Finnplay 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 Finnplay CCO Erkki Nikunen 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?
EN: We are looking forward to meeting betting operators and presenting our platform to them. As a provider, Finnplay can offer both sports betting, and pool betting licenses, along with the casino and the remote gambling software licenses.
The UK is a growing market and our technology and experience are well suited for this market. For us, it is the first time in an event focusing on betting. This is an interesting opportunity for us to also hear the needs and requirements of betting operators directly.
SBC: What are you promoting at Betting on Sports?
EN: Traditionally our platform has mainly been a casino operators’ platform, but that is not the case anymore. We have integrated four sportsbook providers, and are integrating two more this still year. And of course, as the only platform provider to provision the source codes, we want to continue our message on that.
All in all, we have one of the most versatile platforms in the industry, and it is crucial to make sure our potential customers are aware of that. And we can also deliver a fully licensed white label solution for the UK, so this event is a good way to get also that message through.
SBC: Where can betting work together more closely with sport?
EN: If we look at how much betting and sports have been doing together, it is already quite impressive. But as the technology advances, there are plenty of ways to develop more secure ways to prevent fraudulent players, improve risk management and make the whole experience more engaging for the players.
If we also look at different sports, that betting can improved. Particularly I would see eSports as an area, that clearly does not have enough attention from betting operators. There is huge traffic and amount of people, who are fanatic about eSports.
SBC: What sports betting partnership has stood out in the past 12 months?
EN: For us, it has been very interesting to follow one of our customer; OneBet (www.onebet.com) is the first betting operator, who is an official sponsor for the World Rally Championship. Rally is one of the biggest international sports, which has been virtually untapped by the betting operators.
OneBet is creating new types of bets, like which driver jumps the longest on a spot on a rally stage. We are very happy, that we have had the opportunity to deliver the turn-key solution for OneBet.
SBC: Describe your perfect sporting event
EN: For me a perfect sporting event would be related to Formula 1 on a classic track, like Spa, Monaco or Silverstone. Finland has an impressive reputation as a motoring-sport nation with a lot of success in both World Rally Championship and Formula 1. It is always very exciting to view sports, where your countrymen are doing well. And of course, the betting element creates the added thrill to any event.
