Ted Taylor is the Managing Director of Sportech Venues for Sportech PLC, the world’s largest supplier of sports pools and tote betting in the world with over $13 billion processed annually. Taylor works at a dynamic pace with global implications as Sportech has a presence in over 30 countries. Taylor is responsible for directing and growing the intersection of e-gaming and pool betting with the live venue experience. Recently, we chatted with Taylor on his role, the Football Pools, the space in general, and more.
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The Daily Payoff: Describe your role with Sportech PLC? Most satisfying part?
Ted Taylor: Leading and developing good people and helping those who have potential achieve it. If the share options come through then that might be quite satisfying too!
TDP: What is one big challenge you had to overcome to get where you are career wise? What did you learn from that challenge?
TT: Can’t recall any specific big challenges – there have been a lot but none that stick out so far ahead of the others. However, recognizing my own strengths and weaknesses proved to be a challenge and doing so has definitely helped me. Also, I suppose it was important to learn that others are imperative to make stuff happen.
TDP: For those who may not be familiar with the system – in a few words, what exactly is the Football Pools?
TT: Established in 1923 TFP is a way of creating a pool bet where each customer makes selections on multiple sporting events that take place over a short period of time. The number of different events is what makes the bet so difficult and which is also why it grew exponentially in its early years – winning was hard so the payouts became massive.
Imagine taking 16 NFL games from this weekend and having to guess the result of ALL of them in sequence. Prizes would go to the winner of 16 f 16, 15 f 16, 14 f 16 and possibly 13 f 16. If they all went to form then there would be lots of winners. But if the Jaguars beat Denver in Denver then (because few would spend the $1 to back that) and one or two other outliers occur then noone wins and the pool rolls over. It’s VERY similar to mega millions etc – the difference is that you get to choose your numbers.
TDP: You oversaw the Littlewoods, Zetters, Vernons merger into what we know as the Football Pools today. Why were these companies targeted?
TT: There were three pools companies at the time – as above. Littlewoods was the biggest although all three were gradually declining in the face of massively increased competition from their hey-day – lottery being the main competitor.
We felt that owning all three under the same roof as ‘The Football Pools’ would allow us to retain each brand while still consolidating all the operations and technology under one roof. Just rationalizing three into one and using the synergies to keep each alive for considerably longer than they would have lasted as solo operators. Being able to call ourselves ‘The Football Pools’ meant there wasn’t any doubt about what was going on. Littlewoods was once the worlds biggest gaming company but they’d gradually gone into other areas and then lost a little focus and others had come into the area and eaten their lunch. This meant that, by the time we got involved, Littlewoods wasn’t necessarily regarded by most as a gaming company – many thought we did mail order shopping!
TDP: It’s been nearly 5 years since the reorganization of The Pools – reflecting back, what was done correctly? What could have been improved?
TT: The actual integration of the ‘incoming businesses’ under the Sportech umbrella went very well. We definitely over-achieved on the timescales to integrate their 100 people into our other location whilst minimizing loss of customers. General communication with those from the purchased businesses was vital as, given Vernons was based only 3 miles away, some synergies were required. We did this well and I felt it was important to be the face and voice of the integration – we (my boss and I) had already agreed on the strategy so it meant that I was able to answer questions readily and stick to them. The value in this is that people know they are dealing with the decision maker and, after some initial wariness, be trusted.
What I took learned from the process: Be clear about who is who and how important they are. Gain trust of key employees. Be honest and have forthright communication – I am reasonably good at being honest even if they don’t like me or agree with the message! Also consistency – our team ALL sent out the same message
In hindsight, I could have followed my gut more and did a few things differently. In the great scheme of things, it didn’t hurt that we were all seen as reasonable.
TDP: The Football Pools has been committed to giving back with over £1B donated over the years. From a business development perspective, is this philanthropic element an important factor to Sportech PLC when choosing between potential partners? What has this done for the brand?
TT: Simple answer, the most important aspect is benefiting the individual causes.
TDP: Sportech has operations in over 30 countries. How difficult is it to manage your e-gaming approach given the changes in policy and law per country?
TT: It’s tough enough managing our approach just in America. E Gaming everywhere is a very fluid market everywhere in the world and we have to apply considerable effort and cost to ensure we stay on the right side of things. We are careful not to be seen as overt or to comply with anything a regulator wants. Our experience is that anyone being even slightly disingenuous or cavalier is frowned upon by the regulators around the world – and there are LOTS of them on the case.
TDP: Horse and dog racing seem to be Sportech’s strongest link to the U.S market. Through this you have built bet-processing data centers like in California and entertaining gambling environments like in Connecticut. Talk a little bit about these efforts and any future growth with racing and venues in the U.S?
TT: We are a betting and technology company so we need good quality IT and data centers. This is a pre-requisite for delivering our services our customers, and potential customers. We glean a certain amount of confidence from seeing how professionally they are equipped and managed. Some of this CAN be pure gloss because, even in our relatively highly automated business, the people have to be in the right place at the right time doing exactly what they are supposed to be doing or it can all go wrong.
We are always looking for new opportunities and business development is a huge part of my role. We bought a ‘venues’ business in Connecticut which had declined dramatically through a lack of investment and focus. It needed to be resurrected. This took some time but is now back on an even keel. Now, we are able to use any of our venues as an example of good practice.
We are looking at repeating our success in Conneticut wherever possible – the different regulations in almost every state means it is complicated but we are making great progress in different states right now.
TDP: What are some innovative ways Sportech embraces new media and the digital realm?
TT: It isn’t particularly innovative but we are investing heavily in the platforms that will allow people to play our games on the move. Mobile games and the ability to play them on an iPad/tablet within one of our environments is key.
TDP: What are some industry trends or developments that you are closely following?
TT: Budget deficits mean that many states are looking at ways of getting new revenue or just stopping revenue from disappearing across state borders. It means that there will continue to be changes in the casino market as licenses become more prevalent.
TDP: Are you working on any special project we should know about?
TT: Main special project, at least that I can discuss, is the build out of a big and high-end Sports Bar & Restaurant adjacent to Bradley Airport in Hartford Connecticut. It is a fairly big investment in massive screens, golf simulator, very comfortable, great value, all of which will be in an environment where customers can also bet. It will open before Christmas with more on the way.
We have also realized that combining F&B with betting in an environment where customers can watch multiple sports and bet on those that are legal is a way of getting the next generations to bet.
TDP: What’s the future hold for Sportech PLC and for you?
TT: We are always looking to grow. The future holds further and continued evolution.
TDP: What’s your favorite book, sports business or otherwise?
TT: Right now it is 1491 although that’s a really very odd one. I used to enjoy the Malcolm Gladwell / Michael Lewis type stuff but I am probably over that now. I mix my reading up a lot and have something which is beyond my intellect on one table and a sporting biography on the other.
TDP: Any tips for aspiring sports professionals who may be reading this?
TT: Work REALLY hard – and don’t take drugs. Funny enough I was offered a professional contract when rugby was professionalized in England. However, the amount was so derogatory that I played for free and trained when I wanted to. No BS – although I might have enjoyed saying ‘I was a professional sportsman’.
