Thomas Smallwood, Head of Marketing at ESA Gaming, discussed with Jessie Sale at Betting on Sports Europe (BOSE) the firm’s growing portfolio of games and how the upcoming World Cup provides the perfect opportunity for fan engagement. 

With a packed sports schedule in 2022, Smallwood agreed that now is the time for businesses to take advantage of these opportunities, especially for cross-selling and acquisition.

“For example, we’ve developed a suit of games that sit directly in the sportsbook, and give operators the chance to cross-sell from their product to the casino at a much lower cost,” he said. 

Explaining the firm’s Easy Swipe portfolio, the Head of Marketing highlighted that this drives further engagement.

He noted: “This is principally because they sit in the sportsbook, containing a widget which allows a player to swipe in and out of a game. So they can be betting on sports, and they can open up the games and start betting on/playing the games. The session stays open so they can return to the sportsbook.”

This means that the sports betting experience remains unaffected, which is why, Smallwood explained, the suite is described as ‘lightweight’ – the titles do not interfere with the sport,  they instead act as an addition.

Additionally, Smallwood spoke of the company’s several sports-based titles. He said: “This obviously helps with engagement of that particular audience. Also, the games are thought out in terms of the kind of bets they are and the volatility to suit the sports betting audience.”

Capitalising on the biggest football event of the year – the World Cup 2022 – he noted how the company’s ‘Goal Mine’ football title is an ‘obvious tie in’ with the Qatar event, with operators showing more interest at this time.

“It is an obvious tie-in with the World Cup but indeed any type of football,” continued Smallwood. “We’ve had a lot of interest from operators about getting that game, and others, in their sportsbook before the world cup.

“This is because they see this as a way of helping them bring in a new audience, and help them engage with perhaps a more casual kind of football audience as well. It also acts as a good retention tool for players once they’re in there.

“In moments that are a little bit dead in the sport, maybe they go in and play around on these kinds of games.”

Smallwood ended the interview summarising the importance of attending events such as BOSE particularly to speak to people on the sports side of the industry.

“As our games sit in the sportsbook, it’s important that people understand within the sports betting side of the business that the games are able to add something to the sport, not take away.”