Brisbane-based start-up ZeroFlucs was recently bought out by United States (US) gambling powerhouse Caesars Entertainment.
The deal reflects how smart minds in Australia are making their mark on the global stage and demonstrates how quickly the US sports betting industry is evolving.
Since the Supreme Court opened the door for states to legalise sports betting a few years ago, companies such as Caesars are snapping up top technology talent to stay ahead of the game.
ZeroFlucs: The Genesis
ZeroFlucs was born out of Steve Gray’s deep-rooted experience in the gambling and software industries.
The industry veteran boasts a career spanning software development, poker machines and online bookmaking. He brings a wealth of experience to the ZeroFlucs venture.
Gray’s career kicked off in the United Kingdom (UK) with Compare the Market before he ventured into the Australian poker machine industry. His most recent adventure was with Entain, where he played a key part in acquiring online bookmaker Neds.
The experience equipped him with invaluable insights and expertise to identify gaps and opportunities within the sports betting sector, especially in the US.
Gray founded ZeroFlucs, looking to provide creative solutions that would help bookmakers and other betting service providers offer same-game betting options.
The cutting-edge tech on offer was designed to make gambling platforms in Australia and beyond both competitive and profitable.
ZeroFlucs’ tech is already being used by several Australian operators featured in this betting sites list and the acquisition by Caesars is expected to accelerate its adoption across the US market.
The company’s flagship product revolves around a simulation-based pricing tech that helps bookmakers calculate several betting outcomes to set more accurate odds.
This tech is expected to be a game-changer, especially in a highly competitive market with tight margins.
ZeroFlucs & its Challenges
Most start-ups experienced several challenges during their early days, and ZeroFlucs was no different, especially venturing into the fiercely competitive gambling sector.
Not only is the industry heavily regulated and competitive, but customers are extremely price-sensitive. The company realised it needed to be both innovative and cost-effective to stand out.
With that in mind, ZeroFlucs focused on automation and speed. They adopted a continuous integration and delivery (CI/CD) approach to streamline their development processes and reduce costs.
Their strategy proved effective as it allowed them to quickly and continuously ship out software without compromising the quality of their product. This move was crucial in helping ZeroFlucs to keep pace with the fast-changing industry.
Another major challenge ZeroFlucs faced was the high cost of running simulations, which directly impacted the prices customers had to pay.
To address that issue, the company used a clever technique called feature flags. The system allows developers to test different options, modify system behaviour and optimise their back-end configurations without rebuilding the entire system every time.
It worked a treat for ZeroFlucs, allowed the company to cut costs and paving the way for them to offer better prices to their customers.
How Harness Contributed to ZeroFlucs’ Success
ZeroFlucs’ partnership with Harness was a key factor in their ability to optimise operations.
They initially used the CI/CD platform to streamline software development, but the partnership became a game-changer when they expanded its use to include feature flagging.
Feature flagging is like a remote control for software. It allows companies to test different versions of their product without needing to constantly release new updates.
For ZeroFlucs, this meant they could experiment with countless pricing and product options incredibly fast, and the results were nothing short of sensational.
The partnership allowed ZeroFlucs to reduce computing costs by a whopping 50-60 percent. This efficiency boost allowed them to run millions of calculations per day, predicting betting outcomes with incredible accuracy.
The tech advantage also directly impacted ZeroFlucs’ market prices. It allowed them more leeway to offer prices that were 30-50% better than their competitors.
Their pricing strategy gave them a competitive edge that helped them attract new customers and establish the company as a lucrative acquisition target for the bigger players in the industry.
The Acquisition by Caesars Entertainment
ZeroFlucs’ impact in the sports betting tech sector did not go under the radar, and it didn’t take long before the industry giants began to sniff around.
Caesars were first on the scene. Their decision to acquire ZeroFlucs was a significant investment in the future of sports betting and a major win for the Australian tech start-up.
The firm is the largest casino and entertainment company in the US, so the deal was a testament to the impact Gray and his team had on the sports betting tech scene through ZeroFlucs.
Caesars recognised the value of ZeroFlucs’ tech and envisioned its potential to improve their own sports betting offerings.
Under the terms of the acquisition, the ZeroFlucs founder and other key members of his team joined Caesars in senior leadership roles, giving them the freedom to drive innovation in pricing tech.
While the company is now part of Caesars, Gray has assured customers in Australia that operations will continue as normal.