WHO’S WHO Who’s who: Anli Kotze This month: BetTech Gaming’s General Manager Favourite…
Movie: 200 Cigarettes Music: Goo Goo Dolls Book:We Need To Talk About Kevin Pastime: Reading, music, outdoors Pizza topping: Tomato, basil, mozzarella
How did you first get involved with the gaming industry? My first experience was back in 2007 when I did project work for the Betway / Gnuf group in their Maltese office. From there I went to Betfair, for a role also based in Malta, and then to Ladbrokes as general manager of their online operation in South Africa.
What attracted you to this sector? Back in 2007 I wasn’t all that familiar with the industry. I was looking for a role to grow my online marketing experience and as I was based in Malta at the time the most obvious choice of industry to try get into was the gaming industry. With my sporting background I was very intrigued by the industry.
What were you doing prior to the gaming industry? I was a professional athlete – I played hockey for South Africa, including at the Olympics in Sydney and Athens – and worked in the publishing industry in Cape Town as a marketer.
What are you responsible for in your current position? At BetTech Gaming I’m in the general management position. This involves pretty much all parts of the business, from operations, client management through to marketing.
What have been the biggest industry changes you’ve seen in your time? Mobile and automated pricing feeds have, and are, changing the industry rapidly. Different markets each have their own requirements but these elements are always two of the main drivers. A big change that is looming for South Africa, hopefully, is the regulation of interactive gaming (online casino, poker, bingo, virtual games). This change will have a very big impact.
What are the biggest positive factors for your sector right now? There’s a lot of competition in the software supplier space – which is a positive thing. Software suppliers need to constantly stay on a par and push the
boundaries in terms of development. We can’t just look at what other players in our industry are doing in terms of software development – we have to learn from other industries and this means gaming software is constantly at the forefront of what’s hot in software development in general.
And what are the negatives ones – the obstacles to growth? Although the regulatory frameworks are necessary they do sometimes slow the process down. For such a fast paced industry as gaming it is frustrating when regulatory obstacles block the speed of progress.
Looking at your entire career, what do you think was your smartest move? Seeing the potential in BetTech Gaming before joining the team. The team is dynamic and our vision exciting. I believe in what we’re doing and love the way we approach business – the transparent, energetic, friendly, hard working approach all align with what excites me about work.
And dumbest one? I can’t think of a dumb move. Not because I always make good decisions but rather I view them as learning curves when things don’t go the way I thought they would. I guess the year that I spent out of the industry in 2010 made me realise I like the fast-paced drive of the betting and gaming business and wanted to get back into it.
Where do you hope you’ll be, professionally, in ten years’ time? I’m not really into five year / ten-year plans. It’s hard to predict what will happen so I don’t spend too much time thinking about that. I prefer to make sure that whatever I’m involved in professionally is something that excites me and keeps me growing and learning.
If you’d never embarked on this career, what other line(s) of work would you have liked to pursue? Who knows really? I stumbled upon this industry six years ago without really knowing it existed. But something I’ve always wanted was to own and run a bookshop.
JULY/AUGUST 2013 51
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