Abelson Info COO, Simon Temple, reveals how “minor tweaks” have breathed new life into the company’s Goalscorer Pricing and Settlement service.
Taking stock of the plethora of avenues already explored in sports betting, it may seem difficult to see where innovation can come from.
However, as this issue of iNTERGAMINGi confirms, innovation does not have to come in the form of a new product. Such lightbulb moments can be a new way of thinking that opens up fresh opportunities − as has been the case at Abelson Info lately.
The sports betting company has introduced third−party integrations for its Goalscorer Pricing and Settlement (GPS) service, signing three such deals with Pro League Network, Rimble and ALT Sports Data, respectively.
“Our ambitions are in supporting other suppliers to gain a further foothold in the industry and, certainly with the partners we’ve already signed up, to see new and exciting sports garner yet more interest.”
UNLOCKING NEW DOORS
Simon Temple, chief commercial officer at Abelson Info, admits that the company did not set out to partner with third parties. Rather, the idea emerged during an in−house session focused on improving the reach of Abelson’s products.
“Although the popularity of detailed football player markets continues to grow, we were finding that we couldn’t gain the same foothold for our provision of these markets as we have successfully established for our Goalscorer Pricing,” he begins.
This was due to the tech blocker the company faced, which stopped a “full and seamless” service provision.
Therefore, company workshops identified “minor tweaks” to Abelson’s GPS message format that would allow such betting markets to be included via the same feed format, launched in the off−season.
“Having introduced that extra flexibility to the feed structure, it was a small step to recognise that other suppliers to the industry face the same block and that, if their prices and settlement could be manipulated to match this new format, then it would open up a quicker integrated route to market for potential partners,” Temple outlines.
GETTING STUCK IN
The next stage, Temple says, was shared tech workshops with prospective clients to find out how they could adjust their outputs to begin leveraging Abelson’s existing integrations.
“The role of the GPS service is simply to provide the overarching message format,” Temple explains. “This then allows our GPS clients to repurpose their existing Abelson message processors to consume other sports and markets, making a new partner integration as little as a single tech sprint.
“Furthermore, with all messages coming via Abelson, any required network and security protocols are already in place from our existing service provision.”
PLN SUCCESS
The first partnership announced in this fashion with Abelson was with Pro League Network (PLN). Odds on its range of sports will integrate with Abelson’s data systems to provide lines and data, responding to market movement and developments within each competition.
“Pro League Network is as excited as we are for the potential of this partnership,” Temple says. “With more than 35 per cent of audiences for their sports leagues currently outside of the US, expanding their made−for−wagering content into new territories is a current focus, and we’re very pleased that Abelson can support that expansion through our integrations with global operators.
“PLN’s unique roster of entertaining sports continues to garner interest; I expect str33t − 3v3 street basketball − to be of particular appeal within Europe, and PLN will benefit with near immediate access to Abelson’s client base.
“Abelson is also already seeing positives from the partnership, with increasing US brand awareness coming from announcements of both the PLN and other partnerships, further highlighting our football product to a region where we’re focused on extending our reach.”
RIMBLE NEXT UP
The next company to take advantage of Abelson’s rethink was betting odds and markets provider Rimble. Abelson Info will feature Rimble’s player props, highlighting esports−related statistic such as kills, assists and headshots in League of Legends and Valorant. Runs, wickets and strike rate stats will be provided for cricket betting.
“There may not be that many obvious similarities between football and esports, but both our football player markets and Rimble’s esports coverage have their own niches within the betting habitat − market offerings that are best outsourced to the experts,” Temple says.
“Rimble specifically being an esports provider didn’t come into consideration when agreeing to the partnership. Although we know from previous enquiries that esports appeals to many − and we are very happy to be in a position to support such provision − our approach to third−party partnerships from the outset is that it should be open to anyone.”
A TURNING POINT?
From a technology point of view, Temple hopes the new partnerships can solve a “headache” and “streamline” integrations for clients.
But from a practical standpoint, seeing “exciting sports garner yet more interest” and helping suppliers gain a further foothold in the industry are top of the agenda.
“Alongside those partners already mentioned, I’m happy to announce ALT Sports Data, the San Diego−based leader in trading and consumer data for action, alternative and emerging sports, is now available via Abelson with six different sports, with more to follow,” Temple concludes.
“We also have another deal to be announced very shortly, so watch this space.
“Each new feed partner strengthens the case for an operator to integrate, and my personal ambition for this project is to be able to announce a new client integrating Abelson’s feed provision, so as to be able to take multiple partners from the outset.
