Q&A: Simon Ordish, founder and CEO, LVS

eGR: What was the acquisition process like when you were taken over by La Française des Jeux (FDJ)?

Simon Ordish (SO): For a small British company like us to be bought by FDJ was great, even better was the fact they wanted us to remain small, agile and encouraged us to go out and sell. The large versus small scenario can and has been very fraught in many cases but in ours it’s been great. They see us as a profit and not a cost centre. We started in 1997 and I’ve always described us as the world’s best kept secret.

eGR: What has life been like since the acquisition?

SO: We have gone through a huge integration exercise with FDJ as it’s now our biggest customer. We’ve spent a year improving processes, quality, security audits and consultants have been hard at work. We also hired a sales and marketing director and we’re now bidding for some large projects; things are looking very positive.

eGR: What would have happened if it had not taken the business over?

SO: We would have struggled. The industry is consolidating and regulation is opening up so quickly that smaller players and the Caribbean bookmaker are dying. Being a privately owned, small company a lot of people wouldn’t have dealt with us in the past but now we have the backing of a major player. Two years ago we were talking to an Asian bookmaker but talks ended. Now we’re part of a larger organisation I’m sure they will be back.

eGR: What projects and deals are you looking to win?

SO: We’re looking at large state-led deals within the lottery [and former monopoly] space. With more countries opening up and regulating, former monopolies are often finding themselves in situations where they’re being left behind and where they need to urgently compete with new and existing online players. We’ve joined the World Lottery Association (WLA) and the European Lotteries and Toto Association (EL) and with FDJ behind us are looking to win a large deal by the end of this year. We’ve been shortlisted for a large deal and should hear in the coming months whether or not we have been successful.

eGR: Who are your current clients?

SO: We have two operators, FDJ and Offside Gaming who both use our Advanced Betting Platform. VCBet used to be with us but had a clause allowing them to break away. We’re aiming at much larger deals now. FDJ has a subsidiary called Lotsys that supplies lottery systems and software to FDJ and others. Our vision is for governments all over the world to deal with a one-stop shop such as our group.

eGR: How competitive is the sportsbook platform market today?

SO: Installing a sportsbook is hard work. There is a high bar to entry for customers and if you don’t have a budget it’s tough. Today, a sportsbook needs to be 24-7, multilingual and have excellent in-running capabilities for hundreds of markets. The problem is if a company comes to us with a £100,000 budget and asks us for a sportsbook. One thing FDJ isn’t prepared to compromise on is its reputation ““ we have to work with the best.

eGR: How does lottery compare to gaming?

SO: The lottery space is more collaborative than competitive [gaming]. They will often support each other on projects and compare common problems and issues.

eGR: In-play is a pre-requisite when it comes to sportsbook today. How have you developed this on ABP?

SO: The major step change in in-running has come from how the operator manages the event. Automation is key for in-play as are sophisticated pricing tools. You can buy in feeds but you can take feeds to generate markets. We cater for around 800 markets across 30 sports. We also have a tool where you can collapse the number of markets and pick and choose. Everyone used to be event-centric, as in “how much do we make on that one event”, but who’s overseeing that automation? We’re developing tools that allow traders, for example, to visually be able to spot betting patterns. They can see if there’s a problem and it allows them to see the bigger picture