SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
After experiencing a more eventful year than most, Betby closes 2022 with a number of new partnerships under its belt.
Not only this, but over the last 12 months the sportsbook solutions provider has also carried out significant changes to its operational model and added a range of products to its roster – the latter of which will help drive player engagement and retention both during, and after the World Cup.
Looking back in an interview with SBC News, Chief Commercial Officer Chris Nikolopoulos observed that the year has been difficult for many, whilst commenting on how Betbyhas worked to meet these challenges and seize the opportunities of the last 12 months. 
He began: “2022 has been a tough year, not only for Betby, but for the entire world, with the situation in Ukraine, global inflation and financial instabilities. Not to mention a fair amount of uncertainty in a post-COVID society.
“Our biggest challenge is also our biggest achievement, the fact that through these unprecedented times we’ve managed to keep our team united by caring and supporting them in any and every way possible. Our people are our greatest asset, and I am proud of each and every one of them.”
For many stakeholders the 2022 FIFA World Cup has provided some respite. It has provided a boost to the betting industry, and a welcome distraction from the difficulties of the year.
The challenge for Betby lay in the build up to the tournament. With the World Cup being one of the biggest events in the global sporting calendar, it is also one of the most important times for betting firms to acquire new customers and retain existing ones.
Speaking to SBC two months prior to the tournament, Betby Chief Sportsbook Officer Sergey Tsukanov underscored that the company planned to capitalise on ‘competitive, interesting lines and markets’. This was something that was reiterated by Nikolopoulos.
“Every World Cup is an exciting time for any sportsbook provider,” he added. “The workload increases and so does the possibility of reaching new audiences and particularly recreational users.
“We have been preparing for the World Cup for months in several verticals, including IT stability, trading and risk management, support, coverage and of course product features.
“I am happy to say that our platform can accommodate any type of operator, from startups to huge corporations.”
Traditional sports is not Betby’s only focus, as 2022 also saw the firm make some major inroads on esports betting products.
Most notably, the Betby.Games esports range was divested from the rest of the company’s sports betting operations in September to function as a standalone product.
At the time, Betby explained that the move would strengthen its ‘agility and flexibility’, whilst expanding the potential and widening the client-base of its esports business.
Nikolopoulos continued: “Betby.Games is a unique vertical that we are very proud of. It has been entirely developed in-house and it represents a significant part of our business. Of course, we make sure we maximise its potential, combining with our traditional sportsbook platform offering.
“The fact that Betby.Games can also be delivered as a standalone product opens an entirely new audience for us, with providers as well as operators who may have their own sportsbook solutions able to benefit from Betby.Games content, which can be supplied either as an all-around data feed solution or via our frame.”
Betby’s CCO shared his predictions for continuing and emerging betting industry trends over the next year, drawing particular attention to the recent improvements in technology and data.
“Sports betting and online gaming has changed a lot during the last 10 years,” he concluded. “Better technology caters for more reliable data and automation, while regulation in many countries creates the right legal framework for entrepreneurship to thrive. I expect this trend to continue.
“From a pure sports betting point of view, I believe that esports will continue growing at impressive rates, but what makes the space so exciting is its dynamism.”
