Q&A: Richard Flint, Sky Betting and Gaming CEO

CVC Capital Partners’ £720m acquisition of British broadcasting giant Sky’s majority stake in Sky Betting and Gaming gave the operator the platform to press ahead with plans to ramp-up scale both at home in the UK and abroad.

Sky Bet chief executive Richard Flint may have been keen to stress the operator’s mantra remained ‘business as usual’, but the firm has kicked-off a major recruitment drive out of its Leeds-based office with the creation of dozens of technology, product development and marketing roles.

And that’s only part of the story. The operator recently told eGaming Review it will open a new office in Sheffield – backed by a £10m investment – as well as a base in Rome to aid its long-awaited launch in the Italian online gambling market.

eGR caught up with Richard Flint to discuss the plans in more detail and how he thinks the firm’s core UK market has changed since the implementation of the Point of Consumption regime last year.

eGaming Review (eGR): What led you to open a new base in Sheffield – were there any other cities under consideration?

Richard Flint (RF): We wanted a city that was close to our base in Leeds, so we could seed the right culture in the new location, and also to allow for relatively easy travel to Leeds for face to face communication. However we wanted it far away enough to access a new pool of digital talent – which Sheffield has in abundance. We didn’t really consider any other options.

eGR: You’re also opening an office in Rome. Has the tabled change to the turnover tax made Italy a more attractive market?

RF: The main attraction is the strength of the Sky brand there, and the fact that there is an established, well regulated online gambling market. We do believe the Italian market is getting more attractive for regulated operators, but we are under no illusions that is an easy market to succeed in, and if it wasn’t for the strength of the Sky brand I am not sure we would be entering the market at this time.

eGR: What will Sky Bet need to do to wrestle away market share from established brands such as bet365, Eurobet and William Hill in the Italian market?

RF: Our focus in Italy will be the same as in the UK – a high quality user experience, particularly on mobile, and we will make the most of the trust, credibility and excitement that the Sky brand brings.

eGR: Has the change in ownership changed strategy at all or were these plans in place pre-acquisition?

RF: Our international expansion strategy was in place pre-acquisition. The enabler was BSkyB buying Sky Italia rather than CVC acquiring a majority share in Sky Bet.

eGR: We are around 8-9 months into UK PoC – how has Sky Bet adapted and have you noticed any change in your competitors’ approach?

RF: Sky Bet hasn’t had to adapt too much, given that we have always paid the PoC tax on sports betting. In terms of our competitors, there doesn’t seem to be any reduction in marketing activity, but we have noticed that some operators are pricing a little less aggressively, possibly in response to the tax. We remain concerned about competition from offshore, non PoC paying businesses and there is some evidence of this particularly in gaming.

eGR: How is Sky Bet preparing for the upcoming football season? Can we expect any major product launches or marketing campaigns?

RF: Wait and see! But you won’t be surprised that a major of our focus will be making the most of our Football League sponsorship.

eGR: How do you view the prospect of major consolidation in the market and does this move the goalposts for Sky Bet in any way?

RF: No we don’t think this changes the picture for our business. It is already a highly competitive industry with a number of strong players, and I don’t think any of the imminent consolidations will affect that in a meaningful way. We remain focused on giving customers the best possible experience and on making the most of our unique differentiators.