SBC media welcome to the igaming Daily podcast analyzing the news from the betting and gaming industry all over the globe supported by Optimove, the number one CRM marketing solution for the igaming market. Betsson AB has reported on its 11th consecutive quarter of growth leadership. Sites that Betsson brands are now outperforming the growth of market and competitive metrics. igaming Daily speaks to CEO Pontus Lindwall on Betsson's success across new and existing markets. This episode of igaming Daily is brought to you by Optimove, the number one marketing and CRM solution for the global igaming industry.
Hi everyone, I'm Ted and I'm joined by Pontus Lindwall, CEO of Betsson AB, who is proudly wearing his Inter Milan shirt. Great to see. Did you wear that on the investor call?
I did actually. On the there was no camera there, but there was a presentation in the financial newspaper of Sweden this morning which is quite a big one, and yeah, I have it. Can I just say that as a connoisseur of football shirts, I really like what you've done with the Inter sponsorship. Yeah, it comes really well in through the shirts.
Anyhow, you've got a lot to celebrate, right? So 11 consecutive quarters of growth. Reflecting on your comeback as CEO to Betsson, what does that achievement tell us about your business?
Yeah, I think initially there was a lot of things that I found that we could do with the company, and I just had to make sure that I have a very strong team around me which is committed to do all these things, and now we've been doing that for many years and it pays off.
Mhm. And you're now confident that you're not only outperforming metrics, but you're outperforming your competitors. So what do you believe that Betsson has over the competition and what Betsson is bringing to individual markets?
It's very hard to say. I think it's a mix. Of course we have a great organization and we have people spread out over the world. We have teams more or less everywhere, and I used to say that all those teams are important. If you would take one single team away, then we would notice it. It wouldn't function the whole thing. So it's a very well-oiled big machinery with a lot of committed people that are committed to the same dream. We want to be where we are now and be in the forefront of this industry. We like it and we think it's fun and that helps a lot.
So let's talk about Betsson where it is now. As CEO, are you satisfied with the current product mix and revenue breakdown of Betsson at 24% sportsbook versus 70% casino? Do you think that's a point of exposure for your business?
I think yeah, this quarter it was about 24, 25% sports and a couple of quarters ago it was 30. You know, that fluctuates depending on the sportsbook margins and other things. In general, I think we're in a good position. Of course, there are certain markets where I want us to be bigger than we are today. We have things to improve with the product even though we put a lot of efforts into the product and we think we have come a very long way. So to summarize, there are lots of more things to do and that's why we continue to struggle on here. When we are sitting here discussing this, I have 2,500 people working out there to sort what's going to happen next. We're not satisfied where we are today. We're going to continue.
Okay. So as an executive team, we've seen Betsson take big bets. One of them is being more dynamic and progressing their sportsbook platform. How does the new acquisition of Sportingbet Solutions make you more dynamic on the sportsbook front?
Yeah, we have been a satisfied and happy customer to that company for quite some time. I think it's around 10 years. So we know it well. We know how the product fits into our sportsbook. And now we got a nice opportunity to acquire the company. I think it's good. I hope we will be more tied to that company and hopefully we can have some influence on the roadmap as well. I'm sure that's going to help pave the way for our sportsbook, which has developed greatly the past five years, but it's such an important thing that we will continue to make it even better.
One thing that jumps out about Betsson is its market mix. You guys analyze which regions and jurisdictions you can grow in effectively. You highlighted, and wearing your Inter shirt, you highlighted big prospects in Italy. How confident are you that that market reorganization will work in Betsson's favor and why are you doubling down in Italy necessarily compared to other markets?
It's not only the marketing teams that judge which markets we should go for. It's something that we analyze in the company from all different aspects. I think we have managed to find our own ways in terms of choosing which markets to go for, and that has served us well. We have confidence in what we do there and we're going to continue to make those judgments and try to find new interesting markets that we can put our efforts into.
Okay. Staying in Western Europe, I'm sure you heard the news this week that the French online casino is going to be legislated for, and you've also increased your share in your joint venture. What are your market prospects in France? Do you see yourself making a play in that market for online casino?
Let's see what the regulation will be like, but it's well about time, or it's almost overdue, that they introduce casino games to that market. Because it's been, as we all know, an open market for black, non-regulated operators. So we believe it's about time that the licensed companies, the ones that work hand in hand with the regulator, that pay their taxes, that we will be the ones that will serve the people who want to play casino games in France. So it's good that it finally happens.
Did you have any knowledge that that was going to come into play for France, or did that come as a surprise to you?
Not knowledge, but we have been, of course, voicing our opinion about this. Not that I think this regulation that now happens comes from the Betsson angle, but as an industry, I think it has been obvious that something could happen there and it should happen. And now it seems that it's about to happen.
Perfect. So I'm now going to move you eastward. The CEE has become your biggest revenue generating region. How are you maintaining that balance and sustainability knowing that there are going to be upcoming market changes in Croatia and Georgia? How do you look at those adjustments coming in for Betsson?
I hope that they will not change the development of Betsson in a bad way or even a notable way. We are used to changes in many different markets. Lucky for us, we have quite a great diversity in markets. So we hope that we can continue to crank on well in these markets because the markets you mentioned are two important markets for us.
Mhm. So I think look, it's coming up to the end of the year. Every analyst is eyeing up the South American opportunities. Now you bet big and you bet early on this market. Do you think that you've achieved localization in the South American markets that you're active in, and what advantage is that to Betsson moving forward?
Yeah, we realized early that in order to have any kind of success or traction in the Latin American markets, you need to have a local flavor. You need to have local adaptations in terms of payments and all of that. And we have learned and we have people on the ground. So I think we have a good foundation to act in the Latin American markets.
