In Tuesday’s SBC Summit Lisbon panel, Sportsbooks and Entertainment: In-play Betting, industry leaders explored the pivotal role of in-play betting, personalized experiences and advanced engagement tools that modern sportsbooks have been implementing to meet the growing demands of today’s audiences.

This discussion was particularly timely, given recent market activity, which has moved toward more live betting.

Josh Turk, Chief Strategy Officer at Low6 and moderator of the panel, asked the panelists to give an overview of some of the innovations in live betting.

Ivan Gojic, Head of Trading Product at Superbet, explained his company’s experience providing exclusive coverage of particular markets. Superbet is the only betting site that provides in-play betting for the lower Polish soccer leagues. Gojic cited this as an example of “localization.”

He explained that the company may not make significant profits from these specific markets, but they give it a unique way to market its in-play betting product. Many bettors who wagered on these markets placed other in-play wagers.

Rosaire Cavallaro, Vice President of Business Development at Delasport, agreed that this is a positive development, as “pretty much every sportsbook offers the same thing.” However, he also downplayed the importance of innovative in-play betting markets and unique options, saying, “the truth is that the people that are on the brand will bet on whatever is available.”

Delasport is no stranger to adjusting tactics to capitalize on changes in the market, with its strategy to up the entertainment factor of its sportsbook to appeal to the younger generation.

Highlighting an innovation that has benefitted live betting, Tomash Devenishek, CEO and Founder of Kero Sports, discussed the role of micro-betting. Kero Sports is an online sports betting company specializing in providing micro-betting content. “In the U.S., micros are the fastest growing [market],” he said.

Expanding further on micro-betting, Devenishek highlighted his company’s results from Euro 2024, which proved that micro-betting could be popular with global sports and not just U.S. sports, opening up the potential for the expansion of these markets in the future.

Lasha Kupatadze, Atlaslive’s Chief Product Officer, pointed out the combination of in-play betting with live streaming and the potential to use AI to provide personalized content to players as ways technological innovations could enhance live betting in the future.

Atlaslive is a software development company that provides igaming content through its proprietary platform system.

The panelists also discussed the role of social gaming in expanding in-play betting in the future. Devenishek considered it crucial for operators to supply social content, saying, “every live experience is more fun if you feel you’re playing with other people.”

He used the example of Delasport providing a leaderboard on every game, which allows players to feel like they are playing with other people and compete to be near the top.

Some panelists briefly commented on the challenges facing in-play betting in the future, with Gojic saying the “biggest problem moving forward is data,” as “the cost of data is increasing.”

Devenishek agreed, explaining, “on the one hand there is increasing cost. On the other is the quality of the data,” saying often the data his company receives isn’t acceptable. For example, sometimes a data company may not register a shot on target that has occurred when it has, causing issues with player complaints.

Coming at it from the point of view of a streaming service, Gabrielle Griesbacher, Senior Vice President for Payment and Risk Operations at DAZN Group, highlighted the challenges of converting streaming customers to betting customers. The requirements for registering for a streaming platform like DAZN are far less stringent than the KYC protocols on online gambling sites, which present an obstacle in converting customers.

Griesbacher is one of the experts featured in an extensive list of dedicated payment experts at this year’s SBC Summit Lisbon summit.

Turk asked the panelists which sports have the potential for the most in-play betting growth in the future.

Gojic immediately cited table tennis as an excellent in-play betting option and its potential for further growth. He explained that betting on table tennis has a “casino-like” feel thanks to its stop-start nature, leaving plenty of opportunities for micro-betting and quick payouts. He also highlighted the wide availability of live streaming for table tennis.

Devenishek concurred, although he also noted that it’s “less about which sport, and more what you can deliver it like.”

Griesbacher picked out boxing because it is “glamorous, exciting,” and it matches her prediction that bettors will become increasingly interested in events where they “come together and talk about it” on short notice. She highlighted that social media marketing will be crucial in this. Kupatadze agreed, sharing his prediction that combat sports would see an increase in live betting.

Cavallaro said, “football will always be number one,” but also suggested the popularity of in-play markets would depend on the location. He cited the Nordic regions as areas where live ice hockey betting may show growth, as well as cricket in several global locations.

Turk suggested the potential of in-play betting on non-sports markets in the future, although Gojic suggested, “you can’t go into these things with the intention of making money.” However, he did agree it could be a useful tool for marketing and encouraging bettors to wager on other in-play markets.

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