OtherLevels is sponsoring Betting on Football 2018, the fifth edition of the largest international football and betting trade conference at Stamford Bridge.
Ahead of the 20-23 March event, we spoke to the company’s CEO Brendan O’Kane about what he is looking forward to at #bofcon2018, which innovation he expects to capture the most attention in 2018, and who he is backing to lift the World Cup trophy in Russia.
SBC: What are you looking forward to at Betting on Football?
BOK: Networking with senior industry executives and fellow speakers from the top betting companies in the world is one of the best aspects of the event. We are looking forward to discussing the opportunities and challenges with sportsbooks, and the rapidly evolving in-play betting landscape.
SBC: What are you promoting at Betting on Football?
BOK: This year we have launched an automated, real time, in-play messaging solution that enables sportsbook operators to send in-play messages with the latest odds, triggered for example in football, by key fixture events such as a goal scored or a red card.
This automated engagement tool provides operators with the huge opportunity to scale in-play betting across multiple sports and regions (without additional staffing costs), and hence deliver extra revenue from the long tail opportunity of bettors who want to bet live on a wide range of sports.
SBC: What industry innovation will capture the most attention in 2018?
BOK: In-play betting has become the key focus of sportsbooks as they look to differentiate from competitors and enhance the user experience. OtherLevels believes that any technology that uses behavioural based marketing to boost engagement before, during and after a match or game, will be the next big thing in this the wagering sector.
Given our proven track record as a leading messaging platform, we intend to play a key part in in-play engagement. We are also excited to see what other innovations are out there in the sector.
SBC: How can your company help to improve the customer experience ahead of the World Cup?
BOK: Based on user behaviour, OtherLevels identifies sports and fixtures that are of interest to a user and automate the real time sending of relevant offers based on events before, during and after play.
As part of this, we highlight key in-play markets and selections with real time odds data, and deep link the user straight into a betslip for easy 2-click betting to reduce friction in the user journey and maximise engagement.
SBC: Who are you backing to win the tournament, and why?
BOK: As an Australian I have to say Australia, of course, but with France, Denmark and Peru in the group, getting to the next stage will be tricky!