SBC News Vahe Baloulian - BetConstruct - #Bofcon 2016

Vahe Baloulian – BetConstruct – #Bofcon 2016

Award winning developer and betting industry supplier BetConstruct is a silver sponsor at this year’s Betting on Football Conference (#bofcon).

Ahead of the event this week we spoke to CEO Vahe Baloulian about getting things right ahead of a major tournament such as Euro 2016 and retention strategies beyond, as well as the year ahead, how mergers are like marriages and why they decided to get involved with #bofcon.

Vahe Baloulian, BetConstruct
Vahe Baloulian, BetConstruct

SBC: What’s the most important thing for operators to get right ahead of Euro 2016, and what’s the most challenging aspect of major international competitions such as this? 

VaheBefore any major event we revisit the issues of smooth scalability and availability of our services. A vital part of this process is also the meticulous audit of the risk management and fraud prevention processes. 

As always, it is very important for us to offer as much content as possible to all our partners and to make this content appropriate and interesting for their customers. The challenge is to think creatively when covering periodic events such as this one. We are constantly looking for and discovering ways for our partners to differentiate and standout in an increasingly crowded marketplace. What we offer must entice the punters to not only be active during the event, but also stay enthused after its end. Retention of all the new customers our partners will gain is critical to calling our Euro 2106 efforts successful. This is a very good opportunity for all of us to drive our businesses forward and we will strive not to miss it.

SBC: How important is the sport of football to your business?

Vahe: This is a very easy question. Football is absolutely imperative to our business. It’s a language we all speak. It’s the most global of all sports and due to its all-encompassing appeal, its position at the top of the betting food chain is unchallenged. 

Being so visible, football also delivers the best way to reach as many people as possible making it all the more important for any business looking to grow. 

SBC: What effect will the major mergers of recent times have this year, if any?

Vahe: I don’t think that this year we will see any effects. The newlyweds are going through their honeymoons and attempting to figure out who is who and why. 

Mergers either result in the destruction of otherwise quite promising and innovative companies, or they end up in a beautiful marriage with a lot of very beneficial outcomes. We’ll have to wait and see but I don’t think that any of the three recent mergers will drastically change the landscape. 

SBC: What does 2016 have in-store for you?

Vahe: This is a year of freedom and unrestrained growth for BetConstruct. We are on a roll with very clear targets in mind and no intention of stopping.

New products, new services, new markets and new partners. Every year brings a lot of learning experiences, and this year is no different as we grow in our ability to turn what we learn into profit generating solutions for our partners. We love the idea of being useful to a large variety of gaming businesses, from operators to suppliers alike, by providing products and services which are distinct revenue producers.  Many of these are being released in 2016 while the existing ones receive continued enhancements.

SBC: Why did you choose to become a sponsor of this year’s #bofcon?

Vahe: There are five reasons. First, this is the only conference that addresses football specifically. Second, this is a year of the European Championship. Third, the conference is organized by SBC, a company which BetConstruct has always enjoyed working with.

Fourth, we try to attend events we sponsor and this seemed like a great opportunity to meet and learn from very knowledgeable people. Fifth, it was planned to be at the Emirates, which is our “home” arena in London, but since it’s moved, I suppose you can forget the fifth one.

SBC: Euro 2016 – who’s going to win, who’s going to shine and who’s going to slump?

Vahe: These are the questions the answers to which will never make everyone happy!

Our Head of Sportsbook, Matt Howard, prefers Italy. He says that more often than not it is defences that win tournaments and Italy’s is both mature and formidable this time out. Antonio Conte has also proven himself a builder of teams and has kept a stable squad which he thinks will stand them in great stead. He also thinks Germany could fail to live up to expectations as they peaked in Brazil and some of their better players like Marco Reus haven’t hit those standards again. He expects them to be okay as they’re very talented, but he can see them failing to reach the final in an even tournament. 

I would say that regarding Germany he could be absolutely correct but I myself would not bet on Italy. Emotionally, I would bet on the hosts, the French. Feelings aside, I have not the slightest idea. Look at the Premier League. I bet somebody asked a similar question when that one kicked off!

There’s still time to register for tickets for #bofcon and join up to 400 sports betting delegates at Stamford Bridge for a day of panels, networking and table football fun.

BOFCON

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