Interviews
Interview: Juice Reel’s CEO on how its bet tracking tool and Crowdsourced Insights is elevating the experience for data-driven bettors
Juice Reel is on a mission to become the ultimate ecosystem for the modern sports bettor. With its mobile app synced to 250+ sportsbooks, the data it collects is unprecedented and has become a must-have tool for bettors looking to make better wagering decisions.
For sportsbooks, Juice Reel is now an effective acquisition and retention engine. Not only does the app drive users to place bets with regulated operators, the company’s new subscription-based Crowdsourced Insights is delivering valuable insight that data-driven bettors crave.
Gaming Americas spoke to Ricky Gold, CEO of Juice Reel, to learn more about the company’s model, how its range of features work, and what the future holds for sports betting in the US.
For those new to Juice Reel, can you explain how your bet tracking and analytics tool works exactly and the reasoning behind developing such a product?
The Juice Reel app allows sports bettors to automatically link in any betting platform or website within seconds, instantaneously uploading their open and historic bets to the platform. Juice Reel offers useful analytics to our users and while this data-syncing automation is convenient for them, we want to support the wider betting industry as well and provide value to sportsbooks. The data we are accruing is not bounded by any market or operator, so essentially, we are establishing a complete understanding of bettors that use the Juice Reel app. This allows us to leverage this understanding and user-data in order to support sportsbooks in the most efficient way, allowing them to maximize player retention and acquisition.
How is the tool unique compared to other solutions available within the market?
From the bettor’s perspective, no tool on the market is really comparable when it comes to bet tracking and analytics. It all starts with a sportsbook-agnostic automation, our platform is allowing users to connect with over 250+ sportsbooks, effectively ending the era where users had to manually type bets one by one or keep spreadsheets. Once we leverage and repackage the data synced onto our app, we are able to create useful and actionable insights for users that cannot be found outside of Juice Reel. Furthermore, we are working on evolving Juice Reel so that it can be more than just a tool used for tracking and insights, instead becoming a centralized bet-placing platform. Our insights help users decide what to bet on, but then the question arises “with which sportsbook do I place the bet with”. We want to help our users find the best sportsbook to place their bet on, one that perfectly matches each user according to the data and insights we collect.
This key feature is how Juice Reel helps sportsbooks, and more than just bringing operators a new bettor that hasn’t signed up with them yet, Juice Reel will expand the lifetime value that a player is worth to a sportsbook. This is done by our platform initiating bets – our insights, particularly real-time live betting insights, will prompt a user to place a bet that they may have not placed if they were betting without the help of Juice Reel. When our insights are producing a bet that wouldn’t have been initiated without our platform, this effectively grows the total addressable market withing the sports betting industry. Ultimately, if through our features a user bets more than they would’ve, then this expands the industry as a whole.
For bettors, how easy is it to register their bets into the app? Can they seamlessly place bets through the app too?
Connecting your sportsbook into Juice Reel takes about one minute. It’s incredibly simple, straightforward, and most importantly, you only have to connect the sportsbook once. This allows the user to continue where they left off the day before, ensuring they experience a seamless long-term betting environment.
Users today can’t place bets directly though our app, but we are looking to expand on this by implementing a feature which could speed up this process. In the near future, if a user clicks a bet/insight it will automatically pop open the respective sportsbook app and pre-load the exact bet you were looking at. This is yet another example of how we help sportsbooks, by bringing them more betting volume.
Just how important is the tracking tool from a responsible gambling perspective? Does the tool only work alongside regulated sportsbooks in legalized markets?
Reducing unregulated gambling and promoting responsible play is at the core of Juice Reel’s ethos, this is reflected not only in our features, but also in our business model. Juice Reel users can upload betting data from both regulated and unregulated platforms. While Juice Reel has no deals with any unregulated platform, we aggregate data from as many sources as possible in an effort to drive users to sign up and place bets solely with regulated operators. Juice Reel never promotes or facilitates illegal gambling, and our business model is designed in a way to capitalize off the ability of directing users and their bets to regulated platforms.
