Gaming Eminence sit's down with Luke Campbell, CTO of Adrenaline. Campbell provides insights into the technological innovations driving Adrenaline's products, such as Football Genius and TruProfitAI. With a deep focus on user behaviour, AI and machine learning techniques are harnessed to create personalised experiences that challenge conventional industry norms. As the gambling landscape rapidly evolves, Campbell discusses Adrenaline's strategies for staying ahead of the curve, capitalising on emerging trends, and ensuring an exceptional betting experience.
GE) Adrenaline has developed Football Genius, TruPlay and recently launched TruProfit. Could you provide insights into the technological innovations that power the products? How do these technologies address the specific needs of the gambling industry, and what sets them apart from other solutions in the market?
LC) We were the pioneering company to introduce a free-to-play football app in the US that focused on real-time in-game outcomes, resulting in a remarkable level of engagement from our users.
From a technical standpoint, our app was ahead of the "game" – pun intended – with our team's innovative advancements, particularly in data handling and analysis.
Users exhibited extensive engagement with the app, often spending hours predicting plays and outcomes.
Naturally, the challenges of analyzing such voluminous data were substantial. This encompassed deciphering correlations within the data (e.g., favorite teams) versus mere coincidences (a topic that warrants its own series of articles on data science).
One thing was unequivocally clear: when the proposition aligns with the customer, engagement naturally ensues. This realization was both exciting and evident once we delved deep into user behavior patterns.
These pivotal insights laid the foundation for our approach to designing TruPlayAI and TruProfitAI.
TruProfitAI, in particular, employs significantly advanced AI and Machine Learning techniques that enable us to comprehend user behavior on a level previously unattainable.
Although it's challenging to single out just one example, we discovered that a substantial number of users consistently opted for over points totals, regardless of the scenario, eschewing under points entirely – a fascinating peek into users' cognitive processes.
Remarkably, there have been numerous surprising revelations, even for a seasoned industry professional like myself – the aforementioned example being just one. This technological leap has propelled our team to the forefront of the sector, positioning us as industry leaders.
If asked for the key to our success, I would emphasize the imperative of a profound understanding of your users, as they are the lifeblood of your product.
In many ways, it could be argued that this knowledge has been somewhat constrained by the sector's lack of technological innovation until now.
We believe that this status quo is on the brink of transformative and positive change for the sector and its users. The potential impact is not to be underestimated, and I am genuinely thrilled to be part of this "game-changing" moment, an experience that words cannot adequately capture.
We've also embraced cutting-edge practices such as serverless code deployments, facilitating rapid and streamlined scalability, thus ensuring our agility and an advantageous position in the competitive landscape. This decision was underpinned by careful considerations, recognizing the benefits of a scalable solution that minimizes overhead and cost.
Last but certainly not least, our agile-led approach to product development empowers us to swiftly deploy new features. For instance, we can pivot seamlessly to work on fresh ideas without derailing our overarching long-term roadmap. The team's integral feedback loop contributes to continuous improvement, optimizing value for both us and our customers. Moreover, this approach fosters enhanced engagement within our teams and nurtures a sense of ownership across all levels.
GE) The gambling industry is constantly evolving, driven by advancements in technology. As the CTO of Adrenaline, how do you ensure that your technology, stays ahead of the curve to meet the changing demands of sports bettors and gaming enthusiasts? Are there any specific strategies or approaches you employ to proactively address emerging trends in the market and continuously improve your offerings?
LC) As a technology team, we are dedicated to maintaining our knowledge at the forefront of innovation. Staying up-to-date is crucial in the rapidly evolving tech landscape, and so we place a strong emphasis on providing our teams with the time and space to delve into researching emerging technologies and advanced techniques.
This commitment is what truly sets our team apart and gives us a competitive advantage in the market. Our global presence, spanning from Europe to North and South America, fosters a diverse and collaborative environment that fuels innovation and the generation of fresh ideas in this ever-changing world.
Within our analysis teams, a continuous stream of new ideas and concepts about user behavior is a constant. As the CTO, my primary challenge is ensuring that these teams are equipped with the right tools to enhance their creative processes.
