As one of the world’s largest digital gaming companies, Betsson Group has trailblazed Malta’s gaming industry for more than 15 years. The key to its global success is a commitment to providing the best customer experience, chief financial officer Kristian Saliba tells Laura Bonnici.
It is said that the gates of history turn on small hinges, and the story of hyper-successful gaming giant Betsson Group is a case in point. Today, the Group pioneers Malta’s booming gaming industry – an industry that has become the cornerstone of the country’s impressive economic success. But Betsson’s humble beginnings can be traced back to 1963, when a single slot machine in Stockholm marked the start of an empire.
“Betsson effectively began in Sweden in 1963, when AB Restaurang Rouletter – later re-branded Cherry – was founded by Bill Lindwall and Rolf Lundström after they bought a slot machine,” explains Betsson Operations’ CFO Kristian Saliba.
“Being the 1960s, there was no internet yet and their growing offline business was quite stable. This changed, of course, with the dawn of the cyber age over the following three decades, and the two founders looked for alternatives that would help them embrace internet gaming.”
The evolution of the company that followed survived multiple business partnerships and industry-challenging governmental bans and legislations, until the son of the original founder, Pontus Lindwall, was appointed CEO in 1998.
“Pontus decided to try the digital version of slot machines, which at that time, were still quite primitive since the internet was nowhere near what it is today. He spearheaded the first version of the internet gaming site, and this became such a success that the business had to be split into components, especially since the acquisition of Net Entertainment by Cherry.”
Betsson Group, as it had become, continued to move from strength to strength to become the success story it is today. The multi-national company now holds gaming licences in 12 jurisdictions, is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm Large Cap, employs some 1,700 people from 60 nationalities in 10 locations across the world and operates it all from its headquarters in Malta.
For Saliba, who has worked with the Group for 11 years, the key to Betsson’s global success has been its commitment to providing the best the customer experience.
Betsson has always wanted more industry regulation, since that alone reassures both customers and investors
“We put the customer at the centre of our decision-making, with a vision to deliver the best customer experience in the industry,” he continues. “With all that gaming companies must consider, from licensing to regulation, it would be easy to lose focus on customers, but they must be the centre. Companies that are customer-centric are the most successful and Betsson has always been determined to not only fulfil but exceed our customers’ expectations.”
Betsson’s customer-centricity that delivers sustainable growth through talented people, quality products and operational excellence, has indeed proven to be the key to its success, with the Group attracting more than 658,000 active customers during the second quarter of 2019 alone.
Betsson Group offers thousands of games to players worldwide across multiple brands including Betsson, Betsafe, Nordicbet and Casinoeuro, and has specialised teams covering sporting events for its in-house sportsbook. The Group also ensures it is at the forefront of the industry in terms of regulation and vigilance of responsible gambling.
“Betsson has always wanted more industry regulation, since that alone reassures both customers and investors,” Saliba highlights.
“Customer protection is in our DNA and we were at the forefront of this as one of the very first companies who, even in the early days, employed a designated responsible gaming officer. Ultimately, it benefits the whole gaming industry and its customers if there are stricter standards with which we must all comply.”
The latest regulations of this kind originated from Sweden – coincidentally where the Betsson story began – which in a way was partly the reason of a restructuring exercise that the Group did at the beginning of 2018, as Saliba explains.
“Our restructuring programme last year was not without its challenges, since the Swedish regulations changed the rules of how companies operate in the industry and raised new questions of how to operate efficiently and be scalable in a regulated market. But ultimately it was a healthy exercise which has helped us to improve even further.”
In fact, Betsson Group had also pushed towards new global gaming legislation originating from Malta, Saliba pointed out.
“In a way, Betsson made Malta the ‘Gaming Island’ it is today,” he points out. “Once Malta had created gaming legislation, it compelled those in other European countries to follow suit. Malta became the hub for many gaming companies with Betsson Group leading the way, both in numbers of customers and of loyal employees.”
Employing almost 1,000 people across 60 nationalities in the Malta office alone – 35 per cent of whom are Maltese – Betsson has positively impacted the country’s economy both financially and socially. The Betsson Group building in Ta’ Xbiex is testament to the high quality of life enjoyed by its employees, with a coffee bar, numerous formal and informal meeting spaces, a spacious common area with countless entertainment options, and a packed calendar of employee social clubs and events open to all.
Since the Group also trains employees throughout their careers and invests in leadership through a partnership with a school of economics in Stockholm, Saliba believes that the Betsson team in Malta is equipped to shape the future of the gaming industry.
“Malta is a fantastic base for gaming in so many ways, and the reputation of the industry is continually being challenged. The regulator needs to focus further on protecting the larger companies and only license reputable companies to operate under Malta’s jurisdiction.”