Having rapidly secured a footing in tightly contested European markets, Thomas Golding, CEO of sports betting start-up, OGaming, is now paving the way towards two of the world’s largest and more sports-obsessed markets.
iGAMING TIMES: Can you tell us a little about OGaming – how you guys started to where you are today?
THOMAS GOLDING: OGaming was borne out of London in 2018 and fast forward nearly two years now, we have offices and over 30 full-time staff based in Malta, the UK and other locations right across the world. We launched EagleBet in to numerous European markets late in 2019 and we are thrilled with the start we have seen. We are continually adding to our product portfolio and have exciting plans this year, particularly around Euro 2020. In addition, we plan to expand into a number of different territories. BetGold launched in late January and our third brand, LasVegasCasino.com is set to launch in March 2020.
iGT: You’re a young company, and also with a younger CEO than most in this industry – would you say this helps you navigate the fast-paced igaming sector?
TG: As with any young or start-up company, we are now at that crucial transitional stage building new departments and growing existing ones. We have a hugely talented and adaptable team, with a broad range of experiences from inside and outside the industry. We don’t place huge emphasis on industry experience for many roles as there are so many fresh ideas and perspectives that ‘outsiders’ can bring. We firmly believe it is about empowering the individual, being transparent about objectives and giving them the trust and flexibility to do their job.
Me personally, I have always been driven by data and user experience. I have a passion for sports and gambling so I hope that combination helps the decisions that we make more relatable and indeed appealing to millennials, our core target demographic.
iGT: What is BetGold – and how is it different from what else is currently on the market?
TG: BetGold will feature a market-leading sportsbook solution, a virtual offering alongside a huge range of casino and slot games from the major games providers. We will be working with games providers to build games specifically for our customers in different markets. We are very much an international company with a data-driven and technology first approach but we have invested significant time and energy in understanding these markets. We have teams in both Brazil and India who bring in a cultural perspective that is often lacking when operators scale and the offering becomes very generic.
iGT: You’ve chosen to launch in Brazil and India this year – two massive but very different markets. What led you take on Brazil first?
TG: Brazil as a market has huge potential. There are so many marketing initiatives that haven’t yet or are only just being introduced to Brazil that are commonplace in Europe, which is hugely exciting but it is a market that comes with its challenges. Brazil is a nation that is synonymous with sport and it is ingrained within the culture and that inevitable presents huge opportunities for betting operators.
With India, we have a large network with significant experience with gambling in India that we will be working with and we are excited to showcase our offering to our Indian customers and partners.
iGT: What do you feel Indian players are looking for from a sportsbook and how are planning to cater to that?
TG: Cricket is not just a sport in India, it is a national obsession, a love affair, and so you must have a brilliant cricketing offering with a huge number of in-play tempters which needs to be central to your marketing campaign. Our website will be adapted to the Indian market, with everything from beautiful cricketing imagery to regularly updated, interactive blog articles.
But there is a big interest in other sports too, international and local, Kabaddi for example, and they need to be catered for. Having a team with real Indian expertise will enable us to give great offers so large numbers of punters can go and watch incredible sport both in India and internationally.
