After its acquisition by Entain in 2023, Angstrom was frequently mentioned yet seldom heard from. While it was recognized as a key part of Entain's product toolbox, knowledge about Angstrom remained limited. That changed this month when the company’s development of a free-to-play game, Seven, was highlighted in a press release by Entain.
This announcement marks a significant step in Angstrom’s evolution, revealing plans for betting products’ future development. Ross Jarvis, director of strategy at Angstrom, remarked, "If you had told me… a couple of years ago that building a customer-facing, free-to-play (F2P), mass-market app, and creating a brand as well as a product, would be on Angstrom’s roadmap, I don’t think many people would have placed that bet."
Angstrom was acquired primarily for its expertise in pricing and modeling in the U.S. market, and the introduction of the Seven F2P game signals a shift towards allowing specialist businesses to function as internal development teams. These teams leverage their technical acumen to innovate beyond their original focus.
According to Leo Gaspar, founder of Adria Nexus Consulting, the line between delivering technology and designing consumer solutions is blurring. He stated, "The strongest specialist companies increasingly understand not only the technology they provide, but the consumer problem that technology can solve. Once that happens, it is quite natural for them to move further into product development."
While major operators maintain large technology and product teams, these teams often face multiple responsibilities. Marc Thomas, managing director at Algosport, characterized some platforms as “a little Frankenstein,” indicating that operators spend considerable time maintaining aging systems rather than developing new products.
Specialized firms can concentrate resources and remove organizational barriers. Angstrom’s Seven project began with discussions between Jarvis and CEO Jonathan Blezard, which led to an 18-month development cycle. The company's expertise in modeling was critical in shaping consumer offerings, using historical English Premier League data to guide game dynamics.
Gaspar believes this specialized knowledge offers an “unfair advantage” in the early idea phase. He explained, "The best ideas often come from understanding what is technically possible before everybody else does."
Typically, operators provide the assets necessary to scale experimental products—like distribution channels, branding, customer insights, and compliance support—allowing specialists to focus primarily on testing ideas without tangled corporate processes. However, a challenge arises when operators impose their slower procedures on the agile, entrepreneurial culture that specialists thrive in. Thomas suggests operators should “try and leave them alone,” allowing for gradual integration of specialist teams without fully absorbing them into the larger organizational structure.
Gaspar recommends ensuring that acquisition retains the specialist's ability to innovate rapidly outside the larger corporate framework.
The Seven game also emphasizes the potential of reusing intellectual property. Initially launched around Premier League football in the UK, there are plans to extend the game to other sports. Angstrom has already explored how its mechanics could adapt to NFL touchdowns. Gaspar points out that reusable capabilities offer greater strategic value compared to one-off projects, enhancing efficiency for operators by speeding up implementation with varying consumer propositions.
Thomas noted that Algosport faces similar challenges, as its core products are offered via its Blackbox software while allowing partners to develop additional services. This flexibility allows Algosport to evolve from a simple supplier to a valuable partner for innovative companies.
The revenue from these partnerships doesn’t always manifest directly; new products may enhance customer acquisition, retention, and differentiation. Moreover, reusable technology can diminish development costs and reliance on external suppliers.
For independent suppliers, risks persist. Relying too heavily on a single operator can turn them into bespoke development teams, their revenue and development trajectories closely tied to that partner. Gaspar advises that they should focus on customizing the final aspects rather than reinventing their core offerings for each client.
Even large operators may hesitate to develop proprietary solutions for lower-revenue segments, whereas specialized suppliers can utilize economies of scale across their client base. The betting dev shop thus plays a critical intermediary role, potentially being part of an operator, remaining autonomous, or existing in a hybrid model.
The competition shifting forward will center less on staffing developers and more on operators' abilities to assemble specialist skills and effectively transform those into desirable customer products.
