Betsson AB CEO: We’re not late to the party in US
Pontus Lindwall suggests the firm has entered the market at the right time with operators seeking competitive sportsbook suppliers
Betsson AB CEO Pontus Lindwall believes the operator has entered the US at exactly the right time via its 10-year market-access deal to operate mobile betting in Colorado.
Lindwall told investors during the firm’s Q2 results it was “not late to the party” and had entered the US during a time when it had “full control of the situation”.
The Swede hinted at taking a cautious approach to expanding into new states but expects there to be major business opportunities for Betsson when more states open up.
“We can’t go into every state tomorrow, but we will start out in Colorado and have time to adopt other markets that we deem fit for our sportsbook,” Lindwall said.
“There are a lot of states that have not yet implemented any regulation and there will be a lot of possible business opportunities there.”
The Colorado B2C deal will act as a prerequisite to the operator launching its B2B sportsbook platform in the US.
Betsson AB CEO Pontus Lindwall
“The initiative gives Betsson an opportunity to showcase its sportsbook in the market, supporting the ambition to sell its proprietary sportsbook to B2B customers in the future,” Lindwall added.
He confirmed the operator would invest in the B2B product as it seeks to expand into new markets, and he believes it is a “highly competitive and high performing” piece of technology.
When asked why Betsson favoured the B2B route in the US, Lindwall told EGR: “We believe sports betting in the US is going to be really big. At the same time, there are different regulations state-by-state, so it’s not that easy to be in operation.
“It’s not a one-size-fits-all. We know that our sportsbook is really competitive and we believe there are not that many competitive sportsbooks geared up for the US market.
“We definitely see a position for us to fill there because we know the operators want to have competition between different sportsbook suppliers,” he added.
The Malta-based firm reported higher personnel costs in Q4 2019 as it hired new staffers to work on enhancing the B2B platform.
It currently provides its sportsbook technology and trading services to Asia-focused brand LeTou.