Promoted feature: IGT scores with customers by adding PlaySports trading team
Matteo Carli, IGT SVP for PlaySports, ETG and poker, discusses the benefits of a US-based trading team as part of its turnkey solution
Despite the challenges Covid-19 brought upon the industry, legalized US sports betting experienced tremendous growth in 2020. For IGT, the growth opportunities in this space in the year ahead are just as encouraging. IGT PlaySports is the leading sports betting solution in the US, with deployments in 16 states and counting, and offering an omni-channel B2B sports betting platform, high-performing self-service products and turnkey business solutions.
Late last summer, IGT introduced its full-service in-house PlaySports trading team, helping propel its leading position in the sports betting segment. Based in Las Vegas, the talented team provides around-the-clock risk management including expert oddsmaking with localized pricing for pre-game and in-play bets, content marketing and promotion, and on-call expertise in every aspect of day-to-day sportsbook operations.
Matteo Carli commented: “We take pride in working hand-in-hand with our customers to establish their sportsbooks and ensure their continued success from the very beginning,” said Carli. “Our trading team enhances the IGT PlaySports solution. Now retail and online sportsbooks of all sizes can leverage this service, enabling us to deliver an ‘all-in-one’ solution as a single, trusted sports betting service provider.”
IGT’s PlaySports trading team was created specifically for the US market and offers a multitude of benefits for customers. One such simple, yet important advantage that IGT’s geography provides is the primetime availability of the team; given that they are on US soil, their peak operating hours run parallel to many important primetime sporting events.
IGT’s US traders also have an in-depth understanding and expertise of professional and college sports across the country, enabling them to provide localized pricing based on customer needs. They work with their customers to determine what limits they wish to take on games. The team takes all factors into consideration when determining if the lines need to be adjusted based on a professional team’s injuries, the weather in the area or similar matters.
“We have a deep knowledge of the complexities of the US market and collaborate with our customers to develop customized programs,” said Carli. “Unlike some of our competitors, we manage each customer’s risk individually. By doing this, we can ensure that there is balanced action in every game.”
As the regulations vary drastically from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, so do the needs and considerations of customers when creating sportsbooks. All potential and active PlaySports customers are offered an opportunity to safely tour IGT’s facility and meet the trading team either in person or virtually. The team works diligently to customize each platform specifically to customers’ requirements and objectives.
Knowing that customer service goes well-beyond technology and risk management, IGT’s trading team is also comprised of content managers who collaborate with customers on marketing and promotions. These creative and passionate team members create banners and manage displays on odds boards and kiosks, specific to what the customer wants to exhibit, especially in advance of big games.
In addition, IGT holds weekly meetings with their customers to ensure alignment toward achieving their goals. The level of detailed customer service IGT’s trading team exudes is helping its customers achieve their sports betting growth goals.
The PlaySports trading team paired with IGT’s proven PlaySports platform and award-winning products allow the company to provide customers with complete end-to-end service for all their sports betting needs.
Matteo Carli is IGT’s SVP global PlaySports, ETG and poker. Carli has been an IGT executive for more than 10 years, holding leadership positions spanning gaming, lottery, and digital, and across diverse disciplines such as product management, finance, industrial planning, supply chain, and integration, in both Europe and the US. Prior to joining IGT, Carli was a senior manager at Bain & Company and a financial analyst at the Italy-based corporate and investment bank, Mediobanca. Carli earned his MBA from INSEAD and currently resides in Reno, Nevada with his family.