Tim Kennedy, Vice President of Sales for Europe at SUZOHAPP: “We are able to provide customers with cutting edge technology at a low total cost of ownership”
Tim Kennedy, Vice President of Sales for Europe at SUZOHAPP, gave us a particularly useful interview for those who need support in the field of lotteries and sports betting. SUZOHAPP has made a name for itself by offering products and services dedicated to these two lines of business by providing a fully self-contained and cyclical ecosystem, automating processes from the moment a lottery ticket or bet is purchased through to payment, enabling additional revenue for operators without increasing labour costs.
Tim Kennedy
Can you tell us a bit about your increased focus on lottery sector? Can you explain what you offer and how that came about?
We have worked with our partner Microhard to develop a new scratch ticket vending machine for lottery operators. The idea came up when we were talking to a lottery provider in Northern Europe about the challenges that they were facing with staff shortages and making lottery successful in their region. We thought about how we could possibly help them solve these issues with our hardware expertise, so we developed a new instant ticket vending machine, the ITV-9000. As retail moves towards self-service, and staffing becomes more difficult, we believe the solution is to automate the purchase process with a scratch ticket dispenser. The IVT-9000 is an automated machine which capitalizes on that opportunity, and we see that it could have lots of potential in the lottery market, but also in the promotional space in a casino or other clubs. It has a very flexible platform and different dispenser options (up to 20 dispensers). We can make different sizes, all with the 32″ full HD Elo touch monitor for product selection and advertising display, and a software platform which links all machines online. We are extremely proud of our IVT-9000 and we are excited to introduce it at one of the major lottery events in Europe, the EL Congress & Tradeshow in Croatia on June 4-7. Organized by the European Lotteries (EL), this event is an excellent opportunity for us to debut our new product in the lottery market and to get industry feedback on this new product.
What make you stand out from other hardware suppliers operating in today’s sports betting market?
The main difference between SUZOHAPP and other hardware suppliers is that we’ve thought beyond the standard podium kiosk, we have a complete sports betting ecosystem. We refer to it as an ecosystem because it’s self-contained and cyclical, automating the betting cycle from buy-in to pay out. It’s been designed to be mutually beneficial for both operators and players. It allows players to bet in the heat of the event at our seated or bartop terminals in a completely self-service manner allowing for additional revenue for operators without raising labor costs.
SB Ecosystem
Our sports betting ecosystem consists of a full range of turnkey solutions including kiosks, cash redemption terminals, bartop and over the counter options that are all using the same base peripherals and engine allowing for simplified platform integration and updates. Our ecosystem is truly unique in the market and extremely beneficial in helping operators maximize their returns by automating the complete bet cycle, aligning products with the same hardware foundation for futureproofing and supporting a social environment with the right hardware to turn sports fans into sports bettors. For us, it’s all about how we can help our customers maximize on in-play betting in retail settings and encourage the social betting experience. We designed our new devices to help capture that and have a long pipeline of products that we’re bringing to the market. That’s what we’re most focused on now.
You have recently added new products to your sports betting ecosystem: the SBT-500+ bartop and the SBT-2000 seated model. Can you describe them for us?
The SBT-500+ is our new bartop sports betting terminal that we launched at past G2E. It’s an update on our SBT-500. This new version accepts bills, so it is the ideal solution for the players who want to remain anonymous or are perhaps new to sport betting and don’t want to commit to an app or a particular platform. They can simply walk up with bills and place a bet immediately. The SBT-500+ contains a bill acceptor on an accessory plate that fits exactly into a bartop video poker slot. We believe this terminal uniquely enhances the betting experience by allowing customers to place their bets anonymously without removing them from watching the game.
SBT 2000 & SBT 500+
The SBT 2000 is an innovative seated, accessible terminal which would be very applicable for stadium-style or theatre-style operations. This product elevates the customer experience by allowing players an immersive experience by creating a sports book stadium-like feeling for everyone.
By allowing customers to be in the seat of the game, both terminals allow operators have the opportunity to maximize on in-game betting during live events while also contributing to Food & Beverage revenue streams.
And what about the CashIO Cash Redemption Terminal? Is that a big part of your ecosystem?
The Cash Redemption Terminals by CountR is a fantastic product with extreme flexibility in integrating with different betting platforms. The last thing you want to happen at the end of a sporting event is to put further strain on your operation by only supporting manual payout. Instead, the CashIO allows for self-service payout, allowing your staff to continue to focus on generating revenue instead of paying out. We’ve had a great deal of success in the USA, and I think a lot of sports betting operators in Europe now are looking to refresh their operations with the next wave of betting technology.
You have a strong presence in the gaming sector. What is it that makes SUZOHAPP the leading provider for hardware needs for casinos, operators and OEMs? Why should companies partner with you?
As anyone who has worked with us in the past can tell you, we stand by our products because we source only the highest quality components from top-tier, industry-standard partners such as Elo, Custom, Newland and more. With these partners, we are able to provide customers with cutting edge technology at a low total cost of ownership as these products are built to stand the test of time in high-traffic environments. We also have in-house manufacturing at a number of sites worldwide and we can create customized designs based on our expert knowledge of the components marketplace to fit the specific needs of customers.
ITV 9000
We’re the key supplier of coin mechs, hoppers, displays and many other components, so we can be competitive across the full range of products. At SUZOHAPP, we can always provide a hardware solution whether it’s gaming, sports betting or increasingly, lottery operations.
What shows are coming up in the summer and autumn?
As mentioned, we are attending the European Lottery Congress, coming up in June. After that, we’ll be sponsoring the Canadian Gaming Summit on June 13-15, and then in September, SBC Barcelona where we’ll be having a large presence. Then October is G2E time again in the US and in November we can’t miss BEGE. So a full complement of shows that we’re really excited about!
About Tim Kennedy
Tim Kennedy joined SUZOHAPP in 2020 as the Director of Sales, Gaming & Amusement for the United Kingdom and was appointed to the position of Vice President of Sales for Europe in 2021.
Kennedy has over 30 years of sales and technology experience in the international gaming and betting industries. Prior to joining SUZOHAPP, he served as an advisor for the preeminent international gambling consultancy, Regulus Partners. He also held senior positions at both Bell Fruit Games and Barcrest Group before moving to the sports betting platform provider, OpenBet, where he ran the Retail and Omnichannel divisions.
