Playtech BGT Sports (PBS), the sports betting technology arm of major gambling provider Playtech, boasted record turnover for bets taken at this year’s Wimbledon, which concluded with Novak Djokovic taking down Roger Federer in an epic finale.
The company said earlier today that its self-service betting terminals (SSBTs) were a dominant force in the retail betting sector, while its mobile-based betting products played a key part in its growth strategy.
Betting turnover grew 50% across PBS’ omni-channel solutions throughout Wimbledon. The provider revealed that it handled more than £9 million in bets throughout this year’s edition of the world’s oldest tennis tournament. Its mobile product range led the way, recording a 300% increase year-on-year.
Playtech BGT Sports was formed in 2017, nearly a year after Playtech acquired rival provider Best Gaming Technology in a €138 million deal in the summer of 2016. Playtech’s sports betting subsidiary combined the company’s existing sports betting technology operations as well as the newly acquired BGT. Armin Sageder, who founded BGT back in 2005 and led it to a leading position in the retail betting market, was appointed as Chief Executive Officer of the newly formed provider of technology for the international sports betting sector.
Commenting on today’s announcement, PBS Senior Commercial Director Lee Drabwell said that while they were not surprised by the continued growth of stakes taken on their network of self-service betting terminals, “the exponential growth in popularity of our mobile-based betting was ace and knocked our forecasts out of the court.”
Playtech’s betting technology division manages tens of thousands of SSBTs across retail locations operated by Ladbrokes and Paddy Power in the UK and by Greek gambling giant OPAP.
Growing Popularity of Mobile-Based Betting
PBS said that its BetTracker app has enjoyed particularly great popularity during Wimbledon. The app allows betting customers to place their wager at a retail location and then track its progress and even cash out a winning bet via their mobile devices. BetTracker is available across both iOS and Android.
Of their app, Mr. Drabwell said that “BetTracker and similar products continue to improve user experience and operator revenues.” He went on to say that by bringing betting technology that is now routine online into betting shops for the first time, they are seeing increased customer adoption rate, which also benefits the operators that have deployed PBS’ solutions.
Playtech’s sports betting technology division has kept itself busy over the past several months, rolling out new products that are focused on improving operators’ in-shop in-play functionalities.
PBS’ latest releases have included new quick-fire markets that have proved particularly popular with bettors as they bring innovative opportunities to the retail betting sector. In addition, the technology supplier has recently introduced Betrecommender, which deploys artificial intelligence and a content engine to suggest relevant content to each individual bettor. The suggestion takes place through analysis of previous popular calculations and comparisons.
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