SBC News SBC Interviews Rory Anderson CEO of 12BET Europe

SBC Interviews Rory Anderson CEO of 12BET Europe

Roryanderson
Rory Anderson

The SBC team catches up with Rory Anderson CEO of 12BET Europe, to discuss 12BET plans for the European Market, cultural betting differences between Asia and Europe and igaming football marketing.

Rory joined 12BET in January 2010 with a remit to grow the European business from scratch.  Before joining the company Rory had spent the past seven years working in senior marketing roles for eGaming companies such as 888 Holdings, Empire Online and PartyGaming.

12BET is licensed and regulated in the Isle of Man.  The in-play betting specialists offer over 6000 in-play events each month in football alone.  Currently 12BET are shirt sponsors of Wigan Athletic FC and Stadium Sponsors of Crystal Palace FC’s Selhurst Park.

SBC: Rory pleasure meeting you.  Can you give SBC members further insight into 12BET and its operations and services?

Rory: 12BET is an online sportsbook and casino brand, without doubt, one of the biggest in Asia.  We offer markets in 18 different sports.  However, we would consider ourselves to be in-play football betting specialists.  The company was founded in 2007 as a remote gambling operator focusing on key territories in Asia.  Growth in that region was explosive, and a decision was made to expand into Europe.  We secured our Isle of Man license in 2010.  We offer thousands of in play football events every month, all of which are monitored by a huge team of traders.  We are particularly strong in terms of Asian handicap, the dominant bet type in Asia.

SBC: Some industry commentators would suggest that you are tackling the European Sports betting markets ‘late in the game’, how do you feel about that opinion and what key skills does 12BET have to acquire in order to succeed?

Rory: There is no doubt that in most of Europe, the sports betting market is mature and a tough nut to crack.  It’s also true that in the time since we secured our Isle of Man license, the regulatory climate in Europe has made planning ahead difficult.  The lack of certainty and clarity has been a hindrance.

The regulatory framework in some key jurisdictions certainly favours, first of all the incumbent state monopolies, but also established European operators who have existing revenue streams in those territories.  It’s far easier to justify the costs associated with going for a local license if you have existing business in that country.  However, this does not mean that we cannot secure market share.  We are growing progressively and responsibly, and once we add a few more key markets and make some product tweaks, we can start to accelerate that growth

SBC: 12BET exposure to gaming has been gained in the Asian markets, which are very different in play and customs to European gaming markets. How can you extend your learnings and knowledge gained from your Asian operations to the European market?

Rory: When talking about the differences between Asia and Europe in terms of sportsbetting, first of all you need to understand that individual countries in those continents have their own nuances, betting cultures, and in some cases product restrictions and tax systems.  It’s complexed.  So when comparing Asia with Europe, you talking in very general terms.

There are of course major differences.  However, some factors remain the same and are equally important in all markets.  Having volume, solid risk management systems in place, great odds, a huge number of events, a strong brand and good management.  These are the fundamentals and we have these things in place.

SBC: As a CEO integrating two different sports betting cultures can become a hindrance to your European facing operations, how do you stop this from occurring?

My remit is to grow the European business.  It’s a European business with a strong Asian identity.  We would never wish to dilute our Asian heritage.  We embrace the cultural differences and consider ways in which we can use them to your advantage.  We do however have two separate sportsbook products, one for Europe and one for Asia, with the European site having more 1X2 than the Asian site.

Different types of sportsbook will appeal to different kinds of punters.   12BET is an in-play football betting specialist with an Asian heritage and it appeals to punters who are more price sensitive, those who typically bet in a more professional manner.

SBC:  iGaming sponsorship has seen a summer of football sponsorships, especially targeting the UK football leagues.As an operator that has sponsored English Football Clubs is this method of marketing still effective marketing and more importantly is this marketing method still attractive to operators?

Rory:  just have to watch any Premier League game to see that it’s still an attractive marketing method for operators. There are not many marketing platforms that can match the Premier League in terms of global exposure and viewing figures.   One of the only territories where the EPL has not taken off is in the States and that market is of no interest to us.  Add to this that fact that we are in play football specialists you can see why it makes sense for us to be there.

We have been involved with the Premiership for 4 seasons now and enjoyed huge coverage during the last FA Cup final when 12BET sponsored Wigan beat Manchester City.

On the negative the lack of product category exclusivity does dilute the value to the betting advertisers at some clubs.  There are other product categories where being seen so close to a competitor would simply not be acceptable.  If product category exclusivity is not possible, the price has to reflect this.  Marketing for betting and gaming companies is all about ROI, if prices rise and value dwindles, there are plenty of other ways to spend marketing budget.

SBC: ‘Luck’ plays an enormous part in Asian custom and tradition which extends into gaming formats, unlike in European gaming where Skill is the prevalent factor for sports betting, casino and poker especially. Do you feel that European facing operators have forgotten about marketing and packaging ‘Luck’ ?

Rory: In Europe, whilst you are seeing more quants, and very disciplined subjective bettors, there are still a large number of more casual punters who follow their gut.  If you look at the type of markets books push in their TV ads, first goalscorer and correct score markets, or a combination of the two, it’s clear they are targeting punters who may bet on hunches and are hoping for a wee bit of luck along the way.   Such markets are not popular in Asia at all.   Typically Asians prefer to bet at odds of around 2.0 hence the popularity of AH.

I take the point about luck and there is a lot of truth in that.  However, if you look at the incredibly thin spread at 12BET and with Asian books in general, you cannot say it’s all about luck for the typical Asian punter.

SBC: Where do you see 12BET fit in the igaming spectrum in the coming years? What major hurdles will your operations have to overcome to achieve its goals?

Rory: We will continue to grow.  We are not looking at targets such as being Number 1.  We are focused on ways to increase revenue, to be as profitable as possible.  We see Mobile becoming the primary platform over the next few years.  However, we still see desktop having a huge part to play. For us it’s not about trying to find a nice eye catching new feature, as the marketplace will always catch up.   The battle will be won behind the scenes and the importance of a strong, capable and stable IT team cannot be underestimated.  Clever use of data, being able to deliver the right event to the right punter at the right time is key now and will only grow in importance over time.  This will be our focus

_____________________________

Rory Anderson – CEO of 12BET Europe

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