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Global Horse-Race Wagering Site Uses RingCentral's IVR to Keep 15,000 Concurrent Callers Happy 

“Your platform just handled 15,000+ concurrent calls!”
Name
 —RingCentral client
Company profile:
This client is the online wagering site of large horse racing tracks across the US. Players are able to wager on virtually every thoroughbred, harness, and quarter horse race from venues across the globe. They provide a modern approach to wagering that combines the latest online technology with prime racing content.
EMPLOYEES:
51—200

Place your wager: All bets on RingCentral

Legal gambling is a growing industry in the United States, with horse racing generating hundreds of millions of dollars during the Triple Crown races alone. Every year, horse racing enthusiasts are eager to pick their ponies and get in on the action. 
RingCentral was chosen to be the cloud contact solution provider of one of the largest legal horse racing wager services in the US, providing an interactive voice response (IVR) system to help manage customer calls whenever they need to place a bet over the phone. 
RingCentral’s IVR studio was designed for ease of use and allows administrators to drag, drop, and easily create custom IVRs in minutes and integrate their CRM to access callers’ accounts or allow them to place orders.
This client’s IVR automates the betting process in a fully self-service, compliant method where callers can interact with a touch-tone system to place their bets and can speak to an agent if needed. 
With just a few dozen races each year that see extremely large volumes of bets placed, RingCentral provides a solution that is ready whenever the client needs it, without demanding a large staff or on-premises investment. This client doesn’t need a large platform outside of the Triple Crown races, so a cloud IVR is a cost-effective option to address fluctuating volumes and longer periods of downtime without any loss of quality or capability.
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Down the final stretch they come: Handling 3x the volume

The Kentucky Derby is the jewel of the Triple Crown, especially when it comes to betting. Millions are on the line for any licensed betting house. One client’s decision to partner with RingCentral likely saved them significant revenue loss and damage to their reputation during the 2018 Triple Crown.

Before the race, technical difficulties took the client’s primary betting system down, forcing would-be winners to call in to place their bets over the phone. Nearly all of the company’s real-time betting came to RingCentral’s IVR. Volume reached more than 15,000 concurrent calls at one point and, in total, the platform handled three times the company’s regular expected call volume at the time because of those technical issues.
This flood of calls happened immediately, with no forewarning. The client didn’t know it was coming, so there was no preparing or communicating with RingCentral.

Previously, in years past, this client’s call volume was roughly 5,000 concurrent calls. By handling 15,000 with ease, RingCentral limited the damage that the customer could have endured when its other betting options were unavailable.

The results: Ready to scale when you need it

The handling of this influx of calls prompted an elated text from the client to RingCentral’s AVP of Contact Center, Geoff Mina, when call volume reached levels they had never seen before.

“Your platform just handled 15,000+ concurrent calls!” read the text. Mina knew the IVR system he and his team built was designed to handle sudden spikes in volume and remained confident in its ability to handle the day’s bets.

RingCentral proved its system was capable of handling the significant increase in volume without a moment’s notice, with no need for special actions to scale to meet the sudden demand. The IVR performed exactly as intended, moving consumers through a simple message to create and verify wagers, or route calls to off-site agents as needed.

The platform allows consumers to call in at any point and properly place their bets, without the client needing to have a full staff to manage the phones. When call volume rises, the IVR platform is a viable option for clients instead of having to staff up and incur significant cost increases.
 
RingCentral’s automated solution is compliant with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), ensuring that the system and all agents are acting properly to accept, process, store, or transmit credit card information. By offering a self-service betting IVR, the client’s customers can:
• Call in and log in to their account
• Provide credit card information
• Pick a race
• Pick a horse
• Choose their wager
• Receive confirmation that the bet has been placed

Big wins: Satisfied customers

RingCentral was able to support its client’s existing call volume without interruption, on one of its most important revenue days of the year. Without any advanced knowledge, and an estimate of just needing to handle a few hundred calls at a time, the RingCentral platform scaled and supported thousands of calls in a seamless interaction that was simple for customers to use.

No one expects their technical systems to have problems, especially when those are a main line of business. But when there is an issue with one system, it is vital to have a working, scalable backup system to support customers’ needs. RingCentral proved to its client that its IVR can be a reliable solution to any future issues or spikes in call volume.

This client picked a winner with RingCentral.