Exclusive Betfred CEO Interview
Betfred's new CEO John Haddock speaks exclusively to eGaming Review about his plans to grow the company at home and abroad and how he's got one eye on post-PoC consolidation
Betfred has proven it’s not just William Hill that can turn betting shop managers into chief executives. John Haddock last month took up the position of group CEO nearly 30 years after he was convinced by owner Fred Done to swap his job as a board marker at Ladbrokes for a management position in one of Betfred’s betting shops near Manchester.
“I remember joining Fred when he had 13 betting shops and I joined because of his ideals, how he saw the industry growing and how he was developing the business at that time,” Haddock says. “The strange thing was, I joined Fred on less money than I was on at Ladbrokes but I bought into the idea of what Fred was trying to achieve,” he adds.
Haddock has played an instrumental role in Betfred’s growth in the past few decades. Just 12 months after joining the company he was promoted to area manager of the North West and, as the business grew in size, so too did Haddock’s responsibilities “ his last role saw him lead the entire retail division. But although there is still work to be done in retail, it is the online division, founded by Haddock in the mid-2000s, where he is determined to seize the moment and expand both at home and overseas.
CHALLENGING TIMES
Growing Betfred Digital, until recently overseen by Chris Sheffield but now the responsibility of Rakesh Chablani, will be no easy ride with the impending PoC tax due to hit from December. Although while the new levy will hit Betfred’s bottom line, it will be some of its bigger online competitors suffering more sleepless nights. And while Haddock says Betfred is always looking at ways to be more prudent, he believes its privately-run status offers more room for manoeuvre, particularly in bonusing, where some are expected to cut back.
“Why would we [reduce bonusing]?” he says. “We’ll always be the same “ we’ll probably make less margin as a business than anyone else but it’s all about the punters. And at the end of the day it’s Fred’s business, it’s his money and if he wants to make the punters happy and carry on offering great value then he will.”
Haddock says a business shouldn’t need a reason to look at its cost base “ it should always be monitoring spending levels and Betfred is constantly looking at ways to extract greater value from its suppliers. “You need to try and drag more value out of the people you are spending your money with, squeezing it as much as you can so you can get that extra value. And then also look at what we could do cheaper or more efficiently,” he says.
Betfred is also focused on converging the online and offline experience. “We want Betfred customers to have one wallet where they can bet online, on the phone or in-shop and offer that one Betfred experience “ I believe that will help retain customers who know they can get great value from every channel,” he says.
GOING GLOBAL
Another avenue the company is actively exploring in order to help mitigate some of the expected PoC loss is expansion into new markets. Betfred recently launched a mobile business in Australia, with plans to launch a full desktop website in the coming months. And while Haddock says Australia has started “quite nicely”, international expansion isn’t likely to end there.
“From Betfred’s perspective, and from mine, we want to grow the business,” says Haddock. “Betfred is a big name, if you look at where the company started when I joined to where it is now “ it’s a massive growth story and we want that to continue. “We still feel that there’s bags more to do, both from a retail perspective but especially an online perspective. There are some massive markets out there, some of which are untapped if you can get it right.
“I don’t want to tell you exactly where we are going but we have a few irons in the fire at the moment,” he says. Haddock also says the firm is keeping its options open as to whether it will look to snap up a local operator or start with a blank sheet of paper when entering a new market.” I think we’ll look at both options,” he says. “We’ll have discussions with different parties “ we may consider setting up a joint venture or, if it’s better for us, go it alone. We’ll look at which is the quickest way to market and which is the best way to market.”
With market-wide consolidation seemingly underway, Haddock rules out the possibility of Done selling Betfred, although he says it will be keeping an eye out post-PoC for any fall-out from those unable to meet rising tax demands. “We are constantly looking around to see if there is anything of interest to Betfred to grow the business in any way and we will continue to do so,” Haddock says. “With the consumption tax, what will happen to the struggling companies? Will they fold up or will they come to companies such as Betfred looking to sell? The same thing happened in retail when running costs such as TV pictures increased.”
This is an extract from an article that first appeared in eGaming Review September Issue. You can read the full article by downloading or reading the latest issue online here