EML Payments is sponsoring Betting on Sports 2017, the second edition of the largest international sports and betting trade conference at Olympia Conference Centre in Kensington.
Ahead of the 12-15 September event, we spoke to the company’s Commercial Director James Fleming about what he is looking forward to at #boscon2017, his perfect sporting event, and how sports and betting can work better together.
SBC: What are you looking forward to at Betting on Sports?
JF: We are looking forward to showcasing our solutions to the many senior execs who will attend the Betting on Sports event. The speaker line-up is fantastic, the topics look to be on-point and highly relevant in today’s market and EML is proud to be on an exhibitor list which includes many of the leading B2B providers from our industry.
Given the reputation of SBC, we’re also very confident that marketing and promotion of our solution either side of the show will be effective and add value to our business.
SBC: What are you promoting at Betting on Sports?
JF: We are promoting our instant pay out technology which allows betting and gaming operators to put funds in the hand of their customers in real-time. The days of a customer waiting 24-48 hours for funds to hit their bank account are over; the focus in this highly competitive market must be exceptional customer experience (particularly when the customer wants their winnings) and we help deliver this.
EML provides clients with a fully-branded prepaid MasterCard (funded by the gaming account balance) which customers can use to instantly access funds – the cardholder can then withdraw at ATM, spend across the network and return funds to the gaming platform – all in real time. Our programs have proven to improve customer retention and drive player engagement whilst at the same time creating a truly unique branding opportunity for our partners.
SBC: Where can betting work together more closely with sport?
JF: The two are already intrinsically linked and I can’t really imagine one without the other now. Sporting integrity is an obvious area where the two can work together but to focus on something more positive I’d suggest greater use of the marketing and sponsorship coalition.
We see most Premier League teams now sporting betting and gaming branded shirts so it would be great to see more gaming customers with access to matches as a reward for their loyalty. The VIP’s get the star treatment of course but it would be great to see more recreational punters being able to enjoy the benefits of these partnerships.
SBC: What sports betting partnership has stood out in the past 12 months?
JF: As a Glasgow Celtic fan, I’ve been really impressed by the work of Dafabet. I believe they are the only gambling brand with a presence in the group stages of the Champions League now. When you consider the difference in cost between the English Premiership and the Scottish league for shirt sponsorship and the exposure that they will get in the Champions League, then this particularly piece of business starts to look very shrewd indeed.
Sky Bet and bet365 continue to impress with their presence in the UK sporting arena and more recently the Betsafe deal with Conor MacGregor looks to be an exciting partnership.
SBC: Describe your perfect sporting event
JF: I’m potentially the keenest golfer in the gambling industry so it would have to be a golf event for me. A 4 ball with Tiger at his prime, Ben Hogan and Rory McIlroy would do me very nicely indeed. A quick run around Augusta or St Andrews would make for the absolutely perfect day out – I’ll take Tiger and we’ll happily take on the other two. Back in the real world, however, my favourite sporting event is the Ryder Cup – for me it has everything I could ever want from a sporting event.
