the sporting index group

Transcription

1 sporting index group corporate factsheet

2 the sporting index group Sporting Index was founded in 1992 and is well known as the undisputed world leader in sports spread betting, dominating the global market with an estimated 80%+ market share. In addition to its established B2C operation (Sporting Index), the Group is also increasingly active in the B2B sphere, supplying services to international betting and gaming operators under its Sporting Solutions brand. Privately owned, Sporting Index is highly profitable. Recent expansion means the company now employs 180 staff, all based in its central London HQ. At the heart of the business is a world class trading, modelling and liability management capability that is widely acknowledged as amongst the best in the global betting market. The Group combines the latest technology with unrivalled trader expertise to service its core sports spread betting brand as well as a rapidly increasing number of wholesale customers who rely on the company s services to underpin their own sportsbook operations. Sporting Index s B2C business continues to grow in the face of a fiercely competitive online betting market. The company offers spread bets on a wide variety of sports, on political and showbiz events, as well as on a portfolio of unique virtual games. Clients transact via its websites, award winning mobile phone applications, and a 24/7 voice telephony service. Sporting Index prides itself on striving to deliver an unrivalled level of customer service. The Group s B2B business, Sporting Solutions, leverages Sporting Index s existing trading skills, utilising new technology to provide other betting companies with a wide range of fixed-odds in-play prices, thus servicing the fastest growing segment of the online sports betting market. Sporting Solutions has quickly established itself as a leading data provider with a number of flagship betting brands signed up. Sporting Index is authorised and regulated in the UK by the Financial Services Authority and the Gambling Commission. Mark Redwood Warren Murphy Simon Trim Ronnie Whelan Eachan Fletcher Mark Maydon Martin Pates Non-executive Chairman Chief Executive Officer Trading Director Chief Operating Officer Chief Information Officer Commercial Director Finance Director 2

3 milestones Sporting Index is established Sporting Index launches Bethilo as a revolutionary new way to sports spread bet. Bethilo simplifies spread betting for the mass market by removing jargon and enabling spread bets from as little as 1p Sporting Index launches the world s first ever spread betting games, offering clients the opportunity to spread bet on quick to play random number generated games Sporting Index unveils Bet on the Move, providing mobile phone users with the UK s first real time sports spread betting service Warren Murphy is promoted to Chief Executive Officer Sporting Solutions is established William Hill sign up to Sporting Solutions burgeoning B2B service Mark Redwood is appointed Sporting Index Chairman The FIFA World Cup provides the centrepiece of Sporting Index s busiest and most profitable trading period in the Group s 18-year history Skybet signs to Sporting Solutions Sporting Index launches sportingodds.com, one of the first fully interactive fixed-odds websites in the marketplace. Sportingodds was eventually sold to Sportingbet PLC in 2003 for 6 million Sporting Solutions sign Party Gaming as its first partner providing a comprehensive fixed-odds horse racing service for its PartyBets.com platform Duke Street Capital, a UK private equity firm, backs a management buyout of Sporting Index in 2002 for 53 million Sporting Index launches the world s first fully interactive internet sports spread betting service at sportingindex.com HgCapital, a European sector focused private equity investor, supported by the management, acquire Sporting Index for 75.8 million ToteSport become the sixth bookmaker signed up to Sporting Solutions sportingindex.com is relaunched Sporting Index s Bet on the Move successfully launched onto the iphone ahead of the FIFA World Cup 3

4 what is spread betting? Spread betting on sport has been around for 20 years. It traces its roots back to the trading of financial assets be that currencies, equities or commodities and hence shares much of the jargon, such as buy and sell or long and short. Instead of trading markets based on an underlying financial asset, Sporting Index make markets in what you might call a new asset class what happens in a sports fixture. So while the financial markets trade the FTSE index or the price of gold, Sporting Index trade the number of goals in a football match or the number of runs a batsman will score in a cricket innings. We therefore make predictions on various aspects of an event, pitching our opinion against our clients. They can decide whether our predictions have been set too high or too low and bet accordingly. These predictions are presented as two prices exactly as you would see two prices if you are changing money at a currency exchange outlet. The range is known as the spread and you bet low ( sell ) at the lower (first named) price and bet high ( buy ) at the second price. 80% market share... servicing 60,000 clients from 90 countries... 24/7... 4

