In sports, speed kills. In sports betting, lack of speed kills the vibe.
That’s the reason why online betting sites and Vegas sportsbooks are always looking for new technology that is capable of ramping up the wagering pace. A pair of recent acquisitions made by two of the major players in the US online sports betting industry only served to highlight how vital pace of play is becoming in the wagering world.
The race between the online sports betting superpowers to get to this technology first is being contested at a pace that rivals the speed that the technology is capable of delivering to these sites.
Caesars Entertainment purchased Australian software provider ZeroFlucs Group Pty Ltd. That acquisition came on the heels of a decision by BetMGM to buy out the North American online sportsbook and casino holdings of rival Tipico.
In the case of each purchase, the need for a more sophisticated level of gambling technology was the driving force behind the move.
It’s All About The Same Game Parlay
Same-game parlays are all the rage in online sports betting. Unlike a traditional parlay, in which you combine bets on a multiple number of games into one wager, a same-game parlay allows the bettor to build a parlay with bets that are pulled entirely from one game.
Suppose you were putting together a same-game parlay wager on an NFL game between the Miami Dolphins and Buffalo Bills. You could bet on the Bills to cover the spread, Buffalo quarterback Josh Allen to go over his touchdown pass prop total, and Miami QB Tua Tagovailoa to go under his passing yardage prop total.
Bettors love the same-game parlay because you can gain a major payday from the outlay of a relatively small stake. From the point of view of online betting sites, the operators love parlays because they are difficult bets to win, making them a cash cow for the sportsbooks.
These new levels of technology that the sportsbooks are investing in are enabling betting sites to offer live in-play wagering on same-game parlays, in which multiple events taking place during the game can be combined into one wager.
This is why speed is of the essence. If the technology offering the odds at these betting sites is slow to upload, then the chance to make these plays could be gone in an instant.
ZeroFlucs Enables Caesars To Up The Pace
There was already a working relationship in place between ZeroFlucs and the iconic US gambling entity Caesars prior to the purchase. In fact, the partnership was working so well that Caesars executives were determining that they should make ZeroFlucs part of the family.
ZeroFlucs Group is a provider of cutting-edge software that enables sports betting operators to augment their pricing offerings while leveraging their own existing data sources and relationships. In simple terms, that means a betting site like Caesars can rapidly update odds and pricing on any wager virtually immediately without delay.
That’s a vital component for a betting house to have at their disposal when dealing in the lightning-fast world of live in-play wagering. This type of bet enables players to wager on events occurring within a game. For instance, if you were betting on baseball, you could bet on which player would get the next hit or whether the next pitch would be a ball or a strike.
The acquisition of ZeroFlucs by Caesars came shortly after the successful integration of ZeroFlucs’ technology into the Caesars Sportsbook platform. This commercial arrangement enabled the recent launch of new products at Caesars. Included in this launch was the opportunity to place wagers on in-play same-game parlays, along with a vastly improved menu of same-game parlay-eligible markets for Major League Baseball.
By purchasing ZeroFlucs, Caesars Entertainment is assuring that the company’s proprietary technology won’t be available to any of their rivals in the US sports betting market.
“We are excited to welcome the talented ZeroFlucs team into the Caesars family,” Eric Hession, President of Caesars Digital, said in a statement. “Their expertise in data science and trading technology, coupled with their passion for sports, makes them a perfect fit with our team as we drive to offer our customers the best sports betting product.”
The ZeroFlucs leadership team of Steve Gray, founder and Chief Executive Officer of the company and Carly Christensen are both being retained by Caesars Digital to oversee the operation. Gray will serve as Senior Vice President of Pricing Initiative, while Christensen is filling the role of Senior Vice President of Pricing Technology.
Combining the tech savvy of the ZeroFlux team with the massive bankroll that Caesars can provide should prove to be a win-win for both sides of this equation.
“Our team has always been passionate about being at the forefront of what’s possible in sports betting, and with the resources and reach of Caesars, we can now focus on taking these experiences to the next level,” Gray said in a statement.
Tipico Technology Needed By BetMGM
As BetMGM was utilizing subsidiary LeoVegas to acquire Tipico’s US holdings, it wasn’t so much about putting Tipico out of the American market as it was about putting Tipico’s sports betting technology into the MGM family.
“The acquisition of Tipico’s award-winning U.S. platform marks a significant milestone in the strategic development of MGM Resorts’ global digital gaming business, allowing us to operate a proprietary sports betting platform,” Gary Fritz, president of MGM Resorts International Interactive, said in a statement. “This acquisition gives us control of our entire technology ecosystem, and we are delighted to bring Tipico’s U.S. team, with their track record of developing high-quality product and pricing capabilities, into our business.”
When MGM entered the online sports betting game in the USA, they did so in partnership with Entain. MGM is supplying the brand name, while Entain is delivering the technology in a 50-50 partnership.
This move could be the first step in enabling BetMGM to build its own in-house platform and eventually move away from the partnership with Entain, giving BetMGM control of their technology.
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