Providing users with a seamless and automated bet tracker gives users a comprehensive understanding of their betting habits and their profit/loss across all the platforms. Empowering users with this information is at the core of what it means to gamble responsibly, we’re allowing sports bettors to clearly see and analyze their spending habits, as well as pointing out unsuccessful betting patterns.
Tell us more about Crowdsourced Insights? How does the subscription service work?
An entire industry exists around “following the smart money” and data-driven bettors are always looking to figure out what team the “sharps” are betting on, such as professional bettors or those with long track records of success. There is a massive flaw in how bettors are deducing where the sharp or smart money is – they automatically assume that if there’s a lot of money and a lack of people betting on one particular side of a game, this must be where the easy money is. It’s important to note that big bettors don’t necessarily mean smart bettors, historical performance is the only barometer to determine a bettor’s overall performance.
Due to the fact that users sync in all of their betting data, Juice Reel can clearly identify which players are historically profitable bettors and which are failing to bet successfully. By using the betting data each user has synced in, Juice Reel is able to analyze and package the data into actionable insights. One example unique to Juice Reel is that for a given game, Juice Reel can show subscribers what side of a game the top 10% historical performers are on and what side the bottom 10% performers are on. So, in a case where historical winners and losers are betting different sides of a game, subscribers can tail profitable bettors.
Finally, in what ways do you envisage the tool to evolve over the coming months and years? Will you add any new features to the ecosystem?
With the industry mindset slowly evolving from an ‘acquire bettors at all costs’ mentality to one where there’s a focus on customer retention and betting volume, Juice Reel is at the forefront of that industry shift and primed to be a major beneficiary of this future macroeconomic change. Juice Reel is evolving from being a bet tracking tool to being an actionable betting platform. Without revealing too much, all of our future features will be designed to reward users and create value for bettors, while also driving players and betting handle to regulated sportsbooks.
We want to bring an Expedia-meets-Robinhood-like experience for both pre-game and in-play betting. We want users to use Juice Reel so they can be informed and supported in regard to everything related to sports betting. We want them to use the app in order to decide what to bet and with whom to place the bet with. Whilst also following their bets through a game and placing live bets using our Live Value feature. By recycling the betting data into insights, we can reward users for contributing their betting activity to the community, thus creating a sports-betting ecosystem that sees everyone playing in a sustainable, supportive, mutually beneficial and safe environment.
An exclusive Q&A w/ Gary Denham, Founder and CEO of Wamba Technologies and Gamer’s Oasis
What inspired you to found Wamba Technologies and develop the patented esports platform, Gamers Oasis?
My motivation was the void of wholly accessible online gaming competitions. Wamba Technologies, in conjunction with Gamers Oasis, aims to create a platform where gamers can engage in fair and constant competition, free from any suspicions of impropriety, while winning money as a result of their performance. Basically, players will be able to pay an entry fee into an online competition, compete, and win money back if they place well enough in the competition.
Could you elaborate on why the misconception of esports as a form of gambling exists despite the legal framework distinguishing skill-based competitions from games of chance?
This misperception arises from the similarities between online esports competitions and traditional gambling activities, particularly where participants are paying an entry fee and vying for monetary rewards. However, at the most basic level, it comes from industry ignorance.
Anyone who has actually looked at this or participated in esports knows this is no different than tennis, golf, NASCAR, motocross, etc. This just happens to take place online. Aside from that, there is really no difference.
In your recent Forbes article, you draw parallels between online video game competitions and the financial structure of online poker. How do you see this comparison influencing the perception of esports within the regulatory landscape?
This comparison sought to underscore the potential revenue from esports while addressing any misunderstandings regarding its classification as gambling. By framing esports within a recognizable regulatory context and emphasizing its skill-based nature, the intent was to facilitate clearer guidelines and regulations conducive to industry growth. Beyond that, I also wanted to illustrate just how much untapped financial potential exists in the industry, which I aim to capitalize on with Gamers Oasis.
