SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
Highlighting industry innovation and effective product development combined with new operational disciplines, Kambi leadership details to SBC, a full product breakdown on delivering its Instant betting markets.
Key stakeholders, Max Meltzer, Jonas Jansson and Simon Noy, detail Kambi’s fresh approach to developing instant markets and how this immersive product has tested all corporate dynamics of Kambi’s intricate value chain…
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SBC: As an executive team why has Kambi leadership chosen to emphasise Instant Markets for its product services portfolio. What gains does Kambi see in leading ‘instant market’ product and delivery?
Max Meltzer, Chief Commercial Officer (MM): Firstly, betting is a form of entertainment so we are always evaluating how we can provide even more excitement to players in new and engaging ways. We believe our Instant Betting product ticks this excitement box. The turnover it generates, as well as its positive impact on player retention, is why we have continued to improve the product to ensure it remains market-leading. Secondly, Instant Betting can be a very effective marketing and customer acquisition tool for our operators, particularly when combined with Kambi’s empowerment features.
SBC: At a product-level, effective instant markets are hard to execute and deliver. During initial product inception what unique factors and dynamics did Kambi development research?
Jonas Jansson, Chief Operations Officer (JJ): This is a reality, effective instant markets are indeed very hard to execute. The whole supply chain needs to be functioning in harmony: the quickest live score data, integrated into automated trading tools with models based on years of iterations, run by a trading team able to manage this in real time, as well as continually developing the offer. With Kambi this has been in our thinking from the very early days of live betting.
We’ve been focusing on the quicker and more relevant markets, such as the tennis game winner in-play, since 2008. We soon started experimenting with Grand Slam finals by offering a market on each and every point. In this way, and in the years since the product inception has been an organic result of our approach to the UX in-play: what is most relevant to the game situation now?
Over time we have combined this philosophy with a data-driven understanding of what drives player behaviour, looking at the comparative revenues of the most relevant offers. In recent years we have realised the potential in really owning this area and have launched into a systematic approach where we are offering something in every sport that satisfies our Instant Betting criteria.
SBC: Kambi has placed a significant emphasis on making instant markets an immersive and personalised functionality. How have you developed these utilities to be effective with User in-play dynamics.
Jonas Jansson: Again, it is our whole supply chain that enables the immersive experience you see. The frontend has to be smooth, quick and playable. It must have a low bet delay so that in these hectic situations, such as the moment a penalty is just about to be taken, the customer can receive the full exciting experience.
Of course, our operators also play an integral role in generating the experience of instant betting, and it is together that we will continue to build the immersive and personalised functionality for our end-users that sets us apart from the competition.
When developing Instant markets, how have you managed wider Kambi stakeholders with regards to concerns relating to Risk and data?
Simon Noy, Head of In-Play (SN): We have always been aware that handling these kinds of markets is a major challenge. We have tested new markets with small incremental rollouts, using our most experienced traders and working in partnership with our live data providers.
We have learned a lot of lessons in getting to where we are today – achieving the steady margins we have on such complex offers is not straightforward. A dedicated member in each of our internal teams has built expertise in this area to support the development of the product in a sustainable way for Kambi and our partners.
SBC: As a new service, how has Kambi delivered Instant markets to its sportsbook client base. Is there a learning period for this product, and have you noticed interesting feedback for clients with regards to unique user in-play engagements?
Simon Noy: Absolutely. Different geographical markets have different preferences, and even the more generic casino type player prefers the Instant markets on some sports to others. These offers can also be positioned differently by our operators depending on their brand – some focusing more on the expertise angle and others on the fun and speed of Instant.
SBC: Finally from a leadership perspective, how do you feel instant markets will change Kambi as an organisation and industry technology stakeholder?
Max Meltzer: Instant Betting is just one example of how Kambi is pushing the user experience boundaries as far as possible to benefit the players, our operators and also Kambi as an organisation. The better the user experience the higher demand there is on our organisation. In Kambi’s view, this is great for us as it leads to further innovation and improvements of the product, ensuring our customers can offer the most relevant Sportsbook in the market.
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Kambi Group Plc
