Betegy secures investment from JKR
Betegy chief executive Alex Kornilov explained that the business – which uses data to project outcomes of sporting events and creates visualisations of this data – has experienced major growth in its first eight years.
In this time it has secured partnerships with operators such as Tipico and Bwin and media companies such as ESPN and Ringier Axel Springer.
“We started this company back in 2012 and we started with data analytics in mind,” Kornilov said. “Our first product provided predictions for Euro 2012. Since then we’ve grown significantly and offered our data, analytics and API to betting operators and media companies.”
He added that the business has focused on working with its clients to ensure it delivers the best products, which he believes has allowed Betegy to stand out compared to other data and analytics businesses in the betting sector.
“We have clients in the media space and we have clients in the betting space and our product is tailored to our clients in a way that I think makes us stand out,” he said. “This product was not derived from a vision so much as it was derived from us being in the market for a while, working with media companies and betting companies and developing something that would give us a competitive advantage.
JKR chief executive Alex Gusev said JKR had developed a plan for how it hopes to see Betegy grow and that the investment would primarily be used to increase the data supplier’s number of customers.
“Together with Betegy’s team, we have created the next 3 and 5 years of development strategy,” he said. “The high-level plans include an expansion of the clients’ base, adding at least ten new clients in the first years, thanks to JKR’s in-depth industry expertise and access to a wide network.”
Gusev said making a significant investment in a sport data business amid the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic may appear to present a challenge, but one he was confident could be overcome.
“At JKR, we talk about opportunities rather than challenges, but global uncertainties such as the current pandemic are probably the biggest challenge.” he said. “It affects Betegy’s clients, mostly sportsbooks and media companies. On top of that, making touchy B2B sales during a pandemic is a key challenge in business development.
In addition, Betegy will enter the US market with the funding from the deal and has appointed veteran Bill Pascrell III to its board in a move that Gusev said is “a hallmark of Betegy’s future success and potential”.
Pascrell, who spearheaded the legislation to allow online gaming in New Jersey and played a role in the repeal of PASPA, allowing online betting in the US, said Betegy’s combination of high-quality analytics and media to support this analytics is what makes the business stand out.
“Yes there are many companies that do data analytics, and yes there are some really good media companies, but there are zero other companies that can do the analytics and the media well and can produce a consumer-facing outreach that is going to be as impactful and innovative in the same way as Betegy.”
Pascrell added that the investment would not only allow Betegy to increase its staff, but also showed that the market believes the business has great potential.
“This will provide cash when Betegy needs it, because its contracts are at an early stage right now and it’s looking to expand,” he said. “The funding should be able to help Betegy expand the team so there’s more people to work on the coding, the analytics, the design and the artwork.
“But it’s also an endorsement of the power of Betegy. These investment companies don’t just casually invest and it’s usually the start of something very important when they do.”