The emergence of the Samvo betting cafes reinvent the retail betting dynamic. The online company recently opened two ‘cafes’ in Camden and Hammersmith, branded as ‘a unique new style of high street betting, designed to attract a younger, more affluent customer’. These cafes are intended to provide a more relaxed and luxurious experience when it comes to offline betting, within a stylish environment. Further to this, Samvo are donating 5% of its net winnings from the cafes to selected UK charities, just as an extra incentive.

It is fair to say nothing quite like this has been tried before and when thinking about it, maybe that is a surprise. Betterbet created stores which enhanced the sociability of betting, but not with the same premise on style and affluence as in this case. These cafes would certainly provide a safe haven for the casual or virgin punter who may be intimidated by the dark doors of your stereotypical offline betting outlet, with its shady characters and uncomfortable interior. Samvo could well be on to a winner here, as the shops attract and tap into a completely different demographic to the traditional betting outlets. Particularly naming them as ‘cafes’, makes them even more accessible in the mind, as they become places to drink, as well as bet. But as betting continues to become more mainstream and with the dramatic update of mobile, is there enough of a market there to support these shops – after all, perhaps the ‘affluent’ punter they are trying to attract are the ones who are the diehard online users. The challenge of converting these to retail outlets may be harder than anticipated. Only time will tell.
 

Ryan Burgess