In a sports betting market that is quickly becoming saturated, an unknown entity is hungry to grab a piece of the pie.
Carousel Group is a privately-owned holding company based in Madrid that was established in 2017. The company’s mission is to become an industry-leading and respected international iGaming operator in multiple markets around the world.
While Carousel Group has reportedly armed itself with experience, funding and proprietary technology to make a dent in the sports betting space, diving into a pool full of sharks is an ominous proposition, at best.
However, the company does have an SEO-rich domain for its flagship brand in SportsBetting.com.
To get a better feel for SportsBetting.com in regards to goals, outlook and obstacles, FOS spoke with Daniel Graetzer, founder and CEO of Carousel Group.
Front Office Sports: How is SportsBetting.com going to stand out from the competition in the American market?
Daniel Graetzer: We’re not immune to the billions of dollars our competitors have sunk into marketing their brands. It’s a dogfight right now. We’re not going to sit idly on the sidelines without throwing a punch, but we understand how this game works. There’s a weeding-out process that will take place. In the end, we’re going to be one of the last standing.
The fact that we have our own technology and in-house trading platform already puts us in a different echelon than our competition. We aren’t dependent on third-party providers that will offer the same odds across multiple books and never really look out for the best interest of the customer.
It’s in our blood to be innovative, and with our own infrastructure we will provide a product to the United States that is fresh, exciting and customer-focused.
FOS: SportsBetting.com is offering reduced juice on standard game lines. Is that part of the in-house trading and will it continue?
DG: Our competitors take advantage of their customers with inflated juice every day, and we want to set a new market standard. It may not always be nickel lines, but this 15-, 20- and 30-cent vig is highway robbery. We are 100% committed to offering some of the best odds in the market.
And we don’t want to stop there. We guarantee that we won’t kick out winning players like many of the big shops in the states. We’ve created an environment that allows everyone to bet with us … from the recreational player to the professional, we want to earn their business.
FOS: There’s a certain stigma that comes with being a European sportsbook in the U.S. market, how do you plan to change or avoid that negative perception?
DG: While our headquarters and the bulk of our operations are in Spain, we have hired experienced and successful people in the U.S. who are guiding us down the right paths.
We understand that we have a long way to go, and that ‘stigma’ won’t dissipate overnight, but we’re confident in our product and we’re confident in the people we have behind it. I don’t like to say this, but we sometimes want to be perceived in the same way the offshore sportsbooks were in that we will take any and all action, we will offer unique odds and we will find creative ways to market to our demographic.
FOS: What is your demographic? SportsBetting.com went live in Colorado in early September, are there plans for expansion into other states?
DG: Our goals, like many, were a bit derailed during this tumultuous 2020, but we’ll be licensed in at least three other states by the end of 2021. We couldn’t be happier with the reception Carousel Group and the brand has been welcomed by retail partners and gaming commissions, particularly in Colorado, so the sky’s the limit at this point.
FOS: Does SportsBetting.com have a hook that is going to attract new customers?
DG: Right now, we’re offering a $500 risk-free week of betting. Not a single, $500 bet like other books promote, but a full week of bets that we will refund up to $500. For example, if you place 50 bets at $10 each and you lose all of them, you get your money back.
It’s always difficult to reinvent the wheel when operators have been doing this for so long and seemingly all the promotional offers have been conceived, but we have a ton of creative ideas that will turn some heads as we move forward.
We’ve worked so hard and have so much planned, we can’t wait for SportsBetting.com to become a household name in America.
