Matchbook close to Alderney licence
Betting exchange expects approval from regulator before end of month.
Antigua-licensed betting exchange Matchbook is set to move to an Alderney licence before the end of the month, chief executive Andrew Pantling has confirmed to eGaming Review.
The move comes as the operator prepares to launch its first iPhone app, following on from the development of multi-language and multi-currency features to its core exchange product.
This afternoon it will increase the number of different currencies to six and four languages will be rolled out from next month with more to follow, while the company hopes to follow the likes of bwin and Betfair in having real-money apps approved by Apple’s iPhone App Store.
Speaking exclusively to eGR about the new Alderney licence, Pantling admitted “There’s a possibility of us looking at other licences in the future but that’s not a priority right now.
“We’re not as retail-focused as a lot of our competitors, we’re very much a B2B company and what we do doesn’t particularly justify the high marketing spend associated with expensive licences in certain jurisdictions.”
He also confirmed that previous co-owner James Bord is no longer involved in the company, making SmartOdds founder Matthew Benham the sole owner of the company.
Pantling also confirmed that Matchbook’s affiliate programme with Income Access would launch “around mid-April” and added that “We’ve also got a VIP programme on the way soon, similar to those offered by poker sites, where players can potentially earn commissions lower than our standard 1% based on the turnover they generate – that is geared more towards higher-end bettors but applies to everyone.
The operator is also considering launching an straight sportsbook as a separate initiative to its core exchange product, with Pantling explaining: “We are finding in Asia that the structure is more conducive to sportsbook than exchange, so if we were to go down that route our primary focus would be Asian handicap.”
Despite poker players making up a reasonable portion of Matchbook’s clientele, while Pantling himself is a former high-stakes online poker pro, the operator has no plans to launch its own poker offering, with the CEO explaining “We feel that in poker and casino there’s not as much room to compete in pricing, whereas the sports market is wide open.”
The company does, however, intend to continue using poker as an organic marketing tool, with Pantling revealing that “We’ve been approved for ESPN’s World Series of Poker coverage this year and expect to have at least one player in the million-dollar ‘1-Drop’ tournament, giving us more TV exposure.”
It also plans to live stream a boxing match between poker players Andrew Feldman and Daniel “Jungleman” Cates on its soon-to-launch Matchbook Media content platform, which will also feature WSOP content from Jesse May.
Pantling said: “When we streamed the cash game in Prague last December the interest was good, and we hope to repeat that. Jesse is still quite involved and will be working with us as part of that.”