LeoVegas 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 Head of Sports Andreas Bardun 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?
AB: This is a great opportunity to meet the who’s who in the sports betting world, but also the chance of seeing, connecting and listening to some interesting people from the sports world. Personally, I am looking forward to my panel debate about tennis and betting.
I think this is a very important discussion to have since tennis is so important for the betting industry, but also has a lot of challenges especially when it comes to match fixing issues. I have expectation for this debate to give a lot of insights and possible solutions on how make tennis and sports betting coming closer to each other.
SBC: What are you promoting at Betting on Sports?
AB: LeoVegas Sport is the fastest sports betting app on the market. We have, as the first brand on the Kambi network, taken ownership of our own frontend experience which is mobile focused. We will also showcase our seamless integration of our product verticals where customers can enjoy sports, casino and live casino in a blink of an eye.
This is a chance for everyone to see how LeoVegas works with the product, and sport sponsorships for one of the fastest growing gaming brands in the world.
SBC: Where can betting work together more closely with sport?
AB: I think the key for sport is to better understand the sports betting business. There are a lot of misconceptions about betting in the sports world. I think attending this type of event where we all can share knowledge and understanding about each other’s business and challenges can really help the cooperation moving forward.
If we can gain more trust, the betting industry can give a lot more back to the sport to keep interest up and it will be a win-win situation. Since we now are in the data age of things, I think there are so many possibilities for interesting cooperation, using data to share and development new product together for fans and bettors is really where I see a cooperation could excel.
SBC: What sports betting partnership has stood out in the past 12 months?
AB: Betsafe signing Conor McGregor was a game changer for me. I didn’t see this one coming from Betsafe so congratulations to their team. It was very impressive signing and Conor McGregor is also the perfect sports person for content and social media since he has such a cult following where his fans just want to watch every step he takes.
This is a great chance for Betsafe to increase their brand awareness in England and Ireland. The key for them will be to see how they can leverage this sponsorship after the big match vs Mayweather.
SBC: Describe your perfect sporting event
AB: McGregor vs Mayweather. I think this was an exceptional sporting event where you could see the massive impact of marketing. Even though everyone knew what was going to happen everyone wanted to tune in and watch it.
To get the two best athletes in two different sports to compete against each other is almost unheard of. Events like this you watch best with friends on a sports bar unless you have very deep pockets to get the best front row seats at the arena.