Oddschecker international director Andy Lulham on netting the WhoScored acquisition
Andy Lulham, international director at Oddschecker Global Media, runs the rule over a challenging year for the newly-combined digital marketing giant
Oddschecker Global Media (OGM) flexed its financial muscles in September to seal the acquisition of UK-focused live scores football site WhoScored.com.
The popular football brand, which is famous for its player ratings algorithm, was purchased for an undisclosed fee and will be integrated into the Oddschecker portfolio over the coming months.
OGM international director Andy Lulham will oversee the migration. Below, he outlines the advantages of the partnership for both parties.
Most chances created from open play in the Premier League:
Kevin De Bruyne – 23
Trent Alexander-Arnold – 19
Jack Grealish/Riyad Mahrez – 18 pic.twitter.com/tv6436wE0F— WhoScored.com (@WhoScored) October 18, 2019
EGR Marketing: Why WhoScored?
Andy Lulham (AL): When we joined The Stars Group in 2018, we started to integrate the legacy iBus Media brands such as Poker News and Casino Smash to broaden our product portfolio.
Acquiring WhoScored further adds reach and reinforces our vision to deliver high quality products to sports and gaming consumers around the world. WhoScored has a strong and credible brand, both in the UK and beyond. It is an industry leader at what it does through its proprietary data, ratings and statistics and live scores so it naturally complements our products and services.
It was a very attractive proposition and we see real benefits for both sides of the deal.
EGR Marketing: Are there any plans to change the brand or its USP?
AL: No, currently the WhoScored brand will remain. We will look to further enhance the product, and there will also be an opportunity to integrate their stats and data into the Oddschecker world.
WhoScored is a brand built carefully over a number of years. We believe it is well-regarded in the industry and often gets quoted in the media. Some UK bookies actually offer betting markets on the WhoScored Man of the Match, further demonstrating the power of the brand.
When you also consider reach and engagement across social, you can see that it really is a brand that stands on its own two feet and is one of the reasons why we were interested in the business.
EGR Marketing: Was Oddschecker in the market for an acquisition or did the WhoScored brand become available?
AL: Any brand that we view as a good fit to our vision of delivering world class betting and gaming products globally would be of potential interest. WhoScored has been a prominent brand in the UK’s football digital industry for many years and therefore a business that we’ve been aware of.
WhoScored has a small but talented team and they’ve grown the business from the ground upwards, skills and attributes we also value within the group.
EGR Marketing: Is Oddschecker shopping in a different market to its PLC affiliate competitors?
AL: There are obviously very different types of acquisitions that can be done. As an established affiliate business with a range of assets we will look at opportunities to expand our portfolio, assuming they fit with our wider strategy. We absolutely welcome those conversations.
EGR Marketing: Are you leading the integration?
AL: Yes, alongside Cris Acconci who was CEO at WhoScored. Their team were previously based in Southwark but have already transitioned over to the Oddschecker office in Hammersmith.
While the integration may not be as complicated as some of the operator M&A deals that we have seen over the last few years, it still requires thinking about technology, teams and structures.
We need to prioritise product requirements and work out how best to integrate our now diversified content offering. We also need to consider how we leverage both brands, not only in the UK but also where we have an audience in other key territories such as the US, Australia and Italy. It is not just about integrating the UK business, we see a much bigger opportunity than that.
EGR Marketing: How long do you think it will be until the integration is complete?
AL: I don’t compare this to an operator integration where we need to call out a specific timeframe. The first step is to ensure that WhoScored can continue as effectively as it has been, albeit in a new environment.
We’ll then have a robust plan as to how we leverage our strong commercial relationships, SEO expertise, and our technology team to enhance the WhoScored product, drive revenue growth, and also how we leverage WhoScored content across Oddschecker. I think it’s fair to say that as we move through 2020, the two businesses will naturally exist alongside each other and simply become part of our BAU.
England's highest WhoScored rated players in Euro 2020 qualification:
Raheem Sterling – 9.06
Harry Kane – 8.56
Ross Barkley – 7.99
Full team statistics — https://t.co/d8o5gFxiEr pic.twitter.com/I4sLPnUQL6
— WhoScored.com (@WhoScored) October 16, 2019
EGR Marketing: Are those who came aboard as a result of the acquisition going to have long-term roles at Oddschecker?
AL: The WhoScored team bring with them a wealth of relevant experience and it’s a priority to integrate them into our organisation and culture. They will be working with multiple stakeholders across different parts of our business. They are excited to be here and we are excited to have them on board.
EGR Marketing: It has been one year since Oddschecker became Oddschecker Global Media. What has changed?
AL: We’ve had to adapt the way we operate to become a truly global brand with multiple products across different gaming verticals. We’ve been through a number of changes and, if I look back over the last year, I think we have achieved a lot.
We have a structure spanning several locations, a true portfolio of brands across sports, poker and casino, and we’ve had to adapt and recognise this. But I believe we are now in a position where we can really drive the group forward and better serve those customers around the world.
EGR Marketing: How will the potential Flutter Entertainment merger change things for Oddschecker going forward?
AL: To be honest, at this point nothing has changed and it’s very much business as usual for us.
EGR Marketing: Has the last year proved challenging?
AL: Of course, there have been challenges – we wouldn’t have been pushing ourselves hard enough if there hadn’t been. We have moved from a world of Oddschecker only, where that brand is front and centre of the business, to an evolved world incorporating multiple brands operated from different locations. That is not easy.
But it has been an exciting time and we believe it creates huge opportunities. No doubt there will be new challenges that come along with that; prioritisation, communication and refining how our products co-exist. We believe that we are certainly a much stronger business now than we were 12 months ago.
EGR Marketing: Has it been enjoyable?
AL: Absolutely. New products, new geographies and targeting new customers keeps us all busy and is exciting to be part of.