The panel was moderated by Marc Thomas, Propus Partners and comprised of Marco Blume, Pinnacle Trading Director, William Woodhams, Fitzdares CEO, Billy Cook, ComeOn Group Sportsbook Director and Anthony Cousins, Head of Sportsbook Commercial & Control, Kindred Group.
As England indeed reached the final this year, it seems a bookmaker's ideal scenario would be to have the country reach the final (and either win or lose on penalties).
The question emerged on what the sports betting industry has learned from the Euros, and if anything, what can be applied to better the industry in terms of creativity?
The panel agreed that there was not much room for creativity in sports betting as a whole, and “creating value for people means offering value for punters.”
Cook commented: “There just didn't feel like there was anything new in terms of innovation. From a product perspective and an innovation point I remember going back to Euro 2016, when there was a £1m ($1.34) jackpot prize draw, and it really gave you a reason to go and play.”
There was agreement among the panel that there's room within the industry to thrive through creativity.
Cousins touched on the influence of “the real emergence of player specials,” betting on how many sprints a player will have in terms of stats and the impact it's made on the industry. This, he believes, should continue to be the case over the next few years.
“People want to use their expertise and their real specialist knowledge,” he added.
On the topic of ‘superstars’, it was said that with this attraction, it isn’t particularly hard to obtain turnover, whereas it is difficult with smaller teams.
Woodhams added: “I totally agree, we need new innovation. I think the thing I can take away from this panel is focusing on some superstar players.”