5 how do you win or lose? Spread betting allows clients to benefit from the accuracy of a wager rather than a binary win or lose outcome. The amount won (or lost) from a spread bet depends on your stake size and how right or wrong you are. Here s an example. Sporting Index might predict that the first goal between Arsenal and Manchester United will be scored in the 36th minute and consequently set a spread of minutes. One client who believes there is bound to be an early goal goes LOW at 35 minutes while another who thinks that both defences will be at their best goes HIGH at 37 minutes. Both choose a stake of 1 per minute. Imagine the first goal is scored in the 25th minute. The client who went LOW at 35 minutes wins 10 times his stake (35 minutes take away 25 minutes = 10) because he correctly forecast a goal would be scored before 35 minutes were up. However the client who went HIGH at 37 minutes believing the game would be scoreless until at least that point loses 12 times his stake (37 minus 25 = 12). processing 4m bets per annum... on over 22,500 events... across 35 global sports... 5

6 what makes it unique? Spread betting has experienced substantial growth over recent years because the product offers significant benefits when compared to other forms of betting. In short, there s no more exciting way to bet. Unlike traditional fixed-odds betting, in spread betting the more right you are the more you win. Conversely, the more wrong you are, the more you lose. You do not enter into a fixed stake and known return bet. No other form of betting delivers this. Spread betting also allows you to trade in and out of bets through to the last shot or final whistle. So you can close bets, taking an early profit, or cut your losses at any time until the end result is known. Alternatively, you can open new bets at any time as an event unfolds and the performance of a team or individual becomes clearer. You can back teams or individuals to either perform well or badly. If you believe we ve overestimated the chance of something happening, you can bet against it. So you can oppose favourites without nominating who will beat them. In a horse race for example, opposing a favourite means you are cheering on all other runners in the race. These unique features have seen spread betting become a perfect complement to live sport. It s no coincidence that the dramatic growth of Sporting Index has mirrored that of live televised sport since the early 1990s. over 50% of bets taken in-play... more than 10% taken via mobile... 6

7 about sporting solutions Sporting Index pioneered the ability to bet in-play during sports fixtures in the 1990s. Trading markets during the course of an event is in the DNA of our business. It was a natural step when, in 2007, Sporting Index moved into the B2B arena with the creation of Sporting Solutions, leveraging our in-play skills to supply the wider betting industry. Offering thousands of prices in-play with the requisite level of accuracy is a result of rare skill, acquired knowledge and highly developed technology. Our unrivalled trading expertise is combined with advanced statistical analysis, and unique proprietary models, in order to produce a triangulated price. We have invested significantly into our pre-eminent models, but it is the unique overlay of our trading expertise which means we never supply a pure algorithmic price. We maintain that understanding the difference between the right price and a tradeable price is a crucial point of differentiation and a Sporting Solutions USP. This delivers margin enhancement and revenue growth over an enhanced range of in-play markets for our wholesale partners. Additionally, our partners also have the potential to realise cost synergies through a reduction in expensive trading overheads. Breadth of coverage is complemented by a depth of betting opportunities. We already cover over 20 sports in the Sporting Solutions service with more due to come on stream in 2011: Football NFL American Football Euro Basketball Snooker Tennis US College Football Euro Handball Darts Rugby Union NBA Basketball Euro Ice Hockey Horse Racing Rugby League US College Basketball Euro Volleyball Gaelic Football Cricket (Test) MLB Baseball Aussie Rules Cricket (Limited Overs) NHL Ice Hockey Today Sporting Solutions is a leading sports betting data provider, offering a one-stop shop in-play solution. The proposition has quickly proven itself as with a rapidly growing number of marquee betting brands signed up to the service, including William Hill, Partybets, Centrebet, Skybet and ToteSport. 7

8 for all general enquiries please contact us at: Sporting Index Group Gateway House, Milverton Street, London, SE11 4AP E: T: +44 (0) for all media enquiries please contact our PR team: Bill Esdaile Square in the Air Communications E: T: +44 (0) T: +44 (0) Follow us: twitter.com/sportingindex