DragonBet switches to BVGroup's BV360 platform after independence deal

DragonBet has agreed a deal with BVGroup to migrate its sportsbook onto the BV360 platform, joining a roster of operators that already includes BetVictor, Parimatch UK, Betano UK and talkSPORT BET, according to SBC News.

Co-founder and Chief Executive David Lovell, who runs the business with his brother and Managing Director James, told the trade title the switch addresses a gap between DragonBet's casino performance and its sports betting growth.

"We've demonstrated that we can grow and compound our casino business, but achieving the same consistency in sportsbook has been more challenging," Lovell said, adding that competing without a tier-one platform meant "fighting with one hand tied behind your back."

He said BV360 access should let DragonBet compete more effectively while also supporting a more sophisticated approach to compliance and customer protection without adding unnecessary friction for users. The platform, he added, frees the business to focus on running the bookmaking operation and building the brand rather than working around technological limitations.

Lovell described preserving DragonBet's independence and identity as a precondition for the partnership, calling it "absolutely fundamental" to the agreement with BVGroup.

The business traces its roots to Lovell Racing, built by the brothers alongside their late father John on racecourses before they took the operation online in 2022. DragonBet has since climbed into the top 100 UK bookmakers by size, based on the Blask Index, in under five years.

"My brother James and I are second-generation bookmakers," Lovell said, noting that the family has worked in the industry since 1968. He said the ambition is to build on that history for a further generation and to show that independent, family-owned bookmakers still have a place in the UK market.

Lovell argued the BV360 structure lets DragonBet draw on a larger organisation's technology and infrastructure without losing what makes it distinct. "We're not trying to become another generic betting operator," he said. "We want people to recognise DragonBet as a distinctive, independent bookmaker with a genuine history behind it."

The migration comes as the UK market absorbs significant tax increases. Remote Gaming Duty rose from 21% to 40% and General Betting Duty from 15% to 25%, changes SBC News said have likely discouraged new entrants. Operators with retail estates face further pressure from a rise in Machine Games Duty announced in last week's Autumn Budget.

Lovell acknowledged the difficulty of the current environment, telling SBC News that "consolidation is inevitable" and that anyone downplaying the challenge "probably isn't being entirely realistic." He said he worries about the longer-term effect on market diversity but does not believe it rules out success for smaller bookmakers.

He pointed to the advantages of independence, including faster decision-making and the ability to pursue opportunities that larger rivals might find harder to act on. "We're also a family of bookmakers," he said, describing a passion for the industry running through the business.

Lovell said DragonBet is not expanding for its own sake, but is aiming to build "a successful, profitable and sustainable independent bookmaker" capable of competing with much bigger operators while continuing the family's bookmaking tradition.