Being first to market can have its advantages, but in an emerging, multi-jurisdictional sports betting space such as the US, there is also significant merit in playing the medium to long term game. It’s a view that has resonance with Conall McSorley of sports betting platform solutions provider gbet.

He believes that a number of suppliers to this nascent industry have done well initially with a product-ready approach, but that their product offering may have been diluted in the process. Some of the core functionality inherent in European platforms, he ventured, is potentially absent in the US right now.

McSorley splits the main sportsbook criteria into key fundamentals comprising, stability and scalability, allied to a ‘mobile first’, ‘sportsbook first’ approach to technology. Of equal importance, he believes, is gbet’s B2B technology and architecture that allows an operator to run a multi-jurisdiction business from a single player account management platform. A gbet B2B instance, for example, can be dedicated to a specific jurisdiction and the regulatory requirements associated with that jurisdiction whilst another B2B instance could support multiple jurisdictions having common regulatory requirements, with all instances incorporated within the same solution.

One-stop-shop solution for platform and sportsbook

“Operators also need to be able to ‘geo-locate’ their customers and permit or deny them access to events and markets dependent on the betting regulations based on customer location”, said McSorley, “alongside the ability to use biometric testing to prohibit underage, self-excluded or known problem gamblers. And ideally all of this should be available as part of a one-stop-shop solution for platform and sportsbook and advance deposit wagering capability.”

One of the biggest challenges facing operators, according to McSorley, is remaining compliant across states that will have different regulations around sports betting. “Very few suppliers are capable of achieving multi-jurisdictional compliance via one platform,” he explained. gbet have the architecture in place to provide that level of compliance from under one roof. It’s possibly our biggest USP”

“As an example, if you sign up to bet in New Jersey there’s a raft of product available. But if you sign up in Mississippi some products may be blocked to you. There are few suppliers beyond gbet that have the technical architecture in place to meet that challenge.”

But gbet’s platform isn’t solely about multi-state compliance. The company is also taking bold steps towards addressing potential hurdles that will inevitably arise from sensitivities around responsible betting. “Together with our sister company Daon, gbet has integrated biometric functionality into its platform,” McSorley said. “It will form an integral component – one that will help operators to identify and exclude underage and problem gamblers and to take proactive steps in responsible gaming.”

Proactive approach to regulatory solutions

He continued: “We are out in front of this. We have positioned ourselves not just as a platform provider with proprietary product, but we are also taking a proactive approach to providing regulatory solutions and future-proofing our offering against what are likely to be complex social responsibility challenges for operators.”

On its current standing in the US market, McSorley believes gbet is well positioned with what he described as an “…incredibly powerful betting transaction engine that’s currently processing 500 bets per second”. He noted: “In terms of scalability we’ve got a great deal to offer to the marketplace with a one-stop solution, right out of the gate. And that’s a very attractive option for companies.”

“gbet is very much in the second wave, which is a good place to be in terms of having a much better understanding of the market. We’re an open and transparent business. That’s the message we aim to project at ICE London where we will be looking to cement new partnerships with businesses who seek to take a long-term, multi-state approach to the new era of US sports betting”.