Leigh Herdman, Founder and CEO at Algosport, tells SBC News how the company is continuing to transform the bet builder space amid a rising tide of competition.
SBC News: How does Algosport’s Bet Builder provide an upgrade for smart operators?
Leigh Herdman: Algosport are one of the early originators of supplying bet builders, and when we started in 2017, we decided that our solution would be software-based, rather than a feed delivery method.
We spent a number of years building the Algosport ‘Blackbox’ which contains all of our proprietary modelling, and it is the integrated Blackbox that allows operators to not only access an innovative bet builder solution, but also other revenue generating products – these include a full suite of sports betting models, an extensive range of derivative markets across multiple sports, plus an engine to power cashout services.
As a software solution, the Blackbox does require an integration into a partners platform architecture, and as such there has always been a delicate balancing act of trying to convince operators that the resources required for an integration would be worthwhile and positive, particularly when we are well aware that internal development resources are in short supply and highly prized.
Fortunately, we have partnered with some of the largest and most forward-thinking operators and B2B providers, and as such our products are now in use by over 200 sports betting operator brands across the world, and we firmly believe all our valued partners have seen the benefits of the Blackbox solution.
Our partners are now able to offer any or all of the twelve sports we currently support, which include not only the biggest global betting sports, but also regional and local sports that allow for high levels of product differentiation, whilst increasing revenue.
SBCN: There has been a drive for growing operators to bring services in-house – has Algosport been affected by this?
LH: We have obviously seen a trend for operators to look to build essential services in-house, and this has often included the type of sports betting technology and services that Algosport provides.
However, there is sometimes an underestimation of how resource-heavy this process is, and even more so in relation to creating innovative and industry leading products that are suitable alternatives in quality to third-party products.
But we can obviously see the logic here – why pay monthly fees for products that can be created by internal tech and development teams? Our response to this though is nuanced – firstly, because of the way the Algosport solution is architected, we believe it is the perfect mix of a third-party product that provides all the features and advantages of an in-house solution, and crucially means that the Bet Builder product will have consistency across price, margin, trading strategy and market set.
To give some context, once the Blackbox is integrated on the partner side, the operator or B2B supplier has complete control of the Blackbox’s features and functions and this can mean that the bet builder product can be highly configured and differentiated.
This can include offering differentiated margin for bet builders or changing the way cashout interacts with bet builders including margin/price, both of which can be innovative value adds or a driver of increased revenue.
However, the Blackbox allows extensions even further and we have seen partners harness the Blackbox to create additional products and features – one live example has seen a number of existing Tier-1 partners use the Blackbox to create pre-built bet builder selections based on their own internal trading or other data.
Again, as with the entire bet builder product from Algosport, these canned bet builders are based on the operators’ current prices, margin, market set and trading strategy and therefore are able to expand the product offering further, with no inconsistencies that sometimes are created by using third-party providers.
Secondly, we have seen countless examples where the creation of in-house bet builders for major sports such as soccer or basketball could meet any internal business case processes operator side as revenue is often significant, however when you look at relatively minor sports such as volleyball, table tennis and handball for European operators, or snooker and darts for UK facing brands, in most cases it does not make financial sense for operators to develop these solutions in-house.
Algosport are able to provide a fully modularised service and therefore are able to match the products we have with any incumbent suppliers or in-house services, thus supplying ‘the long tail’ of sports.
Finally, we are well aware of the pressures that operators and suppliers currently face, particularly within tech, product and compliance/regulations, especially for multi-brand or multi-territory organisations.
We are also firmly of the opinion that building sports betting algorithms and products is time consuming and resource heavy, especially to create products that are of an industry leading quality.
Without being arrogant, Algosport have very much done the hard yards here and with a wealth of experience over many years, we believe that we are best placed to provide services that are of the same or even higher quality than in-house products, but with flexibility and control baked in, and all available at commercial rates that are fair and reasonable for all parties.
SBCN: There are numerous providers of Bet Builders available, what makes Algosport different?
LH: Firstly, as one of the early originators of bet builders we have constantly updated and enhanced our product which means we can provide a truly industry leading solution, which has been guided by both our experience but also the requests from our valued B2B and B2C partners.
Currently, we are able to support twelve sports which include all the major betting sports such as soccer, basketball, tennis, ice hockey, baseball and American football, but more niche or localised sports such as volleyball, handball, snooker, darts and table tennis, and even a soccer eSports product.
Alongside this range of sports supported, we are one of the only providers who can offer in-play bet builders and full Cashout across all of our sports, something that we believe is a significant differentiating factor, as end-users become ever more expectant that they can place bet builders whenever and however they wish.
In addition, we also like to think of Algosport conducting business differently, and we look to build long term partnerships rather than short-term commercial contracts. We are able to offer truly bespoke product ranges that match individual requirements and are also able to support these with commercial mechanisms that work for every type of partner.
By treating our valued partners this way, we are pleased that most of our customers have been with us for many years, and we continue to be honest and transparent in what we can deliver for our partners, with the aim of creating innovative products that will enhance revenue.
SBCN: 2026 sees what would be the biggest betting event in history with the World Cup. How has Algosport prepared for this?
LH: As you might expect, we have had a great deal of interest in the last 12 months for our bet builder product and have been working hard to get new partners live in time for the World Cup – this has included Tier 1 operators in Europe, as well as new clients in emerging markets of Africa and LatAm.
Alongside this effort, we have been supporting our existing partners and have a robust pipeline of new markets and features that will enhance their efforts to create engaging betting experiences for end-users in what is likely to be an exciting, but highly competitive summer of sport.
SBCN: More generally, where does Algosport see sportsbetting evolving in 2026 and beyond?
LH: We are excited to see the continuation of bet builders moving away from a traditional pre-match product and become a full In Play experience, augmented with the ability to cashout throughout the event as we believe that this is what a betting-savvy and sports-mad end user now expects.
We are also looking to expand the sports that we support in 2026, with cricket launching very soon, plus others in 2026 and beyond. Aside from these exciting developments, we are also working on some truly innovative concepts that will unlock the way operators are able to offer bet builder markets and enhance user experience, and we are looking forward to showcasing these products at SBC Summit in Lisbon later in 2026.