SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
Sport Generate has taken away lots of feedback and generated plenty of sales leads in the first few weeks of 2024, according to its CEO Simon Westbury.
Westbury has told SBC News that Sport Generate’s suite of live esports and table tennis betting products have generated significant attention so far this year and that the future looks bright for the Digitain Group company.
Following ICE London 2024, Westbury caught up with SBC News to explain how the provider of betting content is learning from its experiences and how its sales pipeline is shaping up in 2024.
SBC News: ICE London 2024 was Sport Generate’s debut at the show – how did you find the experience and how was the brand received by delegates and partners?
Simon Westbury: I always say about trade shows that everyone promises you the World when they speak to you, but the important point is delivering from these conversations. So, the proof of the pudding will be shown in the long term. However, delegates received the brand well, with many positive comments on the stand design, branding, and logo.
This is all very nice, with some of my Digitain Group colleagues saying our stand was their favourite and the staff uniform the most desirable. Still, the most important feedback relates not to the brand or stand design but to the product. The aspect I am most pleased about is that our product line was very well received by delegates with some offering to sign contracts on the stand. The only slight negative and I say this tongue in cheek, the SG brand colour is similar to ICE, so we blended into the ICE carpet a bit.
SBC: You mentioned that the motto for your team should be to “smell the money in the room.” How strong was that smell, and how much interest was there in Sport Generate’s products?
SW: My motto for ICE is always to smell the money in the room; the event screams revenue and opportunity. However, on this occasion, I cannot comment on the money in the room, I can only comment on the revenue buzz that surrounded Sport Generate’s stand. I can honestly say, and not because I think there was a tracker device in my company jacket, that I did not see ICE this year past the Sport Generate stand. At times, the vibrancy and energy on the stand were overwhelming, and it was great to see all my colleagues working at the coal face.
As I said above, there were contract requests on the stand, so I am smelling revenue, but I am also balancing this with my earlier comment about everyone promising the world during trade shows. My instinct is that we have generated some good interest in our products and are on the right path to delivering revenue in the short term, which is very exciting even if I am keeping my feet on the ground.
SBC: What key takeaways did you take and what lessons will you take going into the rest of 2024 trading?
SW: We have gained a few takeaways and learnings from demoing our products; there are minor improvements we can quickly make that we missed.
Feedback is always welcome and these little changes will bring significant benefits. Additionally, from speaking with customers, we understand a new product line we can launch relating to our proprietary in-house esports offering.
We will take these lessons forward. We have also seen the momentum and traction that can be generated from attending these shows, so we have decided to expand the shows that we are attending to make sure the Sport Generate story is shared far and wide.
Regarding industry trends and themes, I have to be honest: I was so busy on our stand I didn’t really get to see the broader industry picture, but I am sure I will notice the latest industry buzzwords in the news over the coming weeks.
SBC: Sport Generate has a busy calendar for events this year – where can we expect to see a SG stand next and what are you hoping to achieve there?
SW: ICE is the curtain raiser and I always say if you have a good ICE, you have a good year. SG will be attending the forthcoming Sigma World Eurasia event in Dubai. This is the benefit of being part of Digitain Group, as we can use the industry power of our parent company while being prudent with costs.
Regarding the SG stand, I am delighted that the next time the stand will be showcased will be at the SBC Summit in Lisbon in September. The stand needs special shows to be showcased, and the SBC Summit will be a fitting event for us to unpack the stand and showcase SG.
