BETEGY’S Alex Kornilov: business fundamentals first, innovation second

BETEGY’S Alex Kornilov: business fundamentals first, innovation second

Innovation. A word we always see floating around, but what does it actually mean? At BETEGY, it’s all about creating a foundation for the company’s vision to become a reality.

At the recent SBC Awards, BETEGY walked away with the Innovation of the Year accolade. Alex Kornilov, the company’s CEO, tells us about the product that he believes is bringing something new to the table.

Congratulations BETEGY on a fantastic award win for Innovation of the Year at this year’s SBC Awards! Can you tell us a bit more about your product BETEGY On-Air and how it’s transforming the industry?

First of all, thank you! It’s an honour to be selected as the winner in what was a very competitive category. The award may have arrived now, but the hard work started a year ago and it’s been a real team effort to make it to this point.

Our first partner for BETEGY On-Air’s journey was Poker GO in Vegas for WSOP tournaments. We created a fantastic system that could execute exactly what was required which, in turn, created an excellent platform to show our success and drive our innovation forward.

In a nutshell, BETEGY On-Air gives all the tools for broadcast and engagement while engaging fans. We set out with the goal to build that connection between the viewer at the brand and transform the viewer experience, effectively bringing sports broadcasts and betting together. It’s been fantastically well received and we look forward to developing it even more.

On the subject of your team and the company, what’s been the journey up until now and what do you believe your major milestones have been on the road to success?

In all honesty, it’s been 10 years in the making and in order for us to innovate, the crucial game-changer has been to have the visionary backing of our original partners. This is after all, the way of the world – you cannot always solve business issues with internal supply. Hence, bringing in outside expertise and, indeed, capital on a micro and macro level has been integral.

This essence of venture capital is what’s provided the foundation for our vision to become a reality. As part of that we’d love to thank JKR Investment Group, as well as Yolo Investments, who have joined us through the journey. Their support, insight and belief in our product to see the same vision has been incredibly important to bringing us to where we are today. That belief and trust truly has been key to our success.

We see the word ‘innovation’ used frequently in announcements. In your opinion, what’s key to making a difference and disrupting the future of betting?

Ironically, innovation in the igaming industry can be very rare! Why? Because the market itself doesn’t promote it. As a result, the industry has been traditionally unwilling to change, often with high barriers to entry which scares CTOs and CEOs because why would you fix what is not broken, as it is in effect going against the grain.

With the levelling of the competitive landscape, and indeed the opening of the US, the need for higher ROI and optimisation of the business means that the term innovation is now moving from hypothetical to something real. The change is coming gradually. I can see it year over year. The idea is becoming more embraced which obviously opens up more opportunities for innovation to grow.

Innovation as a whole always needs a ‘use-case’ and to solve a gap in the market that is not yet being served. You first build the fundamentals and then focus on progressing from there. It’s important to listen to what is needed and to solve an actual problem.

That’s what innovation is all about, something that makes a difference. You cannot skip these steps; the fundamentals must be there in order to drive innovation. Our industry is playing catch up in terms of infrastructure and innovation can take time but when it works, it can really take off!

Looking to BETEGY On-Air and the impact it’s had, how much of a crossover are you seeing between media companies and betting operators given how important multi-channel entertainment is becoming?

Let’s take a look at DAZN as a great example of this. They’ve truly merged sports media and sportsbook. Looking at the crossover, video production is where it’s at across the multi-channel, so that’s everything from shorts to long-form sports shows. This video element is what works across every digital channel (and indeed out of home) and that crossover provides an excellent platform for the viewer to follow the action across every device of choice.

Betting and media are converging ever closer, and I only see this continuing. Consumers want a truly personalised experience, and now we have the technology to deliver this it’s down to us to produce. We are moving towards linking all aspects together for a better interaction with the overall content which you can measure the success through engagement and brand exposure.

Last but not least, when it comes to the year ahead, what’s BETEGY got in store to continue your momentum of innovation?

What a question! Well, our inspiration comes from solving business problems, so our aim is to work with our clients to boost their revenue and our own. One cannot approach with ‘let’s innovate’, but rather ‘let’s solve a problem’. Second, you need the trust of your clients to create something that can really make a difference.

You need a funnel that can see through the process; we’ve built a team that can take that forward. So, what does the future hold? It’s all about taking our clients’ challenges head on and if we can solve those problems well, then the sky’s the limit. In principle, you’re automating the method of solving the problem, and the ability to do it again, again and again – with the result being compounded success.