SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
Can a company be both a challenger brand and an established player? If the business in question is mkodo, the answer is perhaps yes, as 2023 has seen it make huge strides forward with a decade-old geolocation product.
SBC News spoke to mkodo’s Commercial Director Will Whitehead to discover why GeoLocs has proved such a hit with sportsbook and igaming operators in Ontario and the US this year.
SBC: GeoLocs launched to the wider industry in January this year. What has the first nine months been like?
Will Whitehead: It’s been a very exciting time and better than expected in many ways. All the conversations we are having are very positive and the general consensus is that there’s a definite appetite for alternative geolocation providers from the industry. It’s good for the market to have choice and competition when it comes to geolocation.
We are predominantly working with operators in Ontario where, across all our clients in the province, we are performing more than 18 million geo-lookups per day. This number equates to over 50% of the overall location compliance events across the whole region, making us one of, if not the, largest geolocation compliance provider in the regulated Ontario market – which is a fantastic achievement.
We are working to further expand GeoLocs in North America and will have some exciting news to share on that front soon.
SBC: What have been the biggest lessons learned about North American markets as you’ve expanded?
WW: We launched the product over ten years ago but as markets continue to open up, particularly across North America, we have seen a rebirth of GeoLocs and an increased need across the industry for more choice when it comes to geolocation providers.
We have learned that a superior user experience is key when it comes to geolocation and standing out as a supplier. As well as a solid compliance product, operators want it to offer a seamless user experience, which is what GeoLocs provides.
With our product, there is no need to download companion apps, go through additional steps or tick boxes. We make geolocation as easy and seamless as possible for both the operators and their players.
We are still learning as we go through each new jurisdiction because of different legislation and regulatory requirements. However, what has been evident is that the best product wins and in Ontario we definitely feel we’ve got the strongest offering.
SBC: Are there any plans to further enhance the GeoLocs solution and grow the reach further?
WW: Absolutely. We are investing strongly in both the tech and the team, working on enhancements to the solution and we are continuing to grow, not just on the product side of things, but also from a compliance point of view.
We’ve got a good roadmap going into next year and we have more clients to announce soon. We will expand into more jurisdictions in North America, and also broaden our work across different verticals, including sports betting, igaming and lottery.
SBC: What else is mkodo currently focused on, being a supplier of mobile and front-end technologies to the industry?
WW: It’s worth noting that our primary business is still designing and developing best-in-breed mobile apps across the industry. We’ve had a really exciting year on that front, signing new clients and going live with our partners in eight states in the US, so we’re very much growing that side of the business as well as GeoLocs.
We recently signed one of our biggest deals ever with a national lottery, which we will announce before the end of the year. So we are looking forward to a very busy 2024.
SBC: Finally, what are you looking forward to showcasing at SBC Summit Barcelona?
WW: On our stand, we will display a combination of the GeoLocs solution and our app and front-end products and expertise. We are launching some new features on GeoLocs that we are going to demo on our stand, so that is something we’re excited to introduce to the industry.
The SBC events are a perfect opportunity to meet up with our existing partners, but also with prospects to showcase how our product offering can support them. We are also shortlisted in two categories at the prestigious SBC Awards. Being recognised by the wider industry is fantastic and we look forward to attending the awards evening at the new location at Caves Codorniu.
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mkodo will be exhibiting at booth SB93 in the Sports Betting Zone at SBC Summit Barcelona. The Global Betting and iGaming Show takes place at Fira Barcelona Montjuïc on 19-21 September 2023, and features 350 exhibitors and a comprehensive conference agenda with more than 450 expert speakers from across the industry. Book your tickets here.
