"Online sports betting is much wider than we used to think" An interview with Alexander Kamenetskyi, Head of SOFTSWISS Sportsbook

During the long-anticipated SBC Summit which recently wrapped up in Barcelona, Casino Guru News had a chance to talk to Alexander Kamenetskyi, Head of SOFTSWISS Sportsbook, a leading gambling software developer offering one-stop-shop solutions for iGaming operators and sportsbooks. In the interview, Alexander shared his vision for the future of sports betting in general, and esports betting in particular, and how operators can interact with their audiences.

Q: Alexander, can you start off by telling us about SOFTSWISS’ presence in the sports betting industry, what you do in this vertical, and how satisfied you are with your progress so far?

It’s a pleasure to be telling you about us! The SOFTSWISS Sportsbook is an integral part of the product family where each solution interacts with the others to create a complete iGaming ecosystem. Our online sports betting platform has been rapidly evolving over the last two years to see 20+ clients go live and benefit from our reliable performance and engaging features. As for now, we focus on reinforcing our software with unique game-playing elements to bring player experience and engagement to a new level.

One of the Sportsbook's advantages is that it supports different types of integration, making it easier to onboard. Our clients can connect to the Sportsbook via API, iFrame or even via the SOFTSWISS Game Aggregator – a cross-product option we have recently added to our offering. Now, by connecting to the game aggregation platform, our clients get simultaneous access to the sports betting platform.

Another big story is that the Sportsbook is integrating with the SOFTSWISS Jackpot Aggregator. This is the first integration of this kind in the industry. The Jackpot Aggregator is an innovative solution that offers different types of jackpot campaigns for online casinos. The combination of the two top-notch platforms will help discover new horizons in the iGaming business in terms of player acquisition and retention. This integration means that the Jackpot Aggregator's functionality will become available not for casino operators only but also for online sports betting operators. The latter will be able to launch their own jackpot campaigns for some specific events or sports. Sounds impressive, right?

For example, very soon we are having the FIFA World Cup in Qatar. Operators can run a jackpot campaign for this particular event to get maximum exposure. Judging by the impressive performance of jackpot campaigns in online casinos, we have no doubts that they will be equally effective for online sports betting, if not more.

Q: Gamification of the sports betting experience is the leading edge these days, can you tell us a bit about this concept and what it means for players and businesses?

Today, with gamification going mainstream, we use it to unlock new dimensions in sports betting. Gamified content helps attract players, keep them engaged and motivated so we create unique gameplay experiences on their betting journey by including a variety of bonuses used in the online betting industry.

What is more, we develop our own exclusive tools to ignite player activity. For example, this year the Sportsbook has introduced the Freebet Booster bonus, Lootbox bonus and Hunting Tournaments, all offered exclusively by SOFTSWISS.

Q: Have more people been joining sports betting using free-to-play games as a gateway, do you think?

Actually, I don't believe they have. People quickly lose interest in anything that is free, so free-to-play games are not really engaging. I can give you a good example! Once, at a football match, I noticed that some people were not following the game at all. But, as soon as I suggested making some bets, such as to bet on the next penalty taker or any kind of activity on the field, they immediately became interested. The same works for online betting!

Q: What future do you see for sports betting? Do you think that the industry will be centered around legacy consumers who love sports and betting or operators will think outside the box and pursue new audiences among those who are not in for sports?

Online sports betting is much wider than we used to think. Just a few years ago, people would only bet on sports, but today we have much more betting options. For example, we can bet on celebrity baby names and gender, the number of yellow cards a football player receives in a game or tennis aces served during a match. We can even bet on tomorrow's weather! With so many betting options and possibilities, the number of users is inevitably growing. So, my point is that online betting can be fun for everyone.

We can even start betting here, offering people to guess the number of stands in the hall. They will do it eagerly because it is entertaining. This is how it works. Blurring the borders of traditional views on sports betting helps the market grow. So, my answer is that we can expand our audience by targeting people who are far from sports but might take interest in betting.

Q: What is your take on esports, the segment that receives greater attention these days?

Esports is now one of the most promising lines in online sports betting. Actually, SOFTSWISS has just entered that market by introducing its brand ambassador Kostya Sivko, a famous esports streamer from Belarus. This confirms that we see the industry as very propitious and worth investing in. Online gaming and esports go very close together. Esports events are extremely popular in online sports betting projects and compete with traditional sports. We expect this tendency to continue in the future. As for sports betting, we are developing some special esports features for the Sportsbook platform, which are to be announced shortly.

Q: Can esports and sports be interchangeable, or do they appeal to their own specific audiences and attempting to bridge the two to boost conversions is not wise?

Instead of exchanging the audiences, operators had better combine them. However, it is very important for operators to manage the speed of play. Both audiences need to feel comfortable with it. The options available through our solutions enable our clients to target both traditional sports betting audiences and esports betting audiences. But if operators attempt to convert esports bettors to sports betting using traditional promotions or bonuses, such a strategy is unlikely to work.

The esports audience is much younger than the audience of traditional sports betting. The former thinks faster, because their games are faster, and is used to making quick decisions. This is a major difference between the two.

That's why it’s extremely important to know your audience and work out a proper strategy. I have mentioned the World Cup. Actually, this event is capable of sparking interest in any audience because it is huge and global.

Q: What is next for the SOFTSWISS Sportsbook?

First of all, we are planning to integrate more data providers to cover the maximum of events for different audiences. We are developing our own risk management system, which is extremely important for successful management and development of online sports betting brands.

Next year, we are planning to grow our client portfolio to 50+ brands. We will continue to diversify our bonus system, in particular by applying innovative game mechanics. We want to help our clients focus on their marketing strategies and promotion while we take care of the technical solutions. We are committed to achieving and delivering excellence and we are working at it!

Image credit: SOFTSWISS