How has 2023 for you guys so far?
Well, obviously, it’s been another period of transition for the company. As you can imagine, with everything that happened towards the end of last year, it’s been a very, very eventful year. I would say the first step was to get the band together again. So, Mark Blandford has been appointed as a strategic advisor. That happened in February and lends a lot of credibility to the company without a doubt.
It also under builds what we really want to do going forward, which is to replicate a lot of the good stuff that happened at Sportingbet in the early days. We have quite a few people in the team, me included, who have a background from this period.
Since November, we raised £4.2m in cash, which we obviously have been spending on strengthening the balance sheets and looking for value creative acquisitions. One of which we announced just a few weeks ago. Which would be the NBA deal, which I think is fantastic for us.
Talking about that deal, I know it’s not due to be complete until September but how will that impact B90 going forward?
It gives the tools first and foremost and the important thing here is we believe it is priceless for us. It allows us basically to build revenues that the company, so far, has not had a chance to do. We can use it both for our existing marketing vertical and we can use it for our operational vertical as well.
In terms of being an operator and an affiliate in these competitive markets, what benefit does that bring to you? What can you do that other people maybe struggle to do?
I want to say that we have an absolute stonewall between the two divisions so that we ensure that all operators that we partner with on the affiliate side of things get the quality players that they pay for. That’s step one.
Step two is that I personally believe it is a fantastic opportunity for us to increase the lifetime value and decrease the cost of the customer acquisition. I mean that by obviously having looked at or been in this industry now for many years. What I’ve seen is that back in the day it was easy to acquire customers because they cost very little. However, getting a platform was very expensive. Today, it’s the other way around.
Anyone and their uncle can just get the platform and be up and running within a month with a lot of different platform providers. But getting the customers in, that costs quite a lot of money. So, for us, it is a lot makes a lot of sense to own the marketing platforms, which obviously takes down the customer cost for us.
Furthermore, in terms of us being able to work with players on both sides through our own CRM, we are able to make sure that players leave more money on the table, which obviously is beneficial for us.
For all the changes that have happened in recent years, it’s fun. At the same time, it’s challenging because gambling is a very dynamic field.
Looking at B90’s market presence, right now what ones would you highlight as being the core for B90 at present and going forward?
I would say the Nordic and LatAm markets. The Nordics is a very advanced market, it resembles a little bit of what you see in the UK, but not quite as mature. LatAm has a lot of growth potential, which it is now beginning to display. So, it’s a market that it makes a lot of sense for us to be in for that purpose. It’s like a little bit more quality in one and quantity in the other, I think that that matches itself up pretty well.
I noticed that your stock price has gone up quite a lot since the year started, what would you attribute to this happening?
Yeah, obviously the getting the band together is a part of that and it basically shows unity. I would also say that this unity was shown at the AGM (Annual General Meeting), which was held on the 31 of July this year, where all the resolutions duly passed.
I would say was a big exclamation mark for the work done so far by the board and the management team, getting approval from all the shareholders was a big thing. We know that we are now building on a base of unity that will allow us to focus on business going forward and do the things that we really want to do, which we have a plan for.
What is it like for you managing the C-level executives, obviously the AGM was a smooth process for you earlier this year, but what are the challenges?
For all the changes that have happened in recent years, it’s fun. At the same time, it’s challenging because gambling is a very dynamic field. Everyone contributes. I would also say that in terms of the band getting back together, you would probably have noticed Farzad Peyman has joined us.
Farzad comes in with a background from as a financial controller in Sportingbet and was CFO and CEO of matchbook.com. He has a lot of sector experience and is strengthening our financial team, as well as taking charge on the M&A. I would basically say he’s been stellar.
On a final note, in the wider industry and as an operator and an affiliate, what do you make of ICE shifting from London to Barcelona in 2025?
I do believe that that changes things a lot to be honest. I mean, there has been quite a few events held in Barcelona, which is a great city. A fantastic city. But it’s not ICE.
