aggressively as some of its peers have done just isn’t there. 

For example, its partnership with the Cincinnati Bengals, announced in July, provides a point of entry to the Ohio market from 1 January 2023, and the sort of opportunity Bennett and Betfred have been seeking. This will mark the first time Betfred has been in the first wave of launches in a state. 

This, Bennett explains, has meant the business has to fight to ensure it can gain a foothold in states, with a smaller brand and smaller budgets. “To not be in the first [wave] is challenging,” he admits. 

“Ohio will be the first time that we’re not only going out with a massive brand – one of the largest in the state – but are going to be there on 1 January, the universal start day, alongside everyone else. We will finally be in an even playing field where we’re ready to complete.”

This is the perfect opportunity for Betfred to go big, he says. “We’re going to devote a sizable chunk of our marketing budget to Ohio. You’ll see us go much bigger and be much more competitive there as opposed to somewhere like New Jersey.”

More room to grow in Maryland mobile market

States that are preparing for a universal start date feature heavily in Betfred’s growth plans. Maryland, which is impatiently awaiting the launch of mobile betting, offers a similar opportunity to Ohio. 

In the Old Line State, Betfred is partnered with Long Shot’s, a restaurant offering off-track betting, giving it a physical presence and also setting it up to secure a mobile sportsbook license. 

“We think we have a really good chance of being in that first tranche in Maryland as well, and as a result you’ll see us dedicate the marketing budget required to be successful there,” Bennett adds. 

As a smaller player without the deep pockets of the brands that fight for supremacy in every state, Betfred’s approach is to pick its battles. That doesn’t mean established markets are simply off limits, however. With Caesars preparing to dial down its spend, and the likes of Churchill Downs pulling back entirely from sports betting, the business will alter its strategy based on the market conditions. 

In the likes of Colorado and Arizona, for example, Betfred is to take a more pragmatic approach, having initially gone heavy on bonusing. “We’ve dialed back some of that because quite frankly, it’s just not a model that is a recipe for success,” Bennett says. “When you’re trying to compete on a very transactional basis and trying to steal customers away strictly based on bonusing, there’s no loyalty there. They’re just going to flip to the next guy.

“There are bonus hunters that are doing that across all the different operators. We’ve decided not to play that game. Instead, we’re much more along the lines of developing an emotional connection – something deeper than just a thousand-dollar risk-free bet.”

Emotional connections

Betfred’s playbook will be centered more around understanding players and focusing on the mid-level and VIP crowd. Betfred “doesn’t really have any use” for the more casual bettors, as they are more likely to flip from bonus to bonus.

“Instead, we want to see something moving up that hierarchy, and we can serve that frequent player and VIP. That’s where we think in markets like Colorado, Arizona and Iowa that we can actually compete at that level, because we’re small and nimble enough to zero in on that core target group and just serve them better than some of the larger entities can.”

This group, he continues, is not necessarily made up of players who focus predominantly on the sportsbook product. Instead, Bennett views these customers as ones that look for a higher quality experience overall. They value strong customer service that ensures any issues are dealt with immediately and they enjoy special experiences. 

This final component is a key element for Betfred. “That’s where a lot of our sports sponsorships allow us to offer suites and VIP-level things, [like] meet and greets with players and autographs. 

“We [can] really leverage that to provide a better experience to those VIP players. And we’re finding there’s something there and we can really make that a calling card for Betfred.”

Those tangible rewards, of course, are also an easier sell than customer service, something Bennett points out is almost last in terms of what a prospective customer looks for in choosing a sportsbook. As an acquisition hook, “it doesn’t pop”. 

This means that bonusing will still have a role to play as the way of getting a player to give Betfred a try. That then lets them analyse the individual’s behaviour, deploy that personalised level of customer service with a dedicated account manager, and cultivate them into a high-value player. 

Iowa on the horizon

The process of constant refinement and adaptation has recently seen the business migrate its Iowa sportsbook from Sportradar’s Optima to OpenBet, bringing it in line with Betfred’s offering in other states, and setting it up to compete in the market.

This means it is gearing up for a concerted marketing push around the NFL kick-off in September. “We’re looking forward to this football season to finally start marketing in Iowa because we have never really done much.

“We do really well in our casino in the northwest corner of Iowa, but we were never even remotely competitive online. Now we’re excited to finally give it a go online.”

Betfred, of course, is built on brick and mortar, having started out as a betting shop chain in England before parlaying that into an online operation. But Bennett admits that in the US, the real success has to come online.

“We believe in retail,” he says, pointing out that its location means most of its business comes from Sioux Falls in South Dakota. “By the time they drive across the border, they’re at the casino.

“I think for specific circumstances retail can be very successful, and we do like having that anchor point,” he adds. “It’s great for branding, great for customer experience, and […] we’re able to do a lot of things with the location there. But obviously we’re not naive; we know the real success is going to come from online.”

And having already spent years dodging 800lb gorillas in the social casino sector, Bennett brings some unique experience to Betfred’s push for a position in the market.