Another gambling marketing musing as Lee Davy sits down with the founder of the odds comparison app betclever, Roberto Romanello, to see how the company is doing two years after it first hit the market.
Only four people can join poker’s Triple Crown during the World Series of Poker (WSOP).
Mike Watson.
Andrey Pateychuk.
Moritz Kranich.
Roberto Romanello.
I’m not brave enough to have a bet on who it will be, but I will wager my 21-month-old daughter on the person it won’t be.
The Welsh Wizard.
Mr Romanello is a man who loves his poker. Pore over his plasma under a microscope, and you will see each platelet designed like a WSOP chip. But there is more to this amazing man that the game.
For the longest time, Romanello attributed his success to his strong family bonds. If you pop down to Gorseinon, you’ll find him standing in his mother’s kitchen surrounded by the sweet smell of cawl and freshly ground coffee beans.
Yes, he still lives with his Mum.
But all of that’s going to change.
Romanello is going to be a father; twins no less, and is busy building a house fifty yards from his parents, so his mother can make the short walk to see her beloved grandchildren.
It won’t be the first time Romanello has had a baby. Two years ago, the partypoker ambassador went into hard labour and out popped his odds comparison app betclever.
So how is his baby doing?
What’s the thing you’re most proud of about betclever and why?
Just getting betclever to launch, when you launch a project people don’t see how much time and effort that goes into just getting it to market. It took us almost three years. I will always be most proud of being involved in creating a product as good as betclever.
Who inspires you and why?
Growing up watching how hard my parents worked to create a successful business not only taught me so much but also inspired me more than anyone else.
Who influences your work and why?
We have met some great people who work in the industry since we started developing betclever and since we have launched we listen and take advice from people who are successful in the industry and look to learn from them as much as possible.
Who would you like to be an inspiration to and why?
Other people in the industry I’m guessing. We want to influence all types of people there is no more significant achievement than being seen as inspirational to the people that work in your industry.
If you could achieve one thing this year what would it be and why?
We currently have four betclever ambassadors for the World Cup It would be great if we could keep increasing that to possibly ten in the next year to boost our social media presence.
Who are the four?
Former Swansea football star Lee “@LeeTrundle10” Trundle, UFC star Brett “@36Johns” Johns, and superstar poker players James “@James_Akenhead” Akenhead, and Ludovic “@Gr4vyBo4t” Geilich.
What change are you trying to create?
Our Hashtag is #WhyTakeLess! We are trying to show people that you have a choice when it comes to betting and it’s always beneficial to get the best price. For example, if you were buying a car and there are two dealerships across the road both selling the same vehicle you want, you would buy from the one that’s cheaper not the first one you see. Betting should be no different.
What makes your work important to your customers?
We regularly see people sharing their winning bets on social media; it’s frustrating when you see they have won money but could have earned much more if they would have spent a few seconds on betclever comparing their bet. On the opposite, it’s great when a follower sends us a winning bet slip, and they have won more from getting the best price from us.
What’s the reason your business exists?
I have always enjoyed betting football myself, from the days before mobile technology. I used to place my football bets in the same way out of habit. I can remember doing a football accumulator only to realise after my bet had won that if I had done my homework correctly, I could have won 35% more. It was the start of understanding how many other people are making the same mistakes, so it was time to make betclever; to make the bookies work a lot harder for their business.
Explain the importance of events like the World Cup and how betclever is leveraging it to provide more value?
Significant sporting events like the World Cup produce a massive increase in betting; there are far more games in a shorter space of time, this makes getting more value even more important. Significant sporting events tend to bring out the more casual gambler too, even if you’re new to betting, betclever is so simple to use. There are no instructions required; download and start using it. Significant sporting events are also a great time to get your name out there and increase brand awareness, which we are doing currently.
What else do you have going on at betclever at the moment?
We have been lucky enough to have got to a place where we can employ four ambassadors for the World Cup. We have given them some great competitions to run and get the brand out there. We are also running a huge £50,000 cash World Cup promotion if England Win the World Cup, even though I’m Welsh we are all 100% hoping they can do it. It would be fantastic to be able to make a huge difference in someone’s life.
And the odds on Romanello becoming the next member of the Triple Crown?
Download the app and find out, but something tells me, with everything he’s got on at the moment, he will be a long shot.
