The latest episode of SBC Leaders features Sacha Dragic, Founder & Executive Chairman of Superbet, one of the leading operators in Romania, who have since expanded to Poland and Belgium.
Sacha sits down for a chat with SBC Managing Director Andy McCarron, and the two discussed innovation, using acquisition as a means to grow and expand, how to spot the next tech innovations, and how gambling companies can change the perception of the industry.
00:07 - Intro
00:58 - The formation of Superbet, moving beyond their initial goals to just ‘survive’, becoming an important player in Romania and then learning to adapt to the digital world.
02:23 - The high quality leadership team at Superbet, especially at management and c-level, What skills are needed for building out the management team? Importance of taking care to look for exactly what you need in new hires, and what can take you to the next level.
05:46 - Ralph Topping (former William Hill CEO) joining and helping out, how his experience and advice convinced Sacha to speed up his expansion and growth plans. From wanting to expand in the region within 5-7 years, to looking to become an international operator.
07:45 - Using investment as an acquisition tool, what's the ethos in looking for acquisitions to expand? Sacha told Andy that 2-3 years ago the idea of acquiring another operator would have seemed impossible. New influences within the Superbet leadership team changed his philosophy on this.
10:40 - How difficult is it to maintain company culture all the way down the ladder? Bureaucracy tends to build itself when you hire more people, the importance of keeping their ethos in mind during the hiring process, and removing bureaucracy to help lubricate innovation
12:07 - importance of being fair as a bookmaker, and being perceived to be fair. How does Sacha make sure that the customers respect Superbet, and trust them? Sacha believes the market is the decider. Players won't bet there if they don't respect and trust it.
14:13 - Moving into new markets, what differences do they notice in customers from different locations? Superbet adapting their product to the new markets, learning about the market, learning what not to do.
15:55 - Poland, Romania, now Belgium, what markets are they looking for long term? Sacha's plan is to look at any market where it's legal, more Western europe, Central & South America, North America, Africa, and much more. Open to any regulated market.
17:15 - What is the perception of the industry? ANd what can the industry do to balance out the negative perceptions. It’s easy for politicians to score points by going against betting, Sacha believes they’re underestimating how much money it brings in to the budget. But also it’s important to know a brand can't simply optimise for profit without giving back to society, they need to invest heavily in RG/CSR.
20:44 - What is your approach to innovation? How do you identify which new technologies can make a difference? Importance of looking not only at your customers now, but also your future customers and future potential customers. How you can build a mindset where people are always looking at what they can do next, Superbet looking at blockchain/esports and other new verticals. Wanting to become a company that takes a wider approach
23:25 - What do we as an industry do well on the tech innovation front? The value of looking around not only at other gaming companies, but also innovation elsewhere in the world such as Netflix etc.
