SBC News George Oborne – India Bet – Operators look to cheaper access points for UK market

George Oborne – India Bet – Operators look to cheaper access points for UK market

Oborne, India BetGeorge Oborne is the Managing Director at India Bet, and starred on the ‘International appeal’ panel at the recent Betting on Sports conference in London.

We caught up with him to expand on his predictions for the future of cricket betting, talk more about India Bet’s social betting platform, and find out what the rest of 2016 has in store for the company.

SBC: Can you give a quick overview of India Bet for our readers?

GO: India Bet is India’s leading free-to-play social betting platform. We offer a responsible and safe alternative to players who do not want to engage in India’s real money betting. We are building a brand and user base around gaming and gambling in India, with the long term aim of being first to market should regulatory conditions change.

SBC: Do you think that your social betting platform has been so successful because of the heavily restricted nature of gambling in India?

GO: Absolutely, betting on cricket in India isn’t very enjoyable. It involves engaging with illegal operators and there are huge risks to the players. At India Bet we will never ask our players for money, it is purely for fun, yet it still provides users with the opportunity to enter competitions, win prizes and to follow sports through a lens similar to real money betting.

SBC: At Betting on Sports 2016, you predicted that cricket would become a growth sport within the betting industry; what makes you think this?

GO: I think as the popularity of in-play betting continues to grow then firms will begin to focus time on developing their products outside of football and tennis. Cricket naturally lends itself to in-play, as a relatively slow game with numerous and quantifiable passages of play.

SBC: As the price of player acquisition in football betting continues to grow, do you think more bookmakers in the UK will start to focus on cricket for a more cost effective route into the market?

GO: This was discussed a number of times at the Betting on Sports conference and clearly operators are beginning to look elsewhere. The UK football market faces competition from Asian operators, and within the UK there is huge crossover between sports. Cricket and both formats of rugby share fan bases with football, and are much cheaper access points if you are solely focusing on acquiring new players within the UK.

SBC: What does the rest of 2016 have in store for India Bet?

GO: Well, we have just released a number of new, skill based leagues and competitions. However, we are now working hard on launching the latest iteration of the site (due late October), which will enhance our progression system. New users will need to work their way through levels to open up new areas of the site. We’re hoping this is going to see our user retention increase and will help reward our loyal users who have been with us for a long time.

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