In 2010, Sky Betting and Gaming (SBG, Sky Bet) relocated its headquarters from a small office in Harrogate to the vibrant city center of Leeds. This move, driven partly by a disagreement with their landlord, also provided an opportunity to engage with an established tech community in Yorkshire.
"We moved to Leeds sometime in 2010 and that was the one thing that, without a doubt, transformed the company," former SBG CTO Andy Burton recalls.
Burton emphasized the importance of proximity to the train station, ensuring they could easily attract talent that commuted. The company’s first office in Leeds was located at Wellington Place. At that time, Burton spoke with SBG CEO Richard Flint about the necessity of bringing platform development in-house, as the existing services were powered by OpenBet.
"We didn’t have any people that could do that at that point because the tech team really was a bunch of infrastructure-type people and service management. There wasn’t any development capability at that point. It was all outsourced," Burton noted.
During this transitional phase while leading a team of 150 in Leeds, Burton drew on his contacts at French mobile provider Orange, where he had worked from 2004 to 2008, to access skilled product specialists. He began with a small core of highly capable technologists, engineers, and architects, calling them business owners at the time.
"At Orange they’d done a lot of web development and mobile development and I had managed that team. The ethos was always ‘we don’t need loads and loads of people, we just need really good people and let them get on with it,’" Burton stated.
Rather than hiring from the betting and gaming sector, Burton believed smarter individuals could learn by collaborating closely with those in trading or gaming operations. Initially, the focus shifted to creating a robust in-house platform for SBG’s Super 6 prediction game rather than the core gaming product. Super 6, the first free-to-play prediction game of its kind, quickly gained popularity thanks to its connection with Sky Sports.
"Every Saturday a few tweaks [were made to Super 6] and a few more features [were added]. The business owners really understood the value of how important that was, so we went from there," Burton explained.
The subsequent goal was to transition the core Sky Vegas and betting products to an in-house platform, marking SBG as a pioneer in owning its front-end.
Burton mentioned Conor Grant as key to this transition, having joined as head of sportsbook product management in 2010 after three years with Boyle Sports. "We didn’t see ourselves as a sports betting or a gaming company. We saw ourselves as a technology company," Grant remarked. This tech-centric vision appealed to skilled professionals in the region.
Grant highlighted the influence of the Spotify tribes model in fostering a dynamic work environment. This approach empowered teams across various functions, allowing for agility during rapid growth and enabling around 30,000 releases in 2020, a noteworthy achievement.
A major boost came in 2014 with CVC Capital Partners’ £800 million acquisition, funding the expansion of SBG's back-end and product teams. While these factors initially fueled growth, Burton also credited SBG’s ability to pivot on issues like responsible gambling, maintaining the reputation associated with the Sky brand.
By the time SBG was sold to the Stars Group, its tech team had expanded to approximately 800 staff over nine years. Today, Sky Bet is considered a model of success in the industry. Following the legalization of online sports betting in the U.S. in 2018, the term “Sky Bet model” was frequently referenced as others sought to replicate the operator's integration with Sky Sports.
In 2019, Fox Bet launched a Super 6-style prediction game, but attempts to mimic Sky Bet’s media strategy fell short, with brands like Fox Bet and Barstool Sports struggling to connect with sports fans. In the more matured UK market, SBG's competitors have focused on emulating SBG’s distinctive technical strategies, widely thought to be the key to its market dominance.
In June, news surfaced about Flutter potentially cutting over 200 roles in its UK operations, with many impacted positions in the tech and product teams at the Wellington Place headquarters, originally part of Sky Bet. This decision coincided with the migration of SBG onto the Flutter Edge central platform, signaling an end to the legacy platform.
While some may view this as a loss, competing operators have been quick to recruit ex-SBG and Flutter personnel. Grant, now president of gaming for Fanatics (FBG), is currently looking to expand his 40-member team at the tech hub in Leeds. Though Fanatics operates mainly on a fully remote basis, it retains key functions at its Leeds office, which houses parts of its trading, casino, and operations teams. Plans are underway to increase the workforce in Leeds by 10% and relocate to a new office at Richmond House.
Grant noted, "I know the market particularly well. There is a huge amount of talent in this area, in the north of England, with specific sector knowledge. My experience of technologists is they want to be working in fast-paced environments where they’re constantly releasing, being intellectually challenged and stimulated, and we tick those boxes by some distance in the way we operate. We’re a very lean organisation."
He acknowledged the foundation Sky Bet laid for tech talent in Leeds and recognized the city's rich history of digital transformation, including contributions from Orange and parts of the NHS's digital business.
"Tom Reardon, the ex-chief executive of Leeds City Council, was really instrumental in trying to attract businesses to Leeds, but Sky Bet played a big role in that because we were excellent at raising the profile of the city," Grant remarked, adding that many talented individuals who joined Sky Bet have since moved on to lead tech teams elsewhere.
SBG has left a lasting impact on Leeds, with former personnel now in prominent positions, including Paul McCormick as Flutter’s UK & I CTO and Rik Barker who serves as group CITO across Evoke’s portfolio following their tenure at SBG. Additionally, former SBG staff initiated the cloud digital transformation consultancy Infinity Works, acquired by Accenture in 2021.
"It’s gone full circle," Burton reflected. "[Grant] was part of that cycle the first time around, where we hired loads of great tech people in Leeds and they’re thinking there’s an opportunity now with loads of people leaving Flutter, so let’s hire them."
