Fresh from being a speaker at the Sports Betting East Africa Summit, BtoBet’s CEO Alessandro Fried spoke exclusively to GI about why omnichannel is a key to growth in i-gaming
Why do you think omnichannel concept has developed at the pace it has in recent years?
The evolution of i-gaming and sports-betting technology in recent years has encouraged a transformation of player expectations. Players expect to encounter the same brand with the same offer on each channel, including a dedicated mobile version rather than simply a mobile-optimised website.
From a management perspective, operators still experience the problem of administering multiple systems. How can you solve this problem?
Most of the software solutions offered in the market are still integrated at the front-end, but separated on the back-end. What operators require is a real omnichannel solution that allows them to have a single back-end from which to administer all channels. Having multichannel (or cross-channel) and adapted interfaces for different platforms is not enough. The ever-evolving market requires a more advanced technology to be applied to gambling; one that not only facilitates, but encourages this kind of dynamic approach.
You mentioned the “real omnichannel platform”; how would you simplify operators’ process and improve the players’ experience?
Our B-Neuron omnichannel platform offers insight into player behaviour, that data drives revenues and improves players’ experience. B-Neuron allows physical bet-shops to evolve into intelligent bet-shops via one simple-to-use platform, successfully integrate web and physical stores, and provide analytics for the ability to fully understand players. In this era of interconnectiveness, players are expecting to experience a seamless flow of information, communication and operations, no matter the channel, so retailers need to develop and implement strategies that permit bettors to do so in order to compete.
You have spoken about artificial intelligence; can you explain how AI is involved in the omnichannel flow?
We always put the player first, in every action and tool that we develop, and AI was the natural evolution to enhance the players’ experience. Only by having such a technologically advanced core can we acquire every detailed behaviour of each single player and help the operator to set automatic actions to attract, maintain and retain them.
You said that AI radically changes all facets of the operators’ activity by sustaining and guiding them to make the best decisions for the management, acquisition and retention of players. How?
These days AI should be an indispensable ingredient for high-performance operators. Similar to the human thinking process – where billions of neurons are fired simultaneously to create synchronous waves of cortical computation – the AI in our software, through precise algorithms, works on different processes simultaneously; monitoring the players’ behaviour, suggesting operator information about players’ preferences and, at the same time, proposing suitable offers to every single player, often anticipating the clients’ desire and encouraging commitment to the game.
Only with a “clever” i-gaming platform and account system is it possible to access one view of the player across every product and location, land-based as well as online or on mobile.
Over the next few years, operators will need suitable tools to manage their business with flexibility, and an omnichannel platform and sportsbook based on AI will be fundamental for operators to deliver the right product at the ideal time for every single customer.
Is the AI also applicable for operators that run land-based businesses?
Retailers, through intelligent software, are able to track their customers over different channels and comprehend their preferences in order to serve their players better. Through the omnichannel i-gaming platform and account system, they can access one view of the player across every product and location, land-based as well as online or on mobile. They can register customers, monitor behaviour, verify their preferences while playing, and set marketing and business strategies that elaborate on offers in line with the clients’ expectations, often anticipating the clients’ desire and encouraging commitment to the game.
The omnichannel process can encounter some risks, but there are suitable tools that can protect operators from fraud. In an omnichannel environment, people could take advantage by skipping between PC, mobile, tablets and retail, however our solutions are able to prevent that.
A suitable omnichannel platform must have great software that enables the operator to manage fraudulent activities properly. We provide AI and friendly tools with which our customers can track all the transaction data and manage it by reviewing analytics via the risk and fraud dashboards. The most important benefits of implementing our advanced managing tools for fraud management is the real-time visibility of fraud vulnerability, the ability to immediately respond to fraud with timely and relevant automatic actions and to prevent monetary loss due to fraud.
