Stanislav Silin, CEO of sportsbook software and services provider Altenar, discusses sportsbook widgets as a new feature in Altenar’s “Coffee Break with Altenar” video series, recently launched on social media.
SBC: In one of the first episodes (see video embed above), you introduced a new product addition for Altenar – sportsbook widgets. Can you tell us more about this?
SS: The idea originated from discussions with Trustly, who wanted to explore In-banner Pay N Play for the Swedish market.
This is a specialized type of widget that extends betting beyond where the sportsbook is traditionally published and delivers betting content to players even before they formally register or sign in.
We wanted to expand on that concept and develop a full suite of similar widgets. So far, we’ve built four or five widgets and launched them with two customers. We’re actively gathering feedback to fine-tune the technology and make improvements to the product.
We might not be the first to market, but we're doing this because there’s demand from customers. We believe in it, and it represents an important step forward in our technical architecture.
SBC: So this is something developed for your clients, who can then offer it to their sportsbook affiliates?
SS: Yes, affiliates can use them, for example as banners—but they can also be used internally to cross-sell within the operator’s own site.
Many of our clients offer more than just a sportsbook—they also run casinos. So one potential use case is introducing sportsbook content to casino users within the casino section of the site, in a format that’s familiar and engaging.
That’s exactly what our two early clients are doing—on multiple sites. They’re using event widgets, highlights, upcoming matches, and more. We plan to continue expanding the widget library.
SBC: Are the design options for these widgets fixed, or can the appearance be customized?
SS: Operators have the ability to customize the widgets. It’s not just about embedding a small piece of the Altenar sportsbook client; they can also apply their own styling and even further develop it if they have in-house tech teams.
If widget layout requirements go beyond what styling alone can achieve, we collect feedback and evolve the product accordingly. This isn’t a one-time launch—it’s an ongoing development process.
SBC: Why is this concept so appealing to operators?
SS: The idea of offering sportsbook content as standalone widgets is appealing because it lets operators mix sports content with other experiences, and reach users in new ways that weren’t previously possible with traditional layouts.
SBC: What types of customers do you expect will adopt this?
SS: This will appeal to clients who want granular control over how sportsbook content is presented. While it's possible to build this out using only our data APIs, that approach is much more complex and resource-intensive.
By providing ready-made, functional components that perform specific tasks, we help operators avoid the heavy lifting. These widgets are built from the same elements that power our full sportsbook client.
Instead of rebuilding everything from scratch with APIs, operators can customize these widget-based components to suit their brand and goals—saving time and effort.
SBC: And finally, is it possible—or even desirable—to build an entire sportsbook experience using widgets?
SS: If we eventually offer a complete set of widgets that covers the full sportsbook experience, then yes—it would be possible for an operator to build the entire user journey using widgets alone. That’s not the case yet, but it’s definitely a desirable future outcome.
Written by SBC News