How do you think the historical context of online poker and its impact on the perception of online gambling influences the current discourse surrounding esports and its legal classification?
The confusion and misconceptions stemming from the past have contributed to the ongoing debate over whether esports should be deemed a form of gambling, despite its inherent emphasis on skill. Here is where it becomes very clear: remove the internet from the equation and consider the question again.
Has anybody looked at “real life” video game competitions as “gambling” in the last 40 years (aside from Las Vegas trying to get their hands on it, and failing)? Of course not. So why would featuring the same exact competitions on the internet suddenly somehow magically make this gambling?
It doesn’t. Ergo, this is CLEARLY not gambling.
What measures do you believe are necessary to establish clear guidelines and regulations for esports, ensuring both consumer protection and industry growth?
Nothing governmental. I think where esports are concerned, regulators need to stay out of it.
Will they? Only time will tell — but we don’t regulate golf, NASCAR, tennis, or any other sports. Sure, they each have their own rulemaking bodies, but those are not governmental entities, nor should they be.
I think that to make an exception for esports would set an extremely dangerous precedent and open up all sports to such regulatory oversight. Quite frankly, the day I see the government actually make something in corporate America better, I may be willing to revisit this sentiment. Until then….
How much of the gaming population do you expect to be interested in a platform like Gamers Oasis?
With approximately 660 million actual and potential esports players globally, I expect a significant portion of the gaming population to be interested in a platform like Gamers Oasis. Hundreds of millions of players are traveling to various locations to participate in competitions already.
To give them the ability to simply access this from the convenience and comfort of their own home is something that has gone over exceedingly well in all other comparable situations which we’ve seen. Banking. Shopping. Poker. Collectibles. Multiplayer, casual gaming. Now we’ll see it with video game competition.
What can you share about monetization issues in esports and how Gamers Oasis plans to tackle the problem?
Monetization challenges in esports often stem from an attempt to mirror the traditional sports’ viewer-based model, where money is made by bringing fans out to stadiums or by encouraging them to buy merchandise. In this model, revenue comes from ad sales and sponsorships in addition to gate sales and merchandising.
While that works with traditional sports, it doesn’t translate well to esports. However, with the ease of access to gaming reaching an exponentially larger number of players than traditional sports reaches viewers (basically, not everyone can throw a baseball, but 40% of earth’s population plays video games), focusing on a player-based model that encourages everyone to participate, rather than merely making them a viewer, can produce far greater emotional attachment to the sport resulting in more participation time, more monetization opportunities in general, and ultimately, as a result, more revenue. Simply put, viewers generate some revenue for the sport, but players can be worth much much more than viewers. In video games, every viewer is a potential player, so, let’s make them players!
This is where Gamers Oasis will shine. We are developing technology that will allow players of all skill levels to compete and to know that they are engaging in fair competition. Basically, you could be a bad player, but know that you will only be competing against other bad players, giving you a real chance to win money. This is something that nobody else has seemed to be able to produce in a meaningful manner. We have a way to do this and to ensure this fair play. When anyone can win, all will play. When everyone is playing, the industry experiences exponential growth.
Looking toward the future, what do you see as the future of esports, more specifically in terms of regulatory frameworks and industry development?
One of the fundamental problems esports has had up until now is there is no universal set of guidelines. As I said before, I firmly believe that the government is not the answer.
With our patent, one of the things we intend to do is to have all parties who are licensing the patent join us in setting up core guidelines for all games which feature our technology. We see this as a sort of a start in creating that centralized entity which can help establish and enforce certain guidelines, keeping it as a consensus based entity composed of the major parties who are involved with us in these endeavors, a democratic approach of sorts, with us primarily facilitating the laying of the foundation.
What kind of a relationship do you envision between the casino industry and the esports industry?
