HOW AND WHEN DID YOU CREATE EFBET?

Tzvetomir: We’ve been in this business, and in sports betting, in particular, even before 1990. It all started with our father and Toto 1. I remember he had a notebook where he would keep stats of English teams from the first, second, third, and fourth leagues. The notebook got renewed with each new season. You could find it all in the notebook: when the home team won it was highlighted with a black marker, a draw with a green marker, while the losses- regardless if fore the home team or the away team were marked with red. Losing game streaks, streaks without a draw or without wins were all kept track of. There were no odds back then and there was just a total of 13 matches played on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, while a mid-week game was just 10 matches. Today you have bets at every moment and every day.

Boyan: Yes, that was the beginning. We first created Eurofootball while in 2006 we started efbet. It was the three of us, together with our father. Today we have more than 1200 employees.

HOW DID YOU CHOOSE THIS BUSINESS?

Tzvetomir: Having played Toto 1 all your life, there would be no other business to choose from.

Boyan: It’s genetically inherited. (laughs)

Tzvetomir: During weekends there were only friendly bets, matches, and watching live FC CSKA games. On Saturdays we would place our Toto bet and go to the stadium. There was a game of ‘Write, write’ that was played a lot. It involved betting ‘virtual money’ and people would make friendly bets with my father and place with him 10 or 20 Leva. Here’s how it all went down: the complete combination of 13 games and their outcomes would be equal to a bet of a few thousand leva (a single combination costed 10 stotinki/ 0.1 Leva) and since no one would possess that much money to place such a bet with the Toto, people would make a 10 leva bet with our father: that their predictions, which could hold one, two or three single outcome bets, or one or two double outcome bets, combined with all of the rest of the game outcome combinations (that would normally cost 1 300 leva), would be enough to return the initial amount bet. If the person got it right, he would win the bet, but if his accumulator would result in the equivalent of 1199 leva or less, my father would win.

If we would be hosting matches at the ‘Army’ stadium, we would follow the same ritual and first sit in a local restaurant called ‘Under the linden’ (’Pod Lipite’) , and go to the game afterwards. It seemed like that was the only restaurant with a charcoal grill in Sofia back then. And it was close to the stadium. On Sundays, we would listen to games. Yes, back then, one would ‘listen’ to the games on the radio.

Boyan: Only after we had done our homework first!

Tzvetomir: Yes, exactly. And it’s not that different today. We still watch games; we still go to the stadium. We just have the efbet business to run too.

WHAT IS THE BUSINESS LIKE TODAY?

Tzvetomir: On one hand, the business has changed, but from another perspective it seems the same. Today we enjoy math formulas, derivative tables, computers, systems and lots of information. No markers. Back then it was just the BBC- you keep your ears open at 6.55 when you sit next to the radio transmitter and hear quickly the outcomes of games in the four leagues in England. If you miss the opportunity to put down a result, you wait until the sports news at 7.15 or way later, at 10.00.

Boyan: Yes, so you could notify people about the result of the game.

Tzvetomir: We eventually created a telephone line that one could call and listen to a recording with the game results. We would note results down on the Eurofootball program and that’s how one would know it all.

Boyan: Apart from that, my father would write the programme and the results, and stick it on the ‘Cafe Colombia’ glass.

Tzvetomir: Yes, and at the end of the day, you don’t have it much different nowadays – games, bets, and scores following. It’s simply on the internet.

AND WHAT DID THE SPORTSBETTING INDUSTRY IN ENGLAND LOOK LIKE BACK THEN?

Tzvetomir: Those leading the pack were William Hill, Ladbrokes, Coral, Paddy Power. My first trip to England was in 1993 and I went to a great deal of shops in order to get a sense of how things ran there and what are our common characteristics. It’s the same like nowadays – I do the same when I travel abroad, I go to the shops and see how we fit compared to the competition.

Boyan: Honestly, I believe back then we were on the same level with the players in England, although one must take into account the fact that betting had been already a well-established industry over there.

