GR8_TECH has published new research demonstrating that its frontend architecture has an average load time of 1.72 seconds thanks to new tech upgrades it has made throughout the year.
Following the updates, SBC News caught up with GR8_TECH’s Head of Sportsbook Business Dinos Doxiadis to outline why the upgrades are so important and how it is helping operators give a better player experience.
The GR8_TECH frontend architecture has a load time of 1.72 seconds compared to the majority being between 3.4 & 5.8 seconds. How important is that speed as a first impression for users who want fast and seamless sportsbook experiences?
It’s hugely important, especially in sportsbook, where players expect everything to happen instantly. If someone opens the site to check odds or place a bet and they’re waiting five seconds for the page to load, that’s already a poor first impression, and they may simply go somewhere else.
At under 2 seconds, the experience feels immediate. That’s even more important during live betting, where every second counts. Speed directly shapes how smooth, reliable, and enjoyable the sportsbook feels to the player.
How critical is sub two second rendering when it comes to reducing drop-offs during the sign-up and deposit phases?
It’s very critical. Sign-up and deposit are already points where you’re asking the player to stop, enter information, and complete a few steps. If the platform is also slow, you’re adding even more friction at exactly the wrong moment. The less waiting there is, the less opportunity you give the player to drop off before they’ve even placed their first bet.
How does achieving a 90–95 Lighthouse score transform how smoothly these complex visual elements render on screen? What does this mean in practice for operators and their end-users?
It means those heavier elements (odds, markets, bet slips, promos, live content) can load and become interactive much faster, without the page feeling sluggish. Players get a smoother experience that lets them start browsing and betting almost immediately. Meanwhile, operators can offer a richer sportsbook experience without sacrificing speed, which is important because every extra delay creates friction and increases the chance of losing the player.
How do faster load times directly translate into higher player retention, longer session durations and better LTVs for your partners?
Faster load times remove small points of frustration that add up over a player’s journey. If markets open quickly, odds update smoothly, and the player can move from browsing to placing a bet without unnecessary waiting, they’re more likely to stay engaged and come back.
Also, operators get more betting opportunities within a session, stronger repeat behavior, and, over time, better player value. Speed on its own doesn’t create loyalty, but it removes one of the biggest reasons for players to leave.
What was the strategy behind the tech upgrades you implemented, and why did moving from a CSR approach to an SSR approach built on Qwik help to reduce load times?
The strategy was to rebuild the frontend to make the sportsbook and the platform overall faster and more responsive. The old platform was built with client-side rendering, whereas server-side rendering is a much faster, more lightweight approach. Moving to SSR helped us reduce the amount of work needed to load the experience and make the interface interactive much sooner. We chose Qwik because it showed the strongest potential for performance. It’s a lighter, faster frontend across the whole platform that responds much more quickly for the player. We even gave it a moniker ‘fastbook’ internally, which pretty much explains the gist of the tech upgrade.
What expertise and strategy does the GR8_TECH team have that means you can pull off these upgrades to achieve a 90-95 score when others are in the sub-75 zones?
It comes down to having the engineering depth to take on a project like this and being willing to invest in it properly. We have almost 500 engineers at GR8_TECH, and we’ve also worked closely with Qwik’s core contributors, so there’s a lot of expertise behind what we’ve built.
But it’s not just about choosing new technology. We’ve been testing it throughout, identifying bottlenecks, and making improvements across the stack, from the frontend to the network and caching. Getting to a 90–95 score takes that combination of strong technology, deep expertise, and continuous optimization. And the tech team is still working on improvements, polishing the user experience on the platform.
Traditional thinking would be that if you wanted to have the fastest platform, you would have to compromise on features. How does GR8_TECH offer a feature rich experience while also having the speed to match?
That trade-off doesn’t really have to exist anymore, as the key is building performance into the architecture rather than trying to make a heavy product faster afterward. We’ve rebuilt the frontend so operators can still offer rich sportsbook experiences, while the platform stays fast and responsive. That’s particularly important for GREAT_SPORTSBOOK: we can keep all of the depth players and operators expect, while making the experience significantly faster. For me, that’s the achievement. Operators don’t have to choose between giving players more and giving them speed.
How are clients already benefiting from these upgrades, and how are you expecting them to transform their operations moving forward?
Clients are already seeing a faster, more responsive product, and the early data from migrated brands is positive. One area I’m particularly excited about is Africa. Network conditions and infrastructure can vary significantly across the region, so a lighter, faster sportsbook can make a much bigger difference to the actual player experience. With this update, GREAT_SPORTSBOOK can deliver the kind of fast, responsive experience players expect, even in markets where connectivity is more challenging. For operators targeting Africa, that can be a huge competitive advantage.
Looking ahead, the greater impact will be operational. They can keep evolving the sportsbook, adding content, promotions, and new experiences, without performance becoming the constraint. We aim to give them more freedom to move quickly while the technology underneath continues to get faster.
What can readers expect to see from GR8_TECH when you exhibit at SBC Summit later this month?
Readers can expect to see a very practical side of GR8_TECH at SBC Summit. We’ll be showcasing the full portfolio, but the focus is really on helping operators solve business challenges and showing what our technology can do in practice.
A big highlight will be our new GREAT-WHITE LABEL, alongside Managed Trading Services, GREAT_CRYPTO TURNKEY, GREAT_SPORTSBOOK, and GREAT_CASINO AGGREGATION — all powered up by the platform speed upgrade. Beyond the product side, the Champions Arena and Acceler8 Lab are designed to make the stand genuinely useful — a place to speak directly with our experts, learn something practical, and come away with ideas that can improve performance.