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We’re Bet Smart Media. Nice To (re)Meet You!

By Jesse January 20, 2012 6 Comments

Here at Bet Smart Media, there are a few important things we like to think we do especially well:

• We build cool stuff. Here in 2012, barriers to entry in the iGaming space are at their lowest point ever. Anybody with $25,000 can purchase turnkey software, and with a gaming license and a domain name, can quickly launch a new brand in the market (for proof of this, look no further than next week’s International Casino Expo in London, which we’ll be attending). So how is a sportsbook operator supposed to differentiate its brand and product in an increasingly commoditized space? The truth is that there are only so many ways to skin a cat: low vig, high bonus, and infinite-market sportsbooks have all been done. So what’s left? Well, in our view, a massive opportunity exists for brands to differentiate the punter experience with cool new ways to bet. And that’s what we do at Bet Smart Media – build technology-driven products that differentiate our customers’ brands by enhancing the betting experience for their customers! In short, we give sportsbook operators a fighting chance by building cool stuff for them to use in their product mix. Mobile. Social. Games.

• We’re crafty technologists. Our engineering team is solving complex technical problems to make our products and apps a reality. We obsess over big data, low latency, and high performance technical issues (many of which will be documented on our Technology Blog!). This creates a competitive advantage for Bet Smart Media, while at the same time creating scarcity in the market as our products are, quite simply, difficult and expensive to replicate. As punters demand more interesting and exciting ways to interact with a sportsbook, pressures mount on sportsbook executives and product managers to satisfy these demands. But sportsbook operators are just that – sportsbook operators. The lion’s share do not have the resources or technical proficiency to build sports apps like ours in-house. Nor should they when instead they can let Bet Smart Media do all the heavy lifting and deliver shiny, polished products that drive action – and results.

• We’ve created a strong culture. And that’s not just corporate-speak. Most people spend more waking hours at work with their coworkers than they do at home with their spouses. We acknowledge this reality by creating an environment that offers challenging yet rewarding work with fun, like-minded people. We operate as a meritocracy and value things like accountability and trust in each other, but at the same time we don’t take ourselves too seriously when we don’t have to (here’s a snippet from our last spring retreat as evidence). In our mind, as soon as you stop having fun at work, you might as well close up the shop and go home. We’re not about to do that.

As important as it is to celebrate what one does well, it’s equally important to acknowledge what one has done poorly. Today at Bet Smart Media, we’re celebrating the launch of our new corporate website. This update has been long overdue — the last incarnation of our website was vague. It intimated that we did *stuff*, but it did a poor job of saying what exactly that was.

That has unequivocally been our biggest challenge as a young company: we haven’t properly articulated our position and value proposition in our market. This is a problem that all young companies come up against, so we’re hardly unique that way. Frankly, we’ve been shy at times about who we are, what we do, and why we’re doing it. But not anymore. 

We’re Bet Smart Media. We build innovative sports gaming apps.

You should get to know us. We’re already working with some of the leading brands in the gaming industry, and we’ll be announcing more names soon. We’re good Canadian kids (our Mother’s raised us well). We’re very approachable: email us (we’re all [first name] at betsmartmedia.com), Tweet @betsmartmedia, or deface our Facebook wall. And if you buy us a beer, chances are we’ll drop whatever we’re doing right now to help you.

So today, we celebrate the new, improved version of Bet Smart Media. If you already know us, it’s nice to re-meet you. If not, we look forward to meeting you soon!