Soft2Bet: The path of continued growth

Soft2Bet’s new chief business development officer Martin Collins shares his achievements since joining the software provider in October last year and reveals how the firm is balancing its goals as both a B2B and B2C business.

EGR: You joined Soft2Bet in October last year as chief business development officer. What have you achieved during this time?

Martin Collins (MC): The good thing about Soft2Bet is that I was joining a great company with amazing people, a fantastic product and an already established success. As with joining any new organisation, I started by looking at what has worked well and where there was an opportunity for growth.

Since arriving in October, we have built out infrastructure for continued growth and added smart, driven and like-minded people. We have also implemented new technology and processes to motivate, challenge, and create a sense of ownership and accountability.

Additionally, with our regulated footprint continuing to be such an important focus for our industry, we have devised a plan and strategic roadmap to continue expanding into consumer-friendly, regulated markets.  

We have also partnered with the leadership and product teams to continue to lead the industry with product innovation. Since I arrived at Soft2Bet, we’ve launched Motivational Engineering Gamification Application (MEGA), which combines casual gaming with online gambling in a way that is more entertaining and engaging for the end user. Indeed, it continues to be a win-win for operators and players as it drives revenues through quality engagement and content. 

EGR: How does Soft2Bet balance its goals as both a B2B and B2C business?

MC: B2B is our focus but B2C enables us to continue innovating and enhancing our B2B and turnkey solutions by testing out products and platform updates on our own brands. This provides several key benefits; with a rich portfolio and track record of successful brands Soft2Bet knows what works, what the industry wants from its B2B providers and what the new consumer and industry trends are and how they impact performance. Many operators don’t have the luxury of doing this or have the expertise with, for example, UI/UX and conversion rates. By operating on both sides, we are able to bring that experience to the table and guide our clients very effectively.

The igaming industry is peppered with many successful businesses that operate in both the B2B and B2C spheres. Examples from other digital industries include Sabre, the largest global distribution systems provider for air bookings in North America, which once owned booking sites Travelocity and Lastminute.com; and web giant Amazon also offers a marketplace on which third-party sellers sell products directly to consumers and offers those third-party sellers’ tools to improve sales and operations like pricing guides and content features to create a branded shopping experience on its site.   

EGR: How is Soft2Bet investing in creativity and innovation? What can customers of Soft2Bet expect to see in the future?

MC: Customers can expect to see three main things from Soft2Bet:

Entertainment
Much like how Las Vegas is not only about gambling but also provides customers with high-quality shows, shopping and restaurants, we ensure our clients’ sites are packed with entertainment options delivered through a powerful tech stack that is infused with MEGA’s engagement features and casual gaming.

Personalisation 
As a global company, we know first-hand that users want a personalised experience. For instance, in Europe, where we currently operate under 10 different licences and know that in certain markets people like to play games with particular themes. People in Sweden, for example, like Viking-themed games, whereas people in Italy prefer games with an Ancient Rome theme. As we break into the US market, where each state operates as an independent market, this level of granularity when it comes to delivering the product will be even more important. 

Return on investment (ROI)
From a B2B perspective, ROI and ensuring every pound, dollar or euro is spent optimally, is one of the most important aspects of our work. Thanks to our focus on industry-leading entertainment and personalisation features, we dive into the data to deliver increased market share, player engagement and, ultimately, ROI for our B2B clients.  

EGR: What’s your strategy for entering new markets with different regulations and customer demands?

MC: Last year, we entered four new regulated markets – Sweden, Greece, Romania and Italy – and we have ambitious goals to drive more of this success. Our strategy focuses on three components:

Diversification: we focus on global expansion and obtaining licences in multiple markets at the same time. As a process it takes time, but this geographic diversification will enable us to continue to grow consistently.

Consumer-friendly and healthy markets: we prioritise such markets where regulators are motivated to work with suppliers and operators, and where there is a good opportunity.

Personalisation: from a product perspective, we focus on innovation and customer preferences. We have localised payment solutions and build products that are relevant and will be of interest to players in their markets. 

EGR: As part of Soft2Bet’s expansion plans, as well as your recently acquired licences in Greece, Sweden and Romania, what other markets are you looking at as key drivers of the business?

MC: We are in the process of applying for a New Jersey licence and we will launch in Ontario, Canada in Q2. These moves are part of our plan to launch and grow in North America in the coming months and we’re truly excited by that prospect. We are also concentrating strongly in Latin America, plus we have signed a major new ‘media-focused’ client in a major African market, which we will be announcing shortly.

EGR: Do you have any predictions for trends on how the industry will develop in 2024?

MC: The growth in icasino in the US will continue to be a key discussion point and ongoing feature of the overall US market. It would be great to see more states regulating the vertical, although the odds on such a widespread prospect are very long.

Consolidation will continue as major international operators expand into regulated markets and acquire businesses to expedite growth. Conglomerates like Entain and Flutter have acquired a number of localised businesses in recent months, and we can expect to see more of this in the B2C and wider B2B environments.

I believe (and hope!) the industry will continue to focus on innovation. Consolidation, especially by major groups, provides an ideal opportunity for games studios, platform providers or SaaS companies to continue to lead in this field by launching new, innovative technologies that drive successful products. At Soft2Bet we have been using AI for a while across many functions of the business and, with the buzz created by generative AI (ChatGPT), there will be more AI tools and features and new technologies that will come onto the market in 2024. 

Bio

Martin Collins is chief business development officer of Soft2Bet. With a huge experience in digital markets, Collins has a passion and drive to help organisations flourish and grow. Through both internal and external strategic analysis, he drives positive improvement in performance as well as helping to identify new business opportunities. Always remaining one step ahead, Collins empowers organisations to truly perform and drive revenue and growth.