IGT’s newly appointed President of Sports Betting Joe Asher has suggested that the B2B sports betting market segment could be worth as much as $5bn annually.

Speaking at the recent IGT Investor Day, Asher said that the potential of B2B sports betting has been overlooked in the discussions about how much the general sports betting market could grow in the years to come.

Asher said, per SBC Americas: “We think the B2B market will grow from about US$1.5bn to close to US$5bn by 2025. Of course, that’s dependent on when specific states, including California, legalize sports betting, but this clearly is a segment that will grow nicely.

He added that while more and more gambling is being done online and through other digital channels, IGT believes retail sales still have a significant part to play.

“We think about 30 per cent or so of the B2B opportunity will be in retail,” Asher continued. “Retail will continue to be important, even for digital operators, as retail provides brand awareness and experience.” He added that retail also benefits from structurally higher margins, largely because most retail betting is done pre-match rather than in-play and there is a higher percentage of parlays in retail.

Asher was appointed as IGT’s President of Sports Betting effective October 1, 2021. In that role, he is charged with leading the ongoing expansion of the IGT PlaySports sports betting business in North American markets. He is being inducted into the Sports Betting Hall of Fame in a special ceremony at the MetLife Stadium on December 1, 2021, during the SBC Summit North America conference and trade show.