Chris Nikolopoulos, BETBY: “For this year’s SBC Summit, expect a major update to our suite of AI sportsbook tools”

Focus Gaming News sat down with Chris Nikolopoulos, chief commercial officer at BETBY, to discuss the company’s goals for SBC Summit 2025 and priorities for the rest of the year.

Exclusive interview.- With SBC Summit Lisbon 2025 on the horizon, BETBY is preparing to showcase a major update to its AI Labs suite of sportsbook tools. The enhancements include an upgraded personalisation model, expanded coverage of the Entertainment Feed, and a significant evolution of its Betting Tips feature. In this interview, chief commercial officer Chris Nikolopoulos outlines the supplier’s plans for the event and how these innovations are set to elevate the betting experience for operators and players.

A new edition of SBC Summit Lisbon is coming up. What are your plans there, and what are your main objectives?

BETBY is thrilled to return to Lisbon, especially after last year’s exhibition ended with us taking home the SBC Award for Esports Supplier of the Year. SBC Summit Lisbon is the perfect stage for us to connect with our partners, meet potential new ones, and gain valuable insights into the needs of modern operators and bettors.

This year, we’re excited to showcase a major update to our suite of our award-winning AI-powered sportsbook tools. Among the highlights are an upgraded personalisation engine that adapts instantly to a player’s bets in real time, expanded coverage for our Entertainment Feed — which now not only generates markets but also monitors news to ensure odds remain relevant and settlements accurate — and a significant evolution of our Betting Tips feature. The latter now offers live, in-play insights that react to game data as events unfold, adjusting advice to players in a way no other supplier currently provides.

With these innovations, our goal in Lisbon is clear: to demonstrate how BETBY continues to combine advanced technology with market-driven insights, helping operators deliver more engaging and personalised betting experiences.

BETBY has recently expanded its eSoccer offering. Given the fierce competition in the market, what do you consider to be the keys to success in this area and standing out?

Success in eSoccer — and in the broader e-simulated sports space — comes down to authenticity, innovation, and engagement. That’s why our recent expansions have focused on delivering ultra-realistic gameplay with new eSoccer titles, as well as exclusive markets through our in-house soccer trading model.

We’ve merged realism and rapid play to keep players engaged, introduced unique betting opportunities such as our exclusive eFIFA Club World Cup portfolio, and maintained bigger margins for operators by offering markets that aren’t accessible through standard third-party feeds.

By continuously refining gameplay, adding exclusive competitions, offering tailored market coverage, as well as unlimited customisation options when it comes to match frequency and duration, banners, leagues, and margins, we ensure our eSoccer offering remains aligned with operator needs.

“We’ve merged realism and rapid play to keep players engaged, introduced unique betting opportunities.”
Chris Nikolopoulos, chief commercial officer at BETBY.

This year, BETBY announced a major update to its Betting Tips feature, introducing insights for esports. What was the development process like, and how was this update received?

Integrating esports into our Betting Tips was a milestone not only for BETBY but for the industry. As part of our award-winning AI Labs suite, the new esports tips leverage the latest news, team and player statistics, and other relevant data to deliver actionable insights for popular titles such as Counter-Strike.

The development process focused on two main goals: expanding coverage to major esports tournaments, regardless of event tier, and enhancing quality, with 99 per cent of tips now including a relevant fact or statistic to make them more informative and actionable.

The reception has been very positive, operators see it as a powerful engagement tool, and bettors appreciate the clarity and depth of insights. We’ve also ensured global accessibility and relevance to this industry-first tool with tips now available in 25 languages, strengthening our position as a leader in esports betting innovation.

BETBY is known for enabling operators to create unique and market-specific betting experiences. Based on your experience, how important is personalisation in today’s igaming landscape, and how do you see it evolving in the years ahead?

Personalisation is a key driver of engagement and loyalty. At BETBY, we go beyond standard localisation by creating bespoke solutions that reflect the unique interests of different regions and audiences.

For example, after a request from our Brazilian partners, we created markets for vaquejada, a popular rodeo-style sport in the northeast of the country, and developed the first-ever e-sim version of the sport so operators could engage players all-year-round. We applied the same approach to cricket and more recently to soccer, launching our own trading model that allows operators to feature underexplored leagues unavailable elsewhere.

As personalisation develops, we expect to see even deeper integrations between player data, AI modelling, and market-specific content, something we’re already offering through our set of AI sportsbook tools AI Labs.

“Personalisation is a key driver of engagement and loyalty. At BETBY, we go beyond standard localisation by creating bespoke solutions that reflect the unique interests of different regions and audiences.”
Chris Nikolopoulos, chief commercial officer at BETBY.

Looking ahead, how would you assess BETBY’s performance so far in 2025, and what are your main priorities and plans for the remainder of the year?

2025 has been an outstanding year for BETBY so far. Our H1 results showed strong growth across both sportsbook and Betby Games verticals, reflecting the success of our product approach and operator partnerships.

The focus for the remainder of the year is clear: we will continue enhancing the user experience and operator service, roll out new products while refining existing ones, and strengthen our global footprint, especially in Latin America, where we’ve achieved certification in Brazil and Peru.

After SBC Lisbon, we’ll head to SiGMA Europe in Rome, as well as GAT Santo Domingo and GAT Puerto Rico, as we keep building momentum in key markets.