Alexander Kamenetskyi, SOFTSWISS: “The trend of casino operators expanding into sports betting business is expected to continue in the coming years”

Alexander Kamenetskyi, head of SOFTSWISS Sportsbook delves into the pivotal question: why should online casinos consider adding a sportsbook to their platform?

Exclusive interview.- Alexander Kamenetskyi, head of SOFTSWISS Sportsbook, discusses with Focus Gaming News the benefits of adding a sportsbook to an online casino platform, the challenges of entering the sports betting market, and how SOFTSWISS Sportsbook differentiates itself from the competition.

A growing number of online casinos that offer sports betting options prompts the question: what are the benefits for operators in adding a sportsbook to their platform?

The highly competitive igaming market is compelling casino operators to venture into sports betting to combat player churn. This trend is driven by the growing demand from players who are looking for gambling websites that offer both casino and sports betting options.

For example, our partners have reported a 10-20 per cent drop in online casino betting turnover during the last FIFA World Cup. This indicates that even projects exclusively focused on casinos experience approximately a 10 per cent loss of players or bets to sports betting. So, users are inclined to gradually migrate to other platforms that offer both casino and sports betting options.

The trend of casino operators expanding into the sports betting business is expected to continue in the coming years. Casino operators capable of providing both casino and sports betting options will have a strategic advantage in attracting and retaining players.

So, is there any chance for online casinos to be successful without sports betting?

Of course. There are good examples among the SOFTSWISS Casino Platform clients. However, the question is how much more profitable they could become by incorporating sports betting into their offerings.

By the way, sportsbooks are generally easier to promote than casinos because sporting events generate a lot of excitement and interest. Additionally, sports betting enjoys higher levels of social acceptance in many cultures, leading to increased rates of player conversion. 

For instance, if you offer a Brazilian user the opportunity to bet on a Brazilian player, they are likely to focus on their fellow countryman rather than the tournament itself. What’s crucial for the operator is that such users are less likely to unsubscribe.

At the same time, expertise is still an issue. Bookmakers faced challenges in understanding how to generate profit from casinos, just as many casinos struggled to grasp the intricacies of profiting from sports betting. 

At this point, we are ready to help: we provide operators with the most automated tools, allocate experts to support business development, help set up bonuses and address other issues. 

What do you recommend for a great start in betting for online casino operators?

One of the common strategies is to launch a sportsbook ahead of major sports events like the FIFA World Cup. In fact, there are many more events like that. However, the initial question centres on the operator’s intended course of action.

Broadly speaking, the entry threshold remains relatively low at any time, but it’s crucial to consider seasonality. However, there are many prominent events that can serve as a foundation for a robust promotional campaign. The primary advice for operators is to avoid fixating solely on football. Diversifying your marketing efforts across various sports can be a more prudent approach. 

“The primary advice for operators is to avoid fixating solely on football.”

Alexander Kamenetskyi, head of SOFTSWISS Sportsbook.

A diversification strategy is needed to secure business. You need to ensure that the betting pool is distributed to the maximum extent among all available options. If operators focus on football only, they will end up increasing their dispersion and limiting their potential for growth.

Let’s look at a particular case. An operator heavily concentrates on football and decides to run an advertising campaign for a Champions League tournament match because, at that time, there are no better sports events for promotion. While this increases the betting pool significantly, the operator becomes highly dependent on the outcome of that specific event. 

Unfavourable results in that match could lead to substantial losses, so it’s crucial for operators to diversify bets across various sports and events to mitigate such risks.

Secondly, it is better when players bet on the upcoming events. Operators gain more profit if players bet live during the first quarter of Philippine Basketball as opposed to placing bets on events like the Champions League happening three days later. 

Bets for later events simply freeze money, which isn’t the most lucrative approach for operators. Encouraging players to bet promptly ensures that by the time a major event unfolds, they will have experienced both wins and losses, ultimately resulting in more favourable outcomes for operators based on the underlying mathematics.

We provide similar guidance to our current partners. A dedicated team shares key sports event reports a couple of times a month to help operators with promotion. In these reports, we cover different types of events: it can be the World Snooker Championship, winter sports, and many others. The team also helps operators with welcome packages and promotions.

What makes the SOFTSWISS Sportsbook different from other betting platforms in the market?

In the initial stages of platform design, our primary focus was on the B2C segment rather than B2B. We placed a strong emphasis on creating a user-friendly solution that would make it easy for players to discover exciting and popular events for betting, with the aim of encouraging repeat usage.

When it comes to operators, they need to have as many tools as possible to attract and retain players. That is why we put much effort into bonuses and engagement options, offering the most popular and unique bonuses on the market. They allow users to navigate gameplay styles and bonus amounts, choosing what they like. 

“When it comes to operators, they need to have as many tools as possible to attract and retain players.”

Alexander Kamenetskyi, head of SOFTSWISS Sportsbook.

Striking the right balance is crucial, ensuring that smaller players receive an appropriate bonus while also satisfying the expectations of more significant players. It’s worth noting that this approach applies not only to sports betting but extends to all forms of gambling. Our tools are designed to automatically provide the appropriate bonus amount. 

In addition, I would also highlight our jackpot system among other bonus components that set us apart from competitors. It is very flexible to manage odds, events and bet amounts. Leveraging the bonus and jackpot systems, operators are able not only to attract players effectively but also retain them and redirect the flow of bets, managing the size of that flow. As a result, the average player’s wager can be safely increased if needed. Let me give an example. Let’s say we find players with an average bet of EUR 5, and offer them a bonus, provided they wager EUR 10. In this way, we encourage players to increase their average bet.

One more thing I would like to highlight about our Sportsbook is its flexibility and automation. We employ a CMS that currently enables us to tailor and customise our product. For instance, we can present content based on player actions. Moreover, we recognise that many operators face difficulties in generating promotional materials, a challenge our solution automatically addresses. When a bonus is established, we autonomously create all supplementary materials, saving valuable time for our operators.

The SOFTSWISS Sportsbook seamlessly integrates with a variety of platforms, ensuring smooth collaboration with their CRM systems and functionalities. This eliminates the necessity for extensive operator retraining, enabling them to carry on their work using familiar tools and processes. Furthermore, it provides advanced customisation options for a more personalised user experience.

Crucially, this flexibility isn’t limited to SOFTSWISS platforms alone. Operators are not restricted to utilising platforms exclusively created by SOFTSWISS. They can seamlessly integrate our Sportsbook functionality into a wide range of platforms, both within and outside the SOFTSWISS ecosystem.

These are the four most essential things we focus on: user-friendliness; a wide range of bonuses; automation and flexibility to attract and retain users; and vast integration opportunities.