PROFILE
Who’s who: Will Duff Gordon This month: Total Performance Data’s CEO
When did you first get involved with the gaming industry? I have been involved in the data and horse racing sectors for the last 15 years. As for my venture with TPD, we started off in 2014 with a small team passionate about racing. We wanted to be behind the same type of data revolution we have seen in other sports but has yet to hit racing, and we knew the technology was available to do exactly that.
Favourite…
TV show: Match of the Day Band: Muse Pastime: Landscape conservation Book: Crime and Punishment Item of clothing: Mankini Food: Vietnamese
What attracted you to this sector? I’ve owed tiny fractions of racehorses since I was given a share in a Kim Bailey trained jumps horse for my 21st birthday. I then became the youngest elected Director of the Racehorse Owners Association in 2012, during which time I owned my best horse, Short Squeeze. I feel strongly about applying my knowledge and passion for horse racing in an innovative way that can maintain betting on racing an attractive proposition and enjoyable experience.
What were you doing prior to the gaming industry? I spent 12 years in the Financial Technology industry, culminating in selling a data business to Markit Group.
What are you responsible for in your current position? As CEO, I’m responsible for leading the development and execution of our plans. As a small team, my role in the company is very hands on and I go from liaising with our racecourse clients to sitting down with engineers to help refine our products.
What have been the biggest industry changes you’ve seen in your time? I think the current ‘age of the merger’ is a period of revolutionary change for the betting industry. The clubbing together of betting giants is changing the landscape of the industry. As for racing, it’s the monumental shift of punting on the rails to online – even a great deal of those on the course are still placing their bets on their laptops before setting off or at the track on their mobiles.
What are the biggest positive factors for your sector right now? Again, it has to be the growth of online. And, further to that, the appetite for in-play betting. Whether people are keen to bet on who’ll get booked next after a fiery start in a Premier League match, or which team will score the next try in a cagey Six Nations encounter, we can see an open door for getting in-play betting on horse racing up to speed.
Looking at your entire career, what do you think was your smartest move? Doubling my shareholding in my previous company by taking an enormous loan from the bank – I guess I’ve always been a gambler!
And dumbest one? Flying to Buenos Aires for a day.
What do you think the egaming space will look like in ten years’ time? A decade is a massive period of change given how fast technology is changing so any predictions are hard. With that said, egaming and online casino may well dwarf sportsbook gambling by that time unless sports up their game.
If you’d never embarked on this career, what other line of work would you have liked to pursue? I very nearly worked in advertising.
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And what are the negatives ones – the obstacles to growth? Betting on racing is not a booming market, so muscling in on a share of that is a big challenge. Racing used to be responsible for the vast majority of bookmakers’ revenue, but has recently lost ground to the popularity of betting on other sports. However, the challenges that present themselves as an obstacle to betting on racing are in many ways opportunities for the TPD product. Betting on racing needs innovation and change and that’s what we’re bringing.
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