SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
New York. If you can make it there, you can make it anywhere … at least according to Sinatra! And for Better Collective, the Empire State forms a large part of its strategy to conquer the US market.
Marc Pedersen, CEO of Better Collective US and SVP of Business Development and M&A, walks us through the company’s recent partnership with the New York Post and what new opportunities New York presents for Better Collective.
SBC: Congratulations on your recent partnership with the New York Post! For those that might not know, what will this partnership entail?
First of all, building media partnerships is an important part of our strategy. We have many partnerships globally and we will continue to expand in this field. We are joining forces with ‘The Post’ to bring the best in commercial sports betting content to their readers. Specifically, we will deliver data, statistics and content for sports betting for the betting section on nypost.com and in print.
SBC: In what ways will this partnership with the New York Post differ from your other media partnerships?
We value all of our partnerships, but in terms of reach, the New York Post is our biggest media partnership to date. NY post has more than 92 million readers.
SBC: How do you plan to use this agreement to educate bettors across the US, especially those in New York?
We believe that the fact that more and more states in the US regulate online betting combined with the reach of more than 90 million readers through The New York Post gives us a great opportunity to educate bettors across the US, especially in the newly regulated markets. We want to help the bettors navigate in the market and educate them by providing relevant information that will enhance their betting experience.
SBC: Can you tell us how Better Collective plans to use this new partnership to showcase its wider portfolio of US assets?
The agreement is co-branded with our subsidiary, Action Network, which is a leading brand within sports betting in the US. However, the content and data will be provided by both Action and our other American brands because they all have valuable data and content that is relevant for the sports fans and for the bettors.
SBC: What opportunities does the regulation of the New York betting market present for Better Collective?
New York has become the biggest sports betting market in the US, which creates many opportunities for Better Collective. Before the regulation, our brands already had over 500,000 visitors every month from New York, but we could not offer them betting options. Now, the visitors can take full advantage of all the betting information on our sites. We expect the number of visitors will keep on growing due to our continued efforts to create quality content, thus increasing our market share in the US.
SBC: The newly opened New York sports betting market has generated incredible excitement, but what’s your view on that 51% tax rate and its impact on margins that are already wafer thin?
There is no doubt that the 51% tax rate combined with the marketing cost is a challenge for the operators, however from the first months of experience, we know that New Yorkers are very interested in sports betting, so the market has great potential. It is then up to the operators to find business models that will work within the framework presented. In contrast to their large media spending, we deliver direct revenue via sent players & retention i.a via betsync. Another way for the operators, which we already see increased interest in, is to enter agreements based on revenue share with their partners. That is a business model we use in Europe, and has historically been the most successful for operators and affiliates.
SBC: What are your plans for the New York market in 2022?
We were off to a great start in New York with 6 operators who started operations, and we are expecting to collaborate with more operators as soon as they meet the regulatory requirements. Overall, we are hoping to continue being relevant by creating great content for bettors and iGamers, bring new depositing customers to our partners, and solidify our strong position in the US.
