As one of the world’s leading suppliers of betting and gaming solutions, Betradar is once again gearing up for yet another edition of ICE, joining the who’s who of the industry as they converge on London this week.
An integral part of this year’s event activation, Managing Director of Betting & Gaming, Warren Murphy is looking forward to his first ICE as part of the Betradar team.
Prior to joining the company in May last year, Warren was the CEO at Sporting Index Group, a role which he held for seven years.
This year, he’s in the thick of it and, as he explains below, looking forward to showcasing Betradar’s 360 degree one-stop shop solutions, which offer all the services necessary to run a successful bookmaker operation.
Sportradar (SR): You’ve been to a few ICE events in your time. Why do you think it is such an important event for the betting and gaming industry?
Warren Murphy (WM): ICE has taken a number of years to establish itself as the number one event, but everyone now knows what it is and how it works. All the key industry stakeholders are there and they’re all geared up to meet and have very sharp and focused conversations about requirements, business performance and future plans, for example. It’s an event that offers real value for attendees, because it draws so many from across the industry in the one place, and it makes for some intensive and productive discussions.
SR: ICE is a key event on Betradar’s events calendar. Why is this so and what does the company have to offer?
WM: There’s no doubt that operators have a tough job getting a grasp on who can really and credibly deliver what they want or need. In today’s competitive market, it sounds like everyone is the best at everything.
I believe our offering is the most compelling, valuable and responsive to the needs of all types of betting and gaming operators. We urge clients and potential clients to look behind the bold rhetoric out there and ask, test and interrogate the facts. Who is trusted by the largest amount of current operators? Who is trusted by the largest number of federations and leagues? And then why? For Betradar, and our success, the why really is quite simple: we take the time and energy to understand what our customers want and we tailor our offering to their needs, budgets and objectives. We listen to feedback, we develop and iterate, and then we deliver a product and service that meets those objectives. That is how we secure our relationships and why so many of them continue to renew.
SR: This is your first as Managing Director of Betting and Gaming at Betradar. How do you expect that will impact on your experience of the event?
WM: I’ve been attending ICE for many years now and it’s always busy and always exhilarating. This year though, I’m working for one of the biggest suppliers in the market that generally everyone is aware of, so there’s a lot more people that we want to see and that want to see us. I would expect it to be very similar to my previous experiences but I know, just from the lead up to it, the demand on my time has increased because we have so many more clients.
So I think I’ll be a lot busier, but it’ll be no less exhilarating. I quite like the cut and thrust of ICE, I like the intensive conversations. They’re good fun, they’re enjoyable conversations to have. You’re seeing a lot of people that you actually consider friends but they are intense: I quite enjoy that.
SR: What do you expect to be the big topics of discussion at ICE 2018?
WM: I’m expecting there will be conversations around the US, which, on the one level, many would assume won’t affect everyone, only those who are interested in the American betting market opening up. But I think it will be more profound than that. So I’m expecting there’ll be a bit of conjecture around whether it will open or not and, if so, when and how.
I actually think, when you get under the skin of it, what it could do is make everyone in the industry more attuned to US sports. I expect it will become more prominent and present in people’s minds. So I’m looking forward to having discussions about our US coverage and the range of markets that we offer in that space. We have market leading coverage in the US, and a super comprehensive offer. It’s something we’ve been planning for a long long time so I think we’re well-placed there.
The World Cup will be a topic of conversation too, but most operators should have it firmly within their plans given that it’s not that far away now. I believe those discussions will be about the context of how operators are progressing and what they’re doing. There are always some that need some support, and we are able to fill those gaps because we do have such a complete offering in that regard as well.
I also feel there will be a whole topic of conversation around technology, and the buzz words of AI, machine learning and intelligent analytics. It’s a real evolution that underpins a number of offers, a number of providers and therefore a number of stands at ICE, whether that be in content management, offer management, price management, predictive analytics or liquidity-driven pricing. It’s the nature of the industry so there will continue to be a whole gamut of things that are increasingly powered by technology.
Then you’ll have the customary discussions based around an operator’s circumstance and needs, which will be more specific. They might have coverage gaps, or be seeking additional sports, additional leagues, additional data points or additional tools. These are always the common underlying themes of discussion too. Ultimately you’ve got to be ready for all types of operator needs. Luckily for them and us, we can facilitate these.
For more information about Betradar’s full range of offerings, check out the 2018 product brochure here: https://www.betradar.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2016/01/Product_Brochure_ICE_2019_0102.pdf
For further information or inquiries visit www.betradar.com or email sales@betradar.com – you can also organise a meeting with one of our representatives at our stand, S1-150, at ICE here: https://www.betradar.com/sitemap/meet-us-ice/.