Casinos are all about entertainment, and esports bring a whole new level of that to their customers. The possibilities are exciting in that whole new esport-themed experiences can be hosted within casinos. And as casinos seek to diversify their offerings to attract younger demographics, esports present a lucrative opportunity for engagement and revenue generation through esports betting and tournaments themselves.
I think that third-party betting should be separated from any true esports platform. A true esports platform should only have the player paying their entry fees and should not involve third parties wagering on the outcome when they are not actually involved in the competition.
This is where the casino industry comes in. The casinos can be a distinct and separate entity to facilitate those kinds of transactions, keeping them wholly separated from the platforms featuring esports.
One of the major reasons for this separation is age requirements. A true esports platform should allow kids (with parental permission) to be allowed to compete just as they do in real life. However, I feel very strongly that wagering on anything as a non-participant should have some restrictions, as it has the means to cause harm to younger, developing minds. By separating the two, we can keep the competition platforms “kid friendly” while still serving the needs of the audience that seeks the other service.
3 Oaks Gaming is beginning to establish itself across regulated European markets, but now it has a focus on gaining a footprint in the rapidly evolving Latin American region.
We spoke to 3 Oaks Gaming’s Account Manager LatAm, Henrique De Simoni, about the distributor’s plans for LatAm and the overall appeal of the region.
3 Oaks has recently signed multiple deals in LatAm. How did those deals come about and are there plans for any more partnerships in those territories?
It is fantastic to sign a range of deals across LatAm, initially in Colombia and Mexico before sealing a number of agreements in Brazil. Colombia, in particular, is now a mature jurisdiction and entering the market there first ahead of other regulated territories was something that we felt was a sensible move for us.
Luckia and BetPlay are two of Colombia’s foremost operators, with a huge network of suppliers under their remit. To sign deals with those two giants undoubtedly bolsters our reputation within the region.
We also have Bet7K and F12.bet with our portfolio in Brazil and many more operators that are almost ready to go live in the next semester.
Overall, we have connected with multiple casino platform providers, such as Vibra Solutions, Alea, Hub88 and Salsa Technology, extending the reach of our content across the continent and we are excited at what the future holds for us with these partnerships.
Why were Colombia and Mexico first on 3 Oaks’ list when entering LatAm?
Colombia and Mexico emerged as the top choices for several compelling reasons. Firstly, both countries exhibit substantial market potential, with burgeoning populations eager for new and exciting gaming experiences. Additionally, the regulatory landscapes in Colombia and Mexico have been evolving positively, offering conducive environments for the expansion of the gaming industry. This regulatory stability provides a solid foundation upon which we can build our operations and establish long-term success.
Despite Colombia’s rapid maturity within the gaming sector, our thorough analysis identified continued high potential for growth. By securing certification for our games in Colombia, we’ve positioned ourselves to capitalise on the evolving landscape and seize lucrative business opportunities.
Mexico is now the second market in terms of volume, internet betting traffic and great demographic numbers related to gambling in LatAm. This opportunity of offering casino games for Spanish speaking countries that adores sports is something that challenges us and makes the industry more competitive in terms of generating the best premium slots.
What other LatAm regions are 3 Oaks targeting over the next 12 months?
With some provinces in Argentina already regulated, such as the capital Buenos Aires, this is a key market for us as we look to expand across the continent. Argentina has shown substantial numbers in the iGaming market and can easily become the third largest country in terms of GGR.
However, we are also looking at other regions in LatAm as we try and finalise further partnerships here so watch this space as our journey continues!
With Brazil on the cusp of regulation, how do you think the space will pan out over the next 12 months and what plans does 3 Oaks have for the region?
It’s no secret that Brazil has been our number one target and we are thrilled to be live in the jurisdiction through a number of agreements already. Certain analysts predict that the market is expected to be worth over US$3 billion by 2028, which is an astonishing prediction, but also an incredibly exciting one.
We will see an increase of mature companies trying to expand in Brazil and can expect to reach the biggest operators with our approach and outstanding customer experience. We have premium slots, a team that believes in the market and everything to make our brand visible for our Brazilian customers.
