Winner’s Interview: BETBY on the EGR B2B Awards 2026

After winning Innovation in Sports Betting Software at the EGR B2B Awards for the third consecutive year, BETBY is strengthening its claim to be one of the industry’s most consistently innovative sportsbook suppliers.

This year’s recognition was driven by BETBY Predictions, which brings prediction markets into sportsbooks through a fully managed, fixed-odds model.

For our latest Winner’s Interview, EGR spoke with Kirill Nekrasov, head of innovation and R&D at BETBY, about simplifying prediction markets, expanding the boundaries of sportsbook content and what the supplier is building next.

EGR: Winning Innovation in Sports Betting Software for the third consecutive year is unusual. What does that consistency say about BETBY’s approach?

Kirill Nekrasov (KN): I think the important point is that these are not three awards for the same idea. Each year, the recognition has reflected a different part of how we are developing our sportsbook.

Last year, for example, the focus was AI Labs, our suite of AI-powered sportsbook tools, and how we apply artificial intelligence across odds creation, risk management, personalisation and operations. This year, BETBY Predictions was the main driver.

That matters to us because innovation cannot be one successful launch followed by minor improvements, it has to be continuous. Of course, winning three years in a row is a fantastic achievement, but more importantly, it shows that our direction is consistent. We are constantly looking to identify gaps where sportsbooks can evolve and building products that operators can genuinely use at scale.

EGR: The judges described BETBY as a prediction markets innovator that is “redefining what a sportsbook model can be”. What problem were you trying to solve?

KN: The biggest issue with traditional prediction markets is complexity. Most products use an exchange model, so users need to understand trading behaviour, liquidity and changing prices. That works for a certain audience, but it is not how the average sportsbook player is used to interacting with iGaming platforms.

We wanted to remove that barrier and that is how BETBY Predictions came up: a feed that takes the appeal of prediction markets – leveraging the opportunity to engage with finance, technology, entertainment, cryptocurrency and other global events – delivered through fixed odds. For the player, it feels like a normal sportsbook market because they see an outcome, they see the odds and they place a bet.

For operators, there is no reliance on peer-to-peer liquidity. Besides that, it is a comprehensive product, including also centralised risk management, standardised settlement and continuous market creation. That is really the innovation: making prediction markets fit naturally within the sportsbook ecosystem.

EGR: Prediction markets have attracted significant attention, but also scrutiny. How do you balance relevance and responsibility?

KN: That balance is fundamental. The product needs to reflect what people are discussing, and our 24/7 dedicated team does that by monitoring global trends, while AI helps identify potential topics and opportunities. That allows us to create hundreds or even thousands of new markets each week and respond quickly to both the wider news cycle and on-demand requests by brands who want to offer localised markets.

Still, AI does not publish markets autonomously. Every topic is reviewed by people and BETBY retains full control over what is offered. We also have very clear red lines. We do not create markets involving active conflicts, war-related outcomes, human suffering or other highly sensitive subjects.

So the process combines speed with judgement: AI helps us understand what is gaining attention, while experienced specialists decide whether a market is appropriate, how it should be framed and how the risk should be managed. For me, that is the only responsible way to develop this category. Innovating is great, of course, but it cannot come at the expense of control.

EGR: Beyond novelty, what commercial problem does BETBY Predictions solve for operators?

KN: The major problem is that sportsbooks are still heavily shaped by the sporting calendar. Obviously there are betting volume peaks around major competitions and mostly on weekends, but there are also quieter periods.

Opposed to that, BETBY Predictions introduces a 24/7 engagement layer based on the wider global news cycle. A major technology announcement, cryptocurrency milestone or entertainment event can give users another reason to open the sportsbook.

Apart from that, it can also help operators reach audiences beyond traditional sports bettors. Someone who closely follows financial markets or technology may not be interested in football or tennis, but they may still enjoy making predictions about subjects they understand.

The commercial opportunity is therefore bigger than simply adding more markets. It is about extending engagement beyond sport, reducing seasonality and creating a more diverse content mix within one familiar environment.

EGR: BETBY Predictions arrived alongside developments such as Stories and the continued expansion of AI Labs. Is there a common philosophy behind these products?

KN: Definitely. The common theme is familiarity, but there is also a wider shift behind all of them. For a long time, sportsbooks were mostly competing against each other for market share, but today they are competing in a much broader environment shaped by player behaviour, engagement and attention.

Players are used to platforms such as Netflix, Instagram and TikTok, where content is immediate, highly relevant and very easy to engage with. That naturally changes what they expect from a sportsbook as well.

Our products are being developed with that reality in mind. For instance, with BETBY Predictions we take something that can feel complicated and make it behave like a familiar sportsbook product. With Stories, we take a format users already understand from social media platforms and adapt it to sportsbook use cases.

When it comes to AI Labs, we make the experience more relevant to each player through AI personalisation while helping operators act faster and work more efficiently. The technology behind those products is very different, but the objective is similar: reduce friction, capture attention and make the sportsbook feel more comprehensive, intuitive and engaging.

I think the industry sometimes confuses innovation with complexity. For us, the best innovation often makes something simpler. Players do not need to understand how sophisticated the technology is, they should simply feel that the product understands them, gives them relevant content quickly and offers an experience that can compete with the other digital platforms they use every day.

EGR: BETBY has also been investing in proprietary products, such as its esports feed Betby Games, which includes hyper localised titles like eVaquejada, eFootvolley and eSumo. Why does niche content matter?

KN: Because global does not have to mean generic. Operators need broad coverage, of course, but differentiation often comes from content that reflects a specific audience, culture or behaviour. eVaquejada and eFootvolley are strong examples because they were developed around sports with genuine cultural relevance in Brazil. eSumo speaks to a completely different audience.

The same principle applies to our work in live chess. We were the first supplier to look at how chess could become a more dynamic betting product, and today we offer deeper market coverage than anyone else and content created specifically for live engagement.

These products may begin with niche audiences, but they demonstrate something much larger: our ability to identify pain points and build around them quickly. This is crucial because operators do not only want the same catalogue as everyone else, they want distinctive content that gives users a reason to choose their sportsbook.

EGR: After three consecutive EGR innovation awards, where does BETBY go next?

KN: The honest answer is that we cannot slow down. For example, we are finalising the development of a ground-breaking product that will bring sportsbooks and casinos much closer together. I cannot share all the details yet, but the idea is to transform live sport into a more continuous, game-like experience and create a natural bridge between the two verticals.

That is a major challenge because sportsbooks and casinos have traditionally operated as separate ecosystems, even though a lot of platforms offer both verticals today. That said, we believe there is a real opportunity to connect them without forcing users into an artificial journey, and we are very excited to launch the product at SBC Summit Lisbon, where we will be able to reveal much more about how it works and the opportunity it creates for operators.

More broadly, our focus remains the same: identify where the current sportsbook model is limited and build something that expands it. Three consecutive awards are a strong validation, but they also create expectations. For us, that is positive. It keeps the pressure on and pushes us to continue asking the same question: what can the sportsbook become next?

Check out the full list of winners from the EGR B2B Awards 2026