Tzvetomir: Yes, but they did operate with a different philosophy. They did not use a coding system, they rather scanned the bet slip. That gave you an option to include an unlimited number of games, while in an A4 format you could hardly print out more than 70 games. It’s a physical restriction.

Boyan: They used to offer mainly UK games also. At a much later phase, they started offering European competitions. Actually, it all began in England with betting on horses. Football games came a few years after that and people in England were mainly interested in horse and greyhound races. During the 1990s football would represent around 10% of the English betting market, while in Bulgaria it was 100%. In 1997 Openbet came along, they offered online William Hill bets. In comparison, we only started discussing online sports betting in 2003.

Tzvetomir: The first time I saw a live in-game bet being offered was during a match via Stan James on teletext. I don’t even remember the year. One could only bet pre-game and suddenly you had a UK house that all

owed betting live with coefficients as the game progressed.

Boyan: We were following the developments daily and somehow online betting just came along rapidly. It was simplified and somehow we started convincing ourselves that this is the way to grow. Compared to paper slips, that was definitely the future. With paper slips, you handled three copies – one for treasury, one was used to input the wagers into the system, and one was left with the bettor. Only brought together, could the slip be considered a winner. There are no such things on the internet. You have the platform do everything for you, so one may simply deposit into their account and start betting.

HOW EXACTLY WAS THE TRANSFORMATION FROM HANDWRITTEN PAPER SLIPS TO ONLINE IN-GAME BETTING OBSERVED?

Boyan: In 2003 we began talking within our family that the internet was the future and we would not be left out of it. Especially once you’ve been through the whole process, you can see the difference immediately – you do not bother printing programs, creating slips, double-checking teletexts, radio, and scores.

Tzvetomir: Yes, and actually it all exploded when mobile phones came along. The PC was really a game changer, but it was either at home or in the office. Now you have your phone with you all the time.

NOW THAT EVERYTHING IS ONLINE, IS THE SOCIAL ELEMENT LOST?

Tzvetomir: I don’t think so. On one hand, offline betting is still around. If you want to socialise, you go to the shop. On the other hand, one could always sit at a sports bar, have a beer and bet via a mobile device.

Boyan: I believe the period of the so-called ‘online loneliness’ was short because, once the mobile devices came along, it started giving people social communication via applications. There were no such things back in the days: you would go to a café, a store- to meet new people and hang out with friends. Now, the mobile device can keep you connected to everyone. No need to go to the shop because betting is available from any location. The lack of social elements gets compensated quickly.

Tzvetomir: In 2006 we obtained one of the first online licenses in Malta, while the first online license for Bulgaria was ours in 2013.

IS IT DIFFICULT TO WORK FOR A FAMILY OWNED COMPANY?

Tzvetomir: There have been times when we would argue constantly. Some ten years ago, one of us would declare something in the morning, and the other one would overrule it in the afternoon. Then the first one would return it back in the evening, only to see it overruled again on the morning of the next day. Now we get along well and we’ve distributed tasks so that we do not go into conflicts.

WAS YOUR FATHER LEFT JUDGING OR DID HE SIMPLY HAVE THE LAST SAYING?

Tzvetomir: Yes, you could say that he was a fair judge and he prevailed when a decision was supposed to be made 2 in favour of 1.

WHAT IS YOUR MANAGEMENT STYLE?

Tzvetomir: Generally, I like listening to what people have to say before making a final decision.

HOW DO YOU DESCRIBE A BUSY DAY?

Boyan: I honestly cannot remember a day that has not been busy. But my job is my passion. I watch games on TV, I follow coefficients move, and I try to figure out where I could possibly win or lose.

Tzvetomir: I like being in the office on Saturdays and Sundays because finance and administration staff is off and it’s just me and the bookies.

Boyan: Not being present in the office does not mean you are not working. I am constantly on the phone and watching the efbet website, coefficients, games. Applications make interactions possible. Via sports betting, one can get involved in his own social network.