These numbers ensure Brazil will be the jewel in Latin America’s crown once it fully regulates, and thanks to the deals we have in place, we feel we are well positioned for future growth when regulation finally kicks in.
In the vibrant gaming industry in Chile, Francisco Leiva’s figure emerges as a key reference. A trained industrial civil engineer, his professional journey spans 35 years, from his beginnings in the public sector to his prominent role as Superintendent of Casinos, and more recently as Corporate Manager of Strategic Development at Marina del Sol. His entry into this industry, marked by challenges and significant achievements, reflects his commitment to progress and innovation. In this interview, Francisco shares his vision, experience, and accumulated wisdom over the years.
Could you tell us a bit about your career, professional trajectory, and path to where you are today; What motivated you to enter the Gaming industry?
I am an industrial civil engineer, and my career started in the public sector 35 years ago. Initially, I worked at the Ministry of Health and then at the Ministry of Finance, where I was involved in the drafting and legislative processing of various bills, such as the anti-money laundering law and the gaming casinos law.
Given my work in the legislative process of the gaming casinos bill, after its enactment in February 2005, President Ricardo Lagos appointed me as the first Superintendent of Casinos to implement the law. It was a significant professional and personal challenge as it involved bringing an industry that was far behind similar developed countries as Chile up to date.
During your time as Superintendent of Casinos in Chile, what were the most challenging tasks you undertook, and what would you say was your legacy in the gaming industry?
The main challenge was implementing the new gaming casinos law, which involved setting up the Superintendency, hiring staff, and preparing all conditions for private investors to apply for new casino operation permits. This led to 52 projects being submitted for the 18 available casino permits, with investments exceeding US$ 755 million at the time. Foreign investment accounted for 55%, and national investment for 45%.
The result was the construction of 18 new casinos along with complementary facilities such as hotels, convention centers, restaurants, and other leisure facilities that turned these areas into tourist attractions in the cities where they were built.
Undoubtedly, the main challenge was meeting the tender requirements within a tight timeframe. We managed to have a competitive process with operators from around the world, radically changing Chile’s gaming casinos industry.
The legacy was transforming the gaming casinos industry from seven municipal casinos to a modern industry with 24 top-level casinos and facilities.
What significant lessons have you learned throughout your career? And what message would you like to leave for future generations?
One lesson is that ambitious goals can only be achieved through dedication and by building motivated teams with clear objectives. It’s impossible to do it alone in tasks like these.
I believe the message is to work with honesty, dedication, and without losing sight of the task entrusted to you.
Knowing you personally, not just professionally, what activity inspires you or helps you achieve balance in your life?
Since I was a child, I have been passionate about playing tennis, and I have tried to maintain this passion even as a senior player. In this sense, I think engaging in sports helps maintain a healthy mind and body, which is essential to counter the stress that comes with demanding and complex work.
Similarly, one cannot neglect family life, as they are the ones who will ultimately support you in difficult times.
In summary, the only way, although not easy, is to harmonize work demands with a balanced life.
Finally, what is your opinion on hosting such an important international event in your country? And in a way, being one of the hosts to such important international personalities.
It is very important for the country to host such events that allow interaction among different actors in the gaming industry. It facilitates the exchange of experiences and networking, allowing the industry to continue developing. It is also important for public authorities, especially regulatory ones, to participate so they can understand the industry’s reality and see where the industry is heading given technological and cultural changes.
Francisco Leiva’s story in the gaming industry in Chile is an inspiring testimony of determination and success. From his crucial role in implementing the gaming casinos law to his contribution to the industry’s growth and modernization, his legacy endures as a beacon of positive change. Beyond his professional achievements, Francisco reminds us of the importance of balancing work and personal life, as well as the need to stay focused on values such as honesty and dedication. His optimism and commitment to the future of the gaming industry in Chile are a reminder that success is achieved through effort, teamwork, and a clear vision.
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