Business Overview
Keith Ho has been a licensed bookmaker since 1988. Keith Ho BetXchange was rebranded in 2002 and is wholly owned by Keith Ho. Keith Ho BetXchange is South Africa’s leading sports betting company and offers specialized and comprehensive Local and International Horseracing as well as extensive sports betting facilities.
BetXchange prides its self in offering clients the most competitive prices available in the world and with the largest amount of various sport betting options available in South Africa.
The In Play betting service that BetXchange offers is the largest in South Africa covering all major sports and sporting events. Live betting allows you to place a bet as the match is in play.
Market Overview
The online betting market has experienced significant growth over the last 6 years and this has been driven by increased personal income, the influx of new technologies, the growth in the broadcast of live sport via satellite and new innovations from the betting industry.
The explosion of live sport has coincided with shifts in the interest of individual sports and in many cases the betting on certain sports. Football betting has experienced significant growth as has Rugby Union, Rugby League, cricket, tennis , and golf betting. This growth has come at the expense of other betting such as Horse racing and a variety of minor sports such as greyhound racing or motor racing. Fragmentation of broadcast, general reduced coverage throughout the media and reduced levels of investment into certain sports have been contributory factors. Another growing area of interest is our Lotto and Powerball betting.
Customer Information
Whilst growth in betting has been spread across the South African population, most people who bet are young, middle aged men and are more likely to be 18 to 34 years old, although this can vary by the type of betting. It has been suggested that the female betting market represent an opportunity for future market growth however there has been little evidence to suggest there will be significant increased interest from this sector – betting and sport remains largely a male dominated past-time.
Different clients will employ various strategies with a view to making a profit. The most basic will do nothing more than place a single bet on the outcome for a specified event, such as “Back Arsenal to beat Chelsea in today’s game”. Others will be more complicated and define general rules that may be applied over a large number of user-specified events.
The majority of online betting is conducted via a computer or laptop, however, whilst currently small, betting via mobile phones is showing strong growth. Mobile betting is now becoming a viable option as mobile networks and the quality of handsets improve. Whilst inconceivable only a few years ago, BetXchange will soon be able to offer a mobile betting service that allows people to see prices update in real time, place bets, view their bets and deposit funds. This provides increased convenience and enables people to bet while they are away from their PC or place online bets whilst they are at a sporting venue.
Market Information
People who place sports bets also have access to increasing amounts of data, statistical information and news via specialist online betting sites. Websites now provide the latest information on sports, teams and individual sportsmen to help shape betting opinions, types of online bets to place and where to access the best price or odds available.
The South African betting market has become highly competitive over the last few years as a result deregulation and the mature (or sophisticated) betting culture found in South Africa. Betting companies have therefore become very sophisticated in recruiting new clients and in maintaining the loyalty of their clients. Free bets are now commonplace as a means to recruit people. New clients can claim free bets usually when they have met certain pre-defined terms and conditions. Special offers, promotions, competitions and hospitality at sporting events are tactics used to supplement free bet offers and retain the interest of clients.
Industry Information
Sustained growth is expected from online betting in the future. Live sport will continue to be broadcast in increasing volumes on digital television as well as experience growth via the PC and mobile smart phones. This will mean people will have world-wide access to live sport 24 hours a day, over a platform that fits in with lifestyle and day to day activities. Racing channels have led the way in providing dedicated and specialist content and this is envisaged to grow with an increasing number of channels being dedicated to certain sports. The content overlaid to these specialist broadcast changes will help drive interest in online betting. Football, for example, has already seen a significant overlay of statistics and predictive analysis (pre match and at half time) and this stimulates viewer opinions and judgements about the outcome of the game which stimulates football betting activity.
Betting companies have responded to the market trends and have significantly expanded the range of sports covered, the range of bets available and the ways to place bets. BetXchange for example allow people to bet online, soon to bet via the mobile phone and bet by telephone - almost every sport is catered for on a 24 hour basis.
Service Information
The Key to being successful in the online betting industry is always being able to supply clients with as many betting options possible as well as making them available timelessly fashion.
Every sport and event must be kept up to date and available for clients at any time with as many different bet types available for them.
In-play betting (or in-running betting) has also been a major growth area and enables people to bet during a game.
The rise of in-play betting (or in-running betting) has transformed online betting from simply placing a bet before an event on who is going to win, lose or draw. Online betting is moving ever closing to becoming “sports trading” where people trade bets during an event as teams’ or individuals’ own performance ebb and flow. Spread betting, for example, allows people to place bets during an event and close bets at anytime to take a profit or cut losses. People can trade any specific performance within a live match in the same way a share trader would buy and sell shares as a company’s performance fluctuated. From once being a passive past-time, sports betting (or “sports trading”) are now an increasingly involving form of entertainment.