Only four weeks away from Betting on Football 2018, event organisers have announced a record breaking speaker lineup, with more than 200 industry experts lined up to share their expertise with delegates.
Held at the iconic sporting venue, Stamford Bridge, the fifth edition of the event has attracted representative from over 150 gambling brands, in addition to over 100 professionals from football clubs and sporting organisations.
To name a few, some of the speakers include the likes of Snaitech CEO, Fabio Schiavolin, Danske Spil CEO, Niels Erik Folmann, Mr Green CEO, Jesper Kärrbrink, Pinnacle CEO, Paris Smith, Veikkaus Senior Vice President, Jari Vahanen, Better Collective CEO, Jesper Soegaard, OPTIMA CEO, Jacob Lopez Curciel, Microgame CEO, Marco Castaldo, BetVictor Director of Sportsbook & VIP and Matt Scarrott.
Niels Erik Folmann commented: “Betting on Football is important to the sports betting industry because it brings a lot of life, vividness and innovation into sports betting, and I think that's got to be the competitive edge once you look at all the other opportunities for gaming and gambling.”
Jesper Kärrbrink added: “This kind of event drives innovation and the development of an industry like ours. People sitting at their desks all day should meet to exchange ideas and listen to others. This is how you learn, so an event like this is extremely important.”
Furthermore, in a special announcement, former pro footballer and Dutch football manager, Ruud Gullit will be making an appearance, headlining a conference that will explore the crossover between sports and eSports at the Esports Insider Super Forum.
Ruud will be joined by other speakers including, Mark Cox, UK Head of Publishing, Riot Games, James Dean, MD, ESL UK, Alex Grimonpoint, Player Engagement Director, Hi-Rez Studios, Nicolas Maurer, CEO, Team Vitality and finally, Dom Sacco, ENUK/British Esports.
Commenting on the news, Gullit stated: “I'm looking forward to taking to the stage at the Esports Insider Super Forum to discuss the sports and eSports crossover, and the plan for Team Gullit.
"I may be biased but it’s great that the event is taking place at Stamford Bridge too. As a place close to my heart it will be a fantastic opportunity to make an impact there again, and I’m sure there’ll be plenty of good eSports chat with a host of industry leaders."
Sam Cooke, Editor at Esports Insider, added: "We ran the popular ESI Forum Series at Fnatic's Bunkr last year and so decided to step it up a gear for 2018.
"We've seen a number of panels on the crossover of sports and eSports in the past 12 months, but we've opted to focus a whole one day conference on this as the focal point. Our thinking is that by running business-focused events like these in London, it helps to elevate the eSports industry in the UK as a whole, and should provide some strong networking opportunities for those across eSports and sports.”
eSports is one of many topics set to be discussed over the four-day event, In total, there will be eight main tracks at Betting on Football 2018, featuring 50 individual sessions.
This kind of event drives innovation and the development of an industry like ours. People sitting at their desks all day should meet to exchange ideas and listen to others
This year’s World Cup will obviously hold a big focal point as part of the proceedings, which will no doubt be beneficial for both affiliates, operators, suppliers and service providers.
‘World Cup and beyond’ will assess the future of traditional customer bonusing, how to engage customers in a live environment, the scale of the DFS opportunity, how to prevail in the ‘Facebook and Twitter battlegrounds’, the ongoing battle with match-fixing, how to keep acquired players engaged for the new season and the hidden benefits of sponsorship.
Sponsorship will also be discussed twice on the first day of the conference agenda and the Global Market Profiles track will assess the cost-effectiveness of sponsorship in Asia, but this is only scratching the surface of what is in store for attendees.
SBC Managing Director, Andrew McCarron concluded: “SBC was founded on networking parties, so we take extra care in making sure that people can make valuable connections. The two London parties and busy exhibition space are perfect for those looking to utilise the 1-on-1 access to senior executives from operators, affiliates, football clubs and key suppliers across Europe and beyond.”
