SG Digital SVP Keith O’Loughlin on the Don Best acquisition and adapting for the US market
O’Loughlin tells EGR about the need for a more US-centric sportsbook platform and how Don Best will be integrated
EGR Intel: How will Don Best be integrated and why did you feel the need to acquire the business?
Keith O’Loughlin (KOL): The sports betting market from a B2B angle has really changed over the past three or four years and customers are looking for a far more turnkey approach from their partners.
We’ve always had the OpenBet sportsbook to drive that, but with the focus on the US market we saw Don Best as something that would be very complementary and a way to enhance the level of service we have for customers. It’s a truly US-centric product. It does events and pricing for all US sports and has the widest range of product in the market.
You have to go and stand in a sportsbook in Vegas to get a real sense of sports betting in the US and it’s something you don’t get from afar. Don Best, being based in Vegas, with heritage and expertise there, we thought was very good fit.
EGR Intel: So you think you need a more American flavour get more clients through the door?
KOL: It’s not about getting clients in the door. This is a long-term game for us. As the US market opens up, the customers want a US-centric product. One of the key themes I’ve heard at every single conference is, while European operators and providers have sportsbook expertise, the US market and consumer is very different and the product needs to focus on them. We think there’s an overwhelming sense that customers want a product with a strong US flavour – not just a list of US markets, but a US heritage.
EGR Intel: How will the Don Best team work alongside the sportsbook operations team you’re building in Gibraltar?
KOL: The team in Gibraltar can do full-managed operations and trading, covering pretty much everything. Don Best provides a comprehensive markets and pricing feed. When you add that to the managed trading service, it’s a perfectly complementary piece.
If you look at the Gibraltar team and the Don Best team, it gives us 24/7 coverage and great expertise in trading, and operations. The Gib team, with Stuart Weston, they’re all ex-Ladbrokes, Coral, GVC, bwin. It’s a very formidable team and adding those together is very comprehensive.
EGR Intel: Is the acquisition and that new Gibraltar team an admission that OpenBet wasn’t ready for the US market?
KOL: Absolutely not. We look continually at how we can offer the broadest and best service. This is not a reaction. We only want to be in the market when we’re leading the market. This is us looking to improve what we do. The US market is still evolving. We want to make sure we’re a leader not a follower.
EGR Intel: There are rumours in the market you are looking to make at least one more acquisition in the sportsbook pricing area. Can you share anything here?
KOL: We can never comment on that, as you know. I would say, we’re constantly trying to improve our offering – sometimes you do it organically, sometimes through acquisition. If it fits, that’s what you do and we think Don Best best helps give us the best turnkey solution for the market.