SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
Enabling businesses to unlock their full long-term growth potential is the primary ambition of many across the industry. However, after what has been billed as “a gruelling two-and-a-half-year labour”, Metric Gaming are confident of being well on their way to achieving exactly that.
The group’s new multi-tenant sportsbook technology offers the ability to create a bespoke, hyper-local sportsbook from the ground up, which, among more, comprises operator-owned IP.
After previously stating that “market leaders have been guilty of overconfidence and complacency, chronically under investing in technology and product variety,” CEO Keith Hayes has broken down this latest development.
In conversation with SBC News, elaboration is offered on why this represents the “most sophisticated sportsbook platform in existence”, key developments that ensued promptly after launch, where these aforementioned perceived failings have fallen short and much more.
SBC News: Metric Gaming has endured a relentless near two and a half years when it comes to product development. To begin, could you talk us through the company’s current standing following such a gruelling period?
Keith Hayes: Gruelling, yes – it’s a strong word, but probably accurate. Building a sportsbook platform is hard, and there are plenty of headwinds along the way, especially as a small company. But to quote Henry Ford, ‘an aeroplane takes off against the wind, not with it’. We’re proud of what we’ve built and how it’s performing, especially knowing many have invested more to deliver less. The climb was steep, but the view is stunning!
SBCN: You label this as the ‘most sophisticated sportsbook platform in existence’. What nuances make this the case?
KH: The framing of the question is revealing. We’re so accustomed to sports betting platforms blending into one another, it’s natural to assume any differences are merely nuanced. But our platform does not just offer incremental gains; this is step-change progression.
Our platform is so well architected and so meticulously built, that every aspect of running a sportsbook can be reimagined and optimised for modern challenges.
For instance, our customers can offer completely unique sportsbook products to each of their players, with practically every aspect of a sportsbook customisable at a cohort and/or player level.
To draw an analogy, consider the Volkswagen Group: they build a range of high-quality vehicles, from Skoda’s to Bugatti’s, for radically different customers. The products and customer experiences across that spectrum vary enormously. Our platform does the same for sports betting, offering a spectrum of tailored products and experiences to meet the varied tastes of modern players. Today, it’s one size fits none.
SBCN: Where and why do you believe market leaders have been failing in recent times within this space?
KH: ‘Where’ is the simpler question: a lack of variety. This is no great insight, just look at any other entertainment industry and you’ll see an abundance of distinct choices. The same cannot be said for sports betting.
Imagine going to the cinema, only to find every screen – without exception – offers action movies. Worse still, every other cinema around is also showing only action movies.
This is where we find the sports betting industry today: endless iterations of the same thing. That goes a long way to understanding the industry’s struggle to cultivate player loyalty.
As for the ‘why’ – that’s a bit trickier. It’s probably a mix of convenient excuses and genuine challenges. Ultimately, though, it’s irrelevant.
The US market will change everything. The standard for a competitive experience is rising, led by a new American frontier where operators are pushing past the complacency of European models.
Eventually, these superior propositions will venture to foreign shores. And any operator on rigid technology will find themselves – to borrow from The Big Bang Theory – bound helically by their tech around an axis.
SBCN: How does the Metric Gaming offering help to solve these issues? Particularly when it comes to the ability of offering bespoke sportsbooks tailored to specific territories.
KH: One of the major challenges we wanted to tackle in designing our platform is the globally fragmented regulatory landscape. Competing against market leaders across multiple, often conflicting, jurisdictions – while maintaining economies of scale – requires sophisticated technology to handle the intricate complexities.
While many might think of a ‘territory’ as a country or a region spanning multiple countries, our platform can go much further.
Our hyper-localisation capabilities allow us to tailor offerings right down to micro-demographics. For example, if an operator wishes, we can tailor the entire sportsbook to a city and curate the experience for each player within that city.
We’re using a scalpel where others wield a sledgehammer.
SBCN: You had a crucial development within the Netherlands alongside BetNation. How has this progressed? And would you say that this has justified the internal confidence of your new sportsbook platform?
KH: Yes. At this stage, we’re focussed on achieving milestones that signal excellence. As a new provider, this is crucial for building confidence in our proposition.
We’ve been live with two sportsbooks for months now. We sailed through our soft launch periods, accurately managed tens of millions of euros in bets and growing, maintained 100% product availability, and received positive, unsolicited feedback from our customers. These were the key measures of success post-launch.
The live sportsbooks are MVP – solid, but unadorned. This is just the starting point, brands using our platform are playing the long game. Our 2.0 upgrades will be live in Q4, and the enthusiastic reception we’ve received from both existing and potential customers has been galvanising.
Of course, not everyone is impressed. Just last week, a prospective client endured a two-hour demo in stoic silence, only to offer, with thin courtesy, that we may be dwelling on concerns unworthy of resolution. It reminded me that until the mid-1800s surgeons didn’t see the value in washing their hands.
SBCN: If you cast your mind forward, what do you believe is the future when it comes to the sportsbook space?
KH: I don’t know. I’d be suspicious of anyone claiming they do. Recognising the limits of our knowledge is essential. Within this acknowledgement lies the strength of our technology’s design.
While I can’t tell you what the future holds, we’ve built a system designed to react swiftly to a shifting landscape and a data infrastructure that allows us to figure out what works and correct accordingly.
As Charles Darwin famously said “It is not the strongest that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.”
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Keith and the Metric team will be in Lisbon for the SBC Summit next week, if you’d like to meet to discuss collaboration then please email [email protected] to find a time.
