New US-backed operator to target UK and Nordics
Malta-headquartered Betspin to launch with NetEnt games and incorporate elements of "old school bookmaking"
A new casino and sportsbook operator is aiming to take on the industry heavyweights by adopting a “hassle-free, honest and transparent” approach to gaming when it launches next month.
Betspin, which will be launched under the recently incorporated trading company Candid Gaming, is to target the UK, Nordic, Canadian and Australian markets in the coming months following its formation in June.
Led by former Expekt Finland manager and Plus One Dreams director Mikko Hirvonen (pictured), Betspin has put together a 14-strong Malta-based team including former Betsson casino head Philip Lam and former ComeOn! head of customer services Geir Mjosund.
Speaking to eGaming Review, Hirvonen said he expected the team would double in size over the course of 2015 with a “very experienced” head of sportsbook due to join the operator early next year.
Holding company Candid Gaming is 73% owned by Oslo-listed US corporation Nio Inc., Gaming Innovation Group, which also owns sportsbook guts.com, has a 24.5% share while Hirvonen holds a 2.5% stake.
The Betspin brand will initially be launched as a casino on both mobile and desktop in December offering third-party games from the likes NetEnt, before a planned expansion into sportsbook in 2015.
According to Hirvonen, the sportsbook will be based upon a mixture of third-party services and in-house trading while its marketing team will have the flexibility to offer special markets and prices outside of the standard selection.
“The sportsbook will not be a copy-paste solution like so many others do it these days,” Hirvonen said.
“It will have a very strong analytic team which means we can price up offers and events that the competitors don’t have since many of them just rely on third-party odds feed solutions.
“One could say we want to do a little bit of ‘old school bookmaking’ as well, but not at the expense of being a frontrunner when it comes to doing automatic solutions similar to how the financial market works,” he added.
Despite serving as chair of the Finnish Poker Association for almost seven years from 2005, managing director Hirvonen said the operator had no current plans to offer poker as it was “not a good business to be in”.
Its overarching focus, however, will be on customer service, an area where Hirvonen said Betspin would treat the “customer as king”.
“As a start-up we can really have the customer focus from the get go and have it as one of the main drivers in all what we do,” Hirvonen said.
“I personally believe that as long as we can deliver on that promise everything else will follow. We like to keep everything honest, simple and straight forward,” he added.