SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
You may have found yourself wondering – when is it a good time to start a new betting business? And if you did, the question may have come into sharper focus after 2020, a year that brought so many new challenges to our reality.
So now as we move through 2021, let’s pose that same question again. Is now the right time to start a new sportsbook, or is it better to wait and see? Jakub Myszkorowski, Chief Commercial Officer at STATSCORE, gives us his account.
They did not wait
Some companies went ahead and made the decision. Against all the odds, they kick-started a new business in 2020. To mention just a few of the new players on the market – we have fuksiarz.pl, bet99.com, betinia.com and wallacebet.com. These are only a few examples of companies that entered the market at a time many others reduced their operations or even vanished from the industry.
It’s clear the business decision behind opening a new brand takes time. From the idea to the execution of launching the website takes longer than a couple of months. Getting the licence, choosing the desired providers, doing a soft launch before going big with the promotion – It takes time. Still, even seeing the world in crisis, these companies decided not to put it on hold but instead hit the acceleration pedal hard.
What can we learn from the newcomers?
When you want to enter the market during unstable times, you need to play by different rules. First of all, you have to be prepared to cope with the temporary lack of regular sports on offer. 2020 saw this happen on a scale never seen before, but it would be a risky bet to say it won’t happen again.
This means that you need to build a reasonable esports offer. Back it up with virtual sports, and also invest in casino products where possible. Even though we know that a large part of your income is from regular sports, the diversification of income can save you from the risk of troublesome weeks or months with limited sporting events on offer.
Of course, you still need to remember that some of your potential customers will not want to move into esports or the virtual sports market. It still makes sense to educate them about the possibilities and seek a more diversified target group.
The more you are limited to your land-based chain, the more vulnerable you become to any lockdowns – either local or global. While online businesses seem to be fairly immune to the crisis we face, a physical one demands an open economy. Right now, we face a pandemic, but it could be something as simple as bad weather that stops people from getting to a land-based outlet.
Either way, you can not control these events. If you look at how easy it is for people to use the internet worldwide. More than 4.5 billion people have access to the internet! All it takes from you is to build a user-friendly website and mobile app, to allow people to enjoy what you have to offer.
You need providers that understand your challenges
Last but not least – you have to be working with providers who are on your side. A partner who understands the problems you face. The different stages of a company’s development. They will appreciate that you are not making millions from day one. They know that phase one of any business is investing, not profiting. This is why you should be looking for a provider that believes in your ideas.
At STATSCORE, we have been supporting all betting companies launched in 2020 and beyond with our flexible pricing and discounts as we know just how tricky it has been for those looking to get their business off the ground.
In the last 12 months, we have helped deliver our StatsWidgets, LivematchPro game trackers and PrematchPro widgets at a discounted price – and will continue to offer reduced prices until the end of the year.
Each of these products is available with a 50% discount for a period of six months, and 25% off for the following six months. The deal stands until the end of 2021.
