The global sports betting industry is entering a period of transition, moving towards a more sports entertainment-focused approach that will encompass a 360-degree view of fan engagement, according to Florian Diederichsen, Chief Technical Officer of OpenBet. 

Speaking in an interview with SBC, Diederichsen outlined the ways in which entertainment is rapidly becoming the focal point of the user experience, with OpenBet evolving to ensure it is meeting the ever increasing demand for immersive content. 

“Big names such as Flutter and Entain want to be seen as a sports entertainment company and not a betting organisation,” said Diederichsen. “That is where I see the industry heading in the next few years. 

“The digital space has created wants and needs which are very different from going into a high street betting shop and filling out a betting slip. It is more about an overarching, 360-degree fan engagement, which also includes betting. We as the provider of betting technology and content must cater to that.”

Diederichsen, who joined OpenBet earlier this year, revealed that CEO Jordan Levin’s vision for the company is what ultimately ensured his return to the sports industry after a short period away from the sector.

He said: “Jordan called and told me about an exciting opportunity to really change the betting space, to be disruptive and create groundbreaking new concepts. I really couldn’t say no.”

The new CTO of OpenBet is tasked with evolving the provider’s modular sports product offering, as well as accelerating the next generation of sports betting entertainment through the use of cutting edge technologies.

Amid a rising demand for more personalised products, Diederichsen believes that OpenBet is in a prime position to offer a more tailored betting experience to its customers via SportCast’s BetBuilder product.

“I think the next step for the industry is personalised odds – working out what people want to gamble on and then tailoring those markets to bettors,” he said. “We have already started that to a degree. 

“BetBuilder by SportCast allows you to essentially assemble your own personal bets around the upcoming game day. I think this desire for personalised odds is going to go further, so we need to be able to cater for that.”

Watch the full interview HERE