Stratagem Technologies 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 CEO Charlie McGarraugh 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?
CM: The sole focus on sports betting makes it a very relevant conference for a company like Stratagem. The agenda covers a wide range of topics delivered by some of the leading experts in their fields however it is the panels discussing how the betting industry can harness innovative, bleeding edge technologies like AI and machine learning, that hold the most interest for us.
It is a great opportunity to network, to meet up and exchange opinions and ideas with new prospects and old friends whilst also learning what the competition are up to.
SBC: What are you promoting at Betting on Sports?
CM: Stratagem is a data science and trading organisation with a specific focus on predictive analytics for sports and wagering markets. We combine state-of-the-art analytics with proprietary data and sports markets expertise to deliver solutions specifically tailored to the needs of our clients.
These solutions include automated trading services, price feeds and betting insights designed to inform the end user and stimulate more betting activity. Our mission is to empower our partners with the full power of the modern AI toolkit.
SBC: Where can betting work together more closely with sport?
CM: Wagering can act as a great enhancer for the overall sports media offering. Nothing increases engagement of the fan base like having some skin in the game. We believe the industry now has a great opportunity to further increase fan engagement by packaging betting market insights and analytics more natively alongside the wagering offering.
On the side of the leagues and clubs, anything they can do to make richer data more widely accessible to the public would also increase fan engagement and allow the wagering industry to improve its product offering.
SBC: What sports betting partnership has stood out in the past 12 months?
CM: We followed the recent declared intention of the Malta authorities to sponsor a national sports betting exchange for secondary market liquidity with great interest. We believe official sponsorship, whether in Malta or other jurisdictions, is an important part of the overall calculus for increasing liquidity and risk transfer in the sports betting supply chain long term.
Also 2017 has seen a big increase in the amount of deals where operators shift from in house trading in favour of third party managed solutions. We see this trend increasing as most operators simplify their efforts to building new products and making their brand stand out in a very busy market place.
SBC: Describe your perfect sporting event
CM: Any situation with a late come from behind win with long odds where the casual punters and loyal fans chalk up a surprising win. Liverpool being 0-3 down at half time against AC Milan in the 2005 Champions League final is a game that still sticks in my mind.
Probably the greatest football comeback of all time. Outcomes like this are great for the overall entertainment value of the product and should drive engagement long after the match has ended.
