“We need to stay on top of trends to remain competitive.” Those were the words of Yevhenii Ilchenko, Head of Sports at DATA.BET, at the SBC Summit, where the group’s recent expansion onto the sports betting scene was placed under the spotlight.

This new era initially exploded onto the scene complete with coverage of over 50,000 sporting events per month, featuring over 63 pre-match and 38 live sports, along with 2000+ available markets.

However, for Ilchenko, the sky’s the limit. Setting the scene on the Lisbon showfloor, he first reflected on a “really big achievement” when looking at the progress made since the company opened its new chapter in June.

“It’s been a really long journey from the start to the present where we are ready to operate all over the world,” he begins. “I’m very happy with that.

“I want to say that it’s a really productive period, and we have undertaken a lot of positive work with new clients that are really happy to be working with us. 

“If we talk about some specifics that I can share with you during these last few months, we have a number of new partners, such as Genius Sports, that can make our lives easier and the product stronger on the market – with official data and new widgets.

“Also, one of the first clients integrated sports portfolio was Odds Reactor, a well-known brand from Finland, and we are already seeing positive dynamics in their growth ”

It was the competitive nature of the entire ecosystem that drove the addition of a sportsbook to the DATA.BET offering, with 2025 deemed as the perfect point to take a natural next step.

This, Ilchenko says, was driven by a necessity to be better through the addition of new products to make you stand out when contrasted to competitors.

“I think that that’s the main challenge, to hear each one and make a decision that will be good for everyone”

One key facet that helps to shape this outlook is feedback from clients, which he acknowledges as clearing the pathway when it comes to the implementation of ongoing or future developments.

These are actively sought by the group in order to remain competitive in any given market, however, as Ilchenko notes, these are also critical for DATA.BET to enhance its offering.

“Globally it’s favourable,” he comments. “We do have some challenges, and obviously, some processes that we constantly fix, but that depends on the operators’ requests  and the market, as our company is flexible and always strives to adapt the product to each client.

“Every insight and feedback from them strengthens us, because when someone comes from a different local market or region they help us enhance our position within this vertical..

“Active dialogue with operators and providers is essential, as it allows us to keep improving our product.. Our goal is to ensure our clients are satisfied, helping them create a better experience for their customers.

Despite the headway made thus far, it is inevitable that headwinds will be encountered along the way, with the major challenge revolving around confronting these head-on and finding a swift resolution.

For Ilchenko, this primarily concerns communication between DATA.BET and clients. More specifically, ensuring that configuration settings align with a clients’ point of view.

“They think about these settings only on the local market, but we are a global company,” he says. “I think that that’s the main challenge, to hear each one and make a decision that will be good for everyone.”

Appeasing the needs of clients is the key ingredient for any successful business, but arguably none more so than the fiercely competitive online sports betting industry.

“We need to make a bigger product, including adding niche sports”

When quizzed on what the trickiest aspects are of keeping up speed, Ilchenko stipulates the strong data and product sets possessed by “a lot of companies”, in addition to integration challenges based on the differing wants and needs of partners.

However, there’s always space for improvement, and to conclude a focus is placed on just how DATA.BET plans to swell its influence across the sector.

“We need to make a bigger product, including adding niche sports but also making our prime sports much stronger,” Ilchenko ends.

“We’re planning to add features such as Player Props, Multiple bets and Bet Builder across all disciplines as soon as possible, because these additionals are really meaningful for bettors. We should think about this both globally and on a local market level. 

“A part of this journey is to analyse the clients’ markets and make the best offer for them. That’s the way we should think.”