WHAT DO YOU LOVE MOST ABOUT YOUR JOBS?

Boyan: Probably the fact that this isn’t a job for me in the actual meaning of the term.

Tzvetomir: Yes, the job is actually part of our life. We’re in the office Monday to Friday. Saturdays and Sundays I travel to the various locations we have across the country, or I am here in the office again. And then you have a new week starting all over.

DO YOU HAVE TO BE A FAN IN ORDER TO CREATE A GREAT PRODUCT FOR FANS?

Boyan: They say sports betting is not only for fans, it’s for all kinds of people. There’s no room for luck, it all comes down to knowledge. You have to know what’s going on, you have to be properly acquainted; you have to have things thought out first, and only then place your bet. Sometimes I’ve observed the opposite – when betting as a fan, you have to eliminate the idea of being emotional and simply make an informed decision.

Tzvetomir: It’s difficult to be successful if you haven’t delved into the problem. And that’s actually how I work too – I completely dive into the matter. I’ve been following the platform ever since day 1 and I know every last detail of it. And I also know what goes along with it: marketing, advertising, administration, finance, etc. Without knowing all of that, there is no chance to succeed. I don’t believe it’s that easy for an executive coming from another industry simply to begin working in this business. And the opposite is true – I don’t believe I could be so successful if I switch from the betting business into a whole new industry.

Boyan: Most UK bookmakers started off as family businesses. Yes, some did go public, attracted capital, expanded their teams and became multinationals, but that’s completely normal.

HAS SPORTS ALWAYS BEEN PART OF YOUR LIVES?

Boyan: Yes, of course, ever since we were kids and up to this day.

Tzvetomir: We graduated from a sports high school. My brother graduated from the National Sports Academy, while I went to the University of National and World Economy afterwards. We never competed against each other because we were in different age groups, but we’ve always been athletes. We practiced canoeing. I was better at short distances while he was better at longer ones. We also played football, of course, but not as professionals.

IS IT EASIER TO RUN A BUSINESS TOGETHER WITH YOUR BROTHER?

Boyan: Yes, it’s definitely easier. You can talk about everything.

TAKING INTO ACCOUNT EXPANSION EFFORTS, WHAT MARKETS ARE YOU TARGETING?

Boyan: We first had a look at countries that are nearest to us and have regulated markets: Serbia, Northern Macedonia, Romania, and Greece.

WHAT MAKES YOU COMPETITIVE IN FOREIGN MARKETS AND HOW DO YOU ASSES THEIR POTENTIAL?

Boyan: After looking first at geographical locations and the ‘close to Bulgaria’ factor, other large countries that have a great number of Bulgarians living there are Spain and Italy. You have business potential in those places because wherever you go, you have to work with a team that is able to take care of your business. There is a large Bulgarian community living in Spain which allows us to rely on a Bulgarian core. Language is still a key factor for communication, even today, and that way you have one problem less. Bulgarians over there adapt quickly and they are also aware of the brand from Bulgaria.
We also tried to establish efbet in Cameroon as well, largely due to Samuel Eto’o. My brother was in contact with him and they tried working to obtain a license there. Eventually, we realised that if we were to grow internationally, we needed to start from our neighbouring countries.

Tzvetomir: When deciding what country to target, we also look at the market potential. Spain and Italy have huge markets and even if you only settle for a 5 % market share – it’s still a lot. We would really love to go to the UK so that we could benchmark ourselves in the sports betting mecca. If one is able to succeed in the most competitive market, then one is able to succeed anywhere.

WHAT ARE THE BULGARIAN SPORTSBETTING SPECIFICS?

Tzvetomir: Compared to other countries, Bulgaria is capable of offering easy access to licensing and registration. But it has its peculiarities.

Boyan: With sports betting, one does not get involved simply to get a dose of gambling adrenaline or excitement. One must think it through, place a bet, watch the game. It’s a specific customer profile we have here.

