Sky Betting & Gaming has today launched its new SB&G CoLab programme, inviting startups and small businesses to partner with the company to tackle some of its key business challenges and opportunities.
SB&G CoLab will open its doors to offer startups and small businesses the chance to pilot and test their products inside a leading betting and gaming brand.
The 11-week programme will be run in collaboration with corporate innovation specialist L Marks and successful candidates will be mentored by senior SB&G business leaders and product experts. Startups will have access to office space in Leeds to develop their ideas and L Marks and SB&G will provide potential investment opportunities.
Commenting on the launch of SB&G CoLab, Andy Burton, CTO of Sky Betting & Gaming said: “The best and brightest in our sector work at Sky Betting & Gaming but we know we don’t have a monopoly on great ideas. By opening our doors to partners from all over the world we hope to uncover some amazing innovations and do our bit to attract startups and entrepreneurs to Yorkshire.”
L Marks works with some of the UK’s best known brands, including John Lewis, International Airlines Group and EDF Energy.
Chairman Stuart Marks said: “We are excited to be working with Sky Betting & Gaming to discover new products. SB&G is a brand leader in this space, making this a unique opportunity for startups to learn from and test their products with a world class team. We can’t wait to see what’s out there!”
As part of SB&G CoLab, Sky Betting & Gaming is looking for pitches which deliver innovation solutions and products in five categories:
- Responsible Gambling: As a business that is customer obsessed, SB&G cares deeply about protecting its players and making sure they gamble responsibly. SB&G is investing in spotting negative behaviours sooner and supporting the customer to make sure things don’t get out of control. SB&G wants to see concepts and ideas that help the company to create visuals that demonstrate these behaviours in a meaningful and impactful way to the customer. They want to see solutions that embrace these ethics across all categories however they are always eager to hear from teams who have new products that can reinforce this area of our work.
- Identifying and Resolving Customer Issues: Supporting customers quickly when they have a problem is critical in driving customer satisfaction and loyalty. SB&G currently interacts manually with customers every minute of the day via numerous channels including our contact centre. They want to identify and solve issues in the speediest and most effective way possible for our community.
- Future Tech – Gaming and Betting: With Future Technology there is no limit to what SB&G wants to see in this category. It is about revolution not evolution. They want to engage existing and new customers via new interfaces like WhatsApp and voice assistant technologies or via new products in gaming or concepts for our suite of free-to-pay products as well as gamifying and socializing their product experiences.
- Trading Opportunities: SB&G is looking for new betting opportunities for their customers, that mean they can speculate on the outcomes of real world events, virtual events or social experiences. Be they new and novel football markets, a new slant on an existing sports betting event or opening an entirely new situation into a betting experience.
- Wild card: There is also a wildcard category for startups and small businesses to showcase unique ideas and innovations in the wider ecommerce sector.
Applications are now open and close on Sunday 15th October 2017. To apply or for more information, please visit the SB&G website now!
