Oddin.gg’s CEO Talks West Virginia Expansion and the Company’s Future Plans
In July, esports betting platform provider Oddin.gg received a betting license from the West Virginia Lottery Commission, marking the company’s fourth North American license. The news was indicative of Oddin.gg’s continued expansion both in NA and across the globe.
EsportsBets reached out to Oddin.gg to talk about their expansion in North America, and were lucky enough to have a chance to talk to CEO and co-founder Vlastimil Venclík.
Venclík shared with us how Oddin.gg has achieved its sustained growth over the past year, its goals with the West Virginia expansion, and hinted at Oddin.gg’s moves in the future.
Vlastimil Venclík on Oddin.gg’s West Virginia Expansion
Oddin.gg has had a prodigious rise this past year especially. It feels like every week we’re writing about a new partnership you’ve penned or an expansion. What’s fueling this growth?
Vlastimil Venclík: “Simply put: Our product. Each of our baseline products – odds feed, traders desk, the risk management services, the iFrame, our widgets – are individually top of the industry. Combined, they form a true esports betting ecosystem.
Oddin.gg puts the money where our industry’s mouth is. In the last several years, you could have read and heard how esports is growing in all kinds of numbers, from viewership to a number of fans. Yet, not all iGaming companies have been successfully resolved esports. We deliver the profit that should follow such growth – and often, it does not. While doing so, we believe that we bring a stable income source to the whole esports world, from tournament organizers to players themselves.”
The US market is obviously one of the most potentially lucrative around. What prompted the move into West Virginia at this time?
Vlastimil Venclík: “ Oddin.gg’s overall goal, of course, is to be licensed in every state in the US. West Virginia has a very long and interesting history of betting and gambling, particularly related to horse racing and subsequently racehorse breeding, but it is also a state where gambling companies and legislators have been an early adopter of technology. The video lottery terminals were introduced in West Virginia in the early ’90s. We are a very technology-oriented industry and company, so we feel like bringing yet another new tech-based betting product to this state.”
Your release mentioned this was a temporary license. Are you able to elaborate on that? Does this act as a precursor to a more long-term license in the future?
Vlastimil Venclík: “It’s just an evolution of the process. First, there’s the temporary license, then the permanent one. We’re optimistic that we’ll secure the full license soon.”
The US is a unique case in online sports betting, where the laws and regulations vary from State to State. What other kinds of challenges does doing business in the US present?
Vlastimil Venclík: “We do not see this as a challenge, but a mission of ours: to contribute to the promotion of esports and subsequently esports betting in the US. In doing so, Oddin.gg will help the legalization of esports betting across the US. We want to help regulators to understand esports. Our membership with IBIA, as well as all of our licenses, demonstrate to regulators that esports is legitimate and worthy of legalization.”
Can you elaborate on the kind of new opportunities the license in West Virginia presents for Oddin.gg?
Vlastimil Venclík: “Of course, it adds over 1.7 million users to our clients’ potential user base. We want to be ready to serve our partners.”
While North America is a key part of your expansion plan, you’ve also recently announced partnerships with Southeast Asian and MENA companies. Are there any other regions in Oddin.gg’s sights?
Vlastimil Venclík: “We are very strong on European soil, in Spanish-speaking Latin America, and setting our foot in Brazil, a huge and buzzing market that has opened its doors recently.
Southeast Asia is a very interesting but also very, very complicated market to tackle with many different cultures, languages, traditions and regulations. So this year, our focus was on Brazil and the US.
In 2025, we might stress the Asian markets a little more. We are working on good relationships in the MENA region, as seen by our recent partnership with YaLLa Esports. Esports is a truly global phenomenon, and Oddin.gg is committed to becoming a truly global company. We’re actively taking steps to achieve that goal!”
About Oddin.gg
Oddin.gg is an esports betting platform provider, giving its B2B partners an high-quality esports betting experience through its end-to-end esports betting ecosystem. Oddin.gg’s clients take advantage of its multi-award winning esports odds feed, risk management, iFrame solution, widgets, 24/7 content, live esports data and marketing services.
Vlastimil Venclík is the CEO and co-founder of Oddin.gg and Drafted.gg. With a background in programming and development, Venclík has taken a pioneering role in the industry, co-creating one of the leading B2B providers in the esports ecosystem.