Tzvetomir: One must be prepared and have his homework done prior to betting on sports. It’s not as simple as just picking up a slip, inputting 1X2 and expecting it to be interesting. It’s good to know the teams, the players, who’s playing, who’s not. It’s a game of skills and that makes it not that accessible. Those that are uninformed do not take part because they don’t have access to the information that would allow them to place bets. On the other hand, we constantly improve our platform and make it easier to use. You actually only need 5 minutes to learn your way around it and start playing.

IS THE PLATFORM THE KEY TO EFBET’S SUCCESS?

Tzvetomir: No, it’s a combination of factors. If it was just the platform, then most likely all of the software giants would have been the biggest in the business. Luckily or not, it’s not just a single element that is driving success. No one can say. Even I could not state what the recipe for a successful sports betting website could possibly be.

Boyan: If you’ve noticed, there have been many online sports betting companies that came along and then disappeared throughout the years. Also, many offline companies were unable to successfully shift to the online space.

WHY DO YOU INVEST IN SPORTS? IS IT OUT OF PHILANTHROPY OR IS IT A MARKETING TOOL?

Tzvetomir: Philanthropy, marketing, advertising, social responsibility.

Boyan: It’s all in one. For the love of sports and football.

Tzvetomir: When your whole life has been linked to sports, you feel like you owe back. Sports has given you a lot, it’s normal to give back. Although I’ve practiced canoeing, football is the sport I watch all the time. I attend practices; I watch juniors and youth play. I used to play a lot back in the days, before I got injured.

Boyan: We all used to participate. Not professionally, but we played all the time.

HOW MANY TEAMS DO YOU SPONSOR?

Tzvetomir: Probably around 150.

Boyan: It’s not just football; it’s basketball, and volleyball too, where we support around 125 teams in the name of sports.

Tzvetomir: Teams from the fifth and fourth league, amateurs. We plan on doing something similar in Romania and we are looking for a team we can start supporting. The market there is similar to the one here.

WHO IS YOUR FAVOURITE TEAM AND PLAYER?

Tzvetomir: CSKA and Emil Kostadinov. My favourite game is the one against Levski, 5:0 with Stoichkov scoring 4 goals. 1989.

Boyan: We attended that game. Our father took us to the ‘A’ seats.

WAS YOUR FATHER YOUR SPORTS INSPIRATION?

Tzvetomir: No, he was our CSKA inspiration.

Boyan: I got inspired when I was at the 42nd school. Sports scouts would visit the school and look at kids during PE classes. I was asked if I wanted to begin practicing athletics and canoeing. I was like ‘What’s a canoe?’ ‘You go to Pancharevo lake and you start rowing in a boat’ was the answer. I decided to give it a try and that’s how I ended up applying at the sports high school with these two specialties. I was a first reserve for the athletics class, while for canoeing I got accepted first.

DO YOU HAVE SPORTS PEOPLE IN THE TEAM?

Tzvetomir: Yes, there are plenty of former football players among the bookies. Not popular ones. In order to become a bookie, you need to be smart, have quick reflexes, math skills and English skills.

Boyan: There’s plenty of adrenaline involved in this business, so having experience in sports definitely helps.

IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN TIME AND CHANGE SOMETHING, WHAT WOULD IT BE?

Tzvetomir: : I would have started the online business earlier. I would have not wasted that much time analysing the trend and simply acted swiftly.

HOW DO YOU TAKE TIME OFF?

Tzvetomir: I attend matches. I watch football.

Boyan: I have had my own family for 13 years alreadyand I take time off when I am with them, but they are used to living with my pace.

Tzvetomir: Yes, they adapt. My son started working for us. It’s easy to work with him. He’s still a student, but he always tries to support us as much as possible; he’s always asking how or where he can help out.

WHAT’S THE NEXT BIG MILESTONE FOR THE INDUSTRY?

Tzvetomir: The next big thing is e-sports. Betting on Dota, CS:GO and all the rest. These are still not that popular in Bulgaria.