Here at Adrenaline, we consider ourselves pioneers of a new generation of innovators. Our appetite for learning is insatiable, matched only by our dedication to sharing knowledge amongst ourselves.
I extend my encouragement to other organizations to embrace a similar approach. Remember, your people are ultimately the cornerstone of your success.
GE) The legalisation of sports betting has created new opportunities in the U.S. market. How does Adrenaline's technology, enable operators to capitalise on these opportunities? Could you highlight any specific features or functionalities that empower operators to enhance their offerings, provide accurate odds, and stay competitive in a rapidly growing industry? How do these technologies contribute to operators' ability to deliver an exceptional betting experience to their customers?
LC) As key industry innovators, we keep a keen eye on emerging trends and products in the marketplace, and we’re always keen to observe any changes or trends in user behavior.
The USA (and other emerging markets) is certainly unique in the sense that there are many people who may have not seen sports betting in any meaningful way until relatively recently (especially so in newly licensed states), and so therefore they may not have the same preconceptions or expectations that users in more “traditional” markets such as Europe may have. It’s refreshing and challenging for many operators.
I believe that, given the relative complexity and increase in personalisation in other gaming sectors, such as e-sports, bettors in the USA and beyond are beginning to have higher expectations than merely being presented an “spreadsheet-like” list of games and odds.
They, quite rightly in my view, are demanding more -- looking for better quality, and ultimately want to see sports betting as an “experience” and not just a way to make money.
This landscape, as you can imagine, presents both opportunities and challenges for all operators and suppliers in the industry. We believe that, as above with Football Genius, getting the proposition right and innovating could see huge returns from a relatively small investment – it’s an excellent opportunity to build engagement, change the mould and make it much more of a leisure and fun based pastime than it has traditionally been seen to be.
Personally, I find this concept very much exhilarating, and I believe that true innovators such as Adrenaline have a real opportunity to shape sports betting in these markets and beyond.
We can already see the impact of these user choices in emerging markets.
Key innovators are already building a strong foothold through intelligent product design and smart use of the right technology.
We aim to stand with these fellow innovators.
We’re always learning about what drives and engages users – and, perhaps more importantly, what may turn them off!
GE) Adapting to real-time changes is a hallmark of effective sports betting platforms. Can
you share insights into how Adrenaline's AI model dynamically incorporates new data
during an ongoing game or event, allowing users to make informed decisions even as the
situation evolves?
LC) This is a really interesting question! One of the key things that we realised early on was that, in order to understand users more fully, our system needed to be able to make decisions based on data in real time.
Our AI system can accurately profile users with high levels of certainty in as little as 5 bets - and by 20 bets the level of accuracy of profiling behaviour characteristics is above 90%.
Our mantra is to be driven by the data – throwing away any confirmation bias and allowing the data to show us insights into the user themselves.
Our AI is specifically designed to look at users on an ongoing basis and make these sorts of decisions and observations the moment it receives new data, whether that is views of particular events, logins, bets placed and settlements completed – all of this data can combine to give us a comprehensive view of their behavior.
It’s interesting and exciting to see the impact of AI on sports betting, and I certainly can’t wait to see what’s next.
About our Contributor:
An industry veteran, Luke first joined the gaming sector in 2010 after a long and successful career in tech when he joined PokerStars on the Isle of Man. Luke successfully navigated “Poker Black Friday” to deliver Poker, Sports Betting and Casino across many licensed territories worldwide and in over 20 languages, as well as being privileged enough to have launched PokerStars into the USA with New Jersey in March 2016. From there, Luke co-founded Champion Sports and spearheaded development and launch of a new sports book product aimed at B2B markets, which exhibited in Asia and ICE London to a very positive reception. After a brief sojourn leading the development team to launch the Isle of Man’s first banking licence (and award nominated online banking product) in over 20 years with Capital International Group, Luke joined the team at Adrenaline as CTO in early 2023. Visit https://www.adrenalineip.com/