Q&A: Jesse Learmonth, product R&D manager, Pinnacle Sports

Pinnacle Sports has made delivering new innovations a top priority and in recent months has launched a new beta sports site and mobile web upgrades.

And to help with the development of new products, the Cura?§ao-based firm last autumn created a new product research and development (R&D) team.

The R&D team hit the ground running with the recent launch of the company’s first native mobile app – Pinnacle Lite – which visualises recent odds changes in a chart and lets users set alerts when a game reaches a certain price.

eGaming Review spoke to Pinnacle’s product R&D manager, Jesse Learmonth, to find out more about the team’s focus and development priorities.

eGaming Review (EGR): How many people are working in the team and where is it based?

Jesse Learmonth (JL): Product R&D is based in our Cura?§ao headquarters. It’s a small team by design – less than a handful of people – that operates independently of our core IT function. It is similar in spirit to how large tech companies have dedicated “Labs” teams that experiment with new concepts outside their core offering.

It’s no different with Pinnacle Sports – the product R&D team seeks to create new customer experiences that complement our core betting product. These new experiences mean we can further differentiate ourselves from our competitors. It’s an exciting proposition and one that is already showing results.

EGR: What will be the main focus of the R&D team?

JL: The focus will be on driving innovation in the channels and markets that stand to make the biggest impact with our customers. By keeping innovation customer-centric we believe it more effectively optimise the user experience and in turn increase ROI.

Nothing is off limits when it comes to the creative lens the team is applying – mobile, social, betting widgets, user tools, iOS and Android native apps and personalisation are just some of the themes being explored by the team at present.

EGR: What products have emerged from the creation of the team to-date?

JL: The team just delivered its first finished project to the business, Pinnacle Lite which is our very first native iOS app. While the launch of a native app isn’t innovative in its own right, some of the initial features within it certainly are. Most notably, the app has odds alert functionality, which allows customers to set a watch on the current price for a selection and triggers a push alert to their mobile if and when the market reaches their target price.

There are few, if any, bookmakers that offer similar functionality, giving Pinnacle a compelling differentiator while staying true to our claim that we welcome winners and want to give them as many tools as possible to succeed. More unique enhancements to the app are already in the works, as is the Android version which will be launching in the coming weeks.

EGR: How will the new team help you stand out from your competitors?

JL: Pinnacle Sports is already known as a unique fixed-odds bookmaker with our high limits and low margins, and the reality is that competitors are simply not willing or able to compete with us on these points. This creates an amazing opportunity for us to strengthen our USP by layering on value-added products and UX innovations that can only be offered by a bookmaker that isn’t afraid to welcome winning players.

The Product R&D team is very customer-focused, and is listening to Pinnacle’s players closely to create novel experiences that will empower them to make every bet a smart one.