Daniel Stone, Sportingtech: “We are keen to ensure our offering continues to stand out in a competitive market”

Daniel Stone, shared with Focus Gaming News how Sportingtech’s new brand identity, award-winning campaign, and unique features make them a leading igaming platform provider in 2023.

Exclusive interview.- Daniel Stone, head of marketing at Sportingtech, granted Focus Gaming News an exclusive interview where he talks about the impact of their new brand identity, their support for diversity and inclusion initiatives, and their innovative features that set them apart from competitors in the sports betting industry.

What does it mean for the Sportingtech marketing team to have been shortlisted for the best B2B Marketing Campaign at the EGR Global Marketing and Innovation Awards 2023?

It meant a great deal to have not only been shortlisted for these awards, as the EGR Awards are among the most prestigious awards in the industry but to win Silver for the B2B Marketing Campaign category. We have a relatively compact marketing team compared with our competitors, so it’s a testament to our hard work and expertise in this function that we were even considered for these awards.

After launching our new brand identity at ICE 2023, we have experienced a hugely positive reception from both customers and partners. At the show, we had record footfall to our stand with an increase of 223 per cent for the number of leads collected, compared to ICE 2022. 

It has been hugely encouraging to see the positive impact of our rebrand and awards win on helping Sportingtech’s name continue to be one of the largest igaming platform providers in 2023.

Sportingtech recently highlighted its participation in the Women in Gaming Diversity Awards and highlighted the importance of this award. How do you rate inclusion and diversity in the gaming industry? What do you think are the main challenges today?

The future is bright for diversity and inclusion if initiatives like Women in Gaming (WiG) and All-In Diversity continue to be supported by operations and suppliers alike. We were delighted one of our team members, Laura Main, was shortlisted for a WiG award. 

The industry is making strides in the right direction and it’s great to see more women in leadership roles. A 2022 report showed that the percentage of women in senior executive positions had risen by 10 per cent – but this still only took the share up to 29 per cent, so there is still plenty of work to be done.

Sportingtech doesn’t discriminate and believes there should be no limitations based on gender, so we’re always keen to support inspiring initiatives like these awards. 

“The industry is making strides in the right direction and it’s great to see more women in leadership roles.”

Daniel Stone, head of marketing at Sportingtech.

In terms of challenges, I’d hark back to at a recent event I attended, where a leading woman CEO (I shan’t name names) shared views that one of the main hurdles that must be overcome is the fact that women leaders should be seen as having earned their roles based on due merit, whereas there can be a belief that women in leadership positions climb the ladder by being more bullish than male counterparts, which is simply not the case. 

This appears to be wholly attitude-based and we hope to see these attitudes changing quickly as more women take on senior roles across the industry. 

What are the keys for an online gaming platform provider to differentiate itself in the sports betting industry, which is continuously growing in countries around the world?

One of the key priorities when trying to differentiate from all-too-similar platform suppliers is identifying and solving the problems faced by our clients. We have a whole host of products and services that set us apart from competitors as we tap into the habits and preferences of bettors. 

Our Bet Assist feature attracts and retains bettors by generating automated betting tips analysis, historical data, live-score and AI analysis. FastBet is the only feature of its kind on the market, enabling users to wager multiple single bets across all sports at the touch of a button without creating a bet slip. 

Players are always seeking an edge, and being able to supply such innovative and insightful functionality has seen engagement increase significantly. 

Our Share-a-Bet feature is one for the new generation of players, who use social media as a communication tool. This allows players to share their bets to their social media followings via a few simple taps and for their followers to then place the same bet easily, should they wish to do so.

Globally, there are a lot of operators that see the benefit of a sportsbook but are not yet sure if it’s quite the right option for their customers, eradicating the time-consuming process of building their own. This single integration provides operators with the same great benefits as full turnkey customers. 

The other key factor in differentiating ourselves from competitors is making sure our offering is flexible and can be adapted specifically for various markets to conform to any pre-existing and new regulatory requirements.

But if you asked me what the one major USP is with Sportingtech – as cheesy as it may sound – it’s the people. Not only are new team members hand-picked based on their industry know-how, but more importantly it’s about their attitude, how they genuinely care about every little thing they do in our journey to providing the very best for our customers. It’s that commitment that really sets us apart.

What differences and similarities do you find between the requirements and needs of your customers in the different regions?

Different markets have their own casino and sports betting tastes. In order to understand these nuances, we need to demonstrate to each country that its needs have been identified and addressed with an offering that has been carefully tailored to the tastes of the population, making its operators much more likely to attract and retain customers.

There are contrasting sporting preferences across the region which makes it trickier for an operator, needing to tap into the diverse audience sectors. Take Mexico as an example, there is a big interest in the American sports scene, something that isn’t the case in Brazil. 

In Brazil, football, basketball, beach volleyball and others take precedence. It is an obvious observation to make, but operators must take into consideration these varying aspects on a regional level.

There is a growing appetite from end-users to expect a product that feels specifically catered to them. We are keen to ensure our offering continues to stand out in a competitive market, and the Sportingtech products and solutions enable businesses to thrive by meeting the individual needs of each operator partner and being adaptable.

“There is a growing appetite from end-users to expect a product that feels specifically catered to them.”

Daniel Stone, head of marketing at Sportingtech.

This flexibility, combined with local knowledge, is essential to succeed and we know there can be no one size fits all approach. In 2022, we saw exponential growth, especially in LatAm and Africa, and one of the key similarities we have seen in all the markets we live in is the need to adapt to a rapidly-evolving regulatory landscape. In the UK, we have seen the publication of the White Paper, while LatAm markets such as Brazil and Peru are also undergoing a period of significant transition. 

To cut a long story short, we take pride in our local expertise – we’re big believers in utilising knowledge direct from the source, from those that really know their markets – and it’s a sad fact that we too often see examples of pretenders using content that they assume would reflect the wants of an audience, sometimes even grouping an entire region instead of applying content according to the demands of specific territories. So if that’s something operators are looking for, they should speak to us.