Bill Anderson, who earlier this year joined new-look Perform as VP Betting – US, spoke to SBC Americas ahead of this week’s Betting on Sports America conference.
SBC Americas: Why did you join Perform?
BA: Before joining, I asked: what would happen if Perform’s operations went offline for a day. It helped me to realize how much of the global sports ecosystem would unravel, and how many global fans would be impacted.
I learned Perform are the creative force behind many of the broadcast, media, fantasy and betting experiences sports fans take for granted, including some great innovation that we haven’t yet seen in the US.
That felt like a great opportunity, but I also wanted to find out how they got there. Anyone who meets the team can see that Perfom’s DNA is sport and their mission is creating the highest quality, trusted content to help clients bring fans close to sport, teams and players.
They don’t supply vanilla betting odds or content scraped from other sites. They invest in sport, for the benefit of all its participants. I loved that approach, I thought it would resonate in post-PASPA US, and so far that’s exactly the case.
SBCA: Which of Perform’s services is finding the swiftest traction in the US betting space?
BA: The user experience (UX) bar is already set very high for US consumers when it comes to any form of transaction or content consumption. Betting is no different.
We’re seeing increasing interest from operators in the states around our round-the-clock Watch&Bet live video streaming offering – quite simply because it provides quality betting experiences at all times, not just when a big US domestic game is taking place.
Our RunningBall ultrafast sports data has already been chosen to create high quality in-play betting experiences for most of the operators in NJ, who are using it via their odds providers.
Just last week, we added official MLB data to our fast data service in the US. As a baseball fan myself, I’m excited about how we can help create a next-gen premium betting experience befitting of the MLB.
Our Opta detailed data is also already used by US sports media like ESPN, DraftKings, theScore and FanDuel, and we’re working with them to help them understand its application in betting, such as via our new Fast Player Statistics service.
The traction that Sky Bet, bet365 and GVC are getting with this product is mind-blowing – seeing bettors visibly excited about player shots and passes is a great example of how Perform are connecting fans more closely to the game and transforming their entertainment experience. There’s so much more to come!
SBCA: What can we expect from Perform at Betting on Sport Americas?
BA: I’m talking on day 2 of the conference (Thursday 25 April). Our session will break down the ingredients of incredible in-play betting experiences, using real-life examples from market leading sportsbooks overseas.
Live in-play betting stands to become a real battleground for winning the hearts and minds of US betting customers; it’s a really engaging proposition and we hope it will be useful to showcase best-in-class approaches to anyone intent on offering similar experiences in the US.
