Industry News
US iGaming: Three predictions for 2024

Paddy Casey, Co-Founder at sports betting and iGaming developer The Unit, lists what we can expect from US iGaming in the coming year, covering regulation, the battle for market share and the importance of martech.
- iGaming continues to flex its muscles
Internet gaming continues to generate extraordinary revenue in the states that have legalized and embraced it. In October, for example, Pennsylvania’s iGaming revenue was up 24% month-on-month to $154.8m; a record month for the state where the total equates to a whopping 3x the sports-betting take. Pennsylvania is by no means a standout state, as New Jersey reported a 13% year-on-year increase in iGaming revenue for September, to $166.8million.
Where iGaming is fully regulated (as we’ve seen in the six states where it is live currently, with Rhode Island expected to launch fully in Q1 or early Q2 in 2024), it drives significant revenue for the state and offers a safe and protected environment for entertainment versus offshore, unregulated casinos. As states look to plug holes in the post-pandemic era, we anticipate at least two or three states will legalize igaming in 2024, with Indiana and New York being the obvious contenders to begin that process early in the year.
As has been the case since the birth of online gaming in the late 1990s and early 2000s, there are obvious fears about problem gaming and revenue streams moving away from bricks-and mortar casinos. Legislators will drive tough, and hopefully innovative, legislation to protect land-based casinos while paving the way for iGaming, which should in fact complement the land-based casinos. Players, much like music fans, will demand access to ‘live entertainment’; whether that’s in Madison Square Garden cheering on Billy Joel, or listening to Piano Man at home while watching the NFL.
The omni-channel experience with iGaming will become more important as BetMGM for example, can deepen its relationship with players through innovations such as its New Jersey Dual Play Roulette, which offers a truly immersive omni-channel experience. Add this to possibilities around loyalty schemes for resort stays, and this will prove super crucial in the CRM and LTV lifecycles.
Aside from the obvious heavyweights, brands which put players first, treat them like the central stakeholder they ought to be, and personalize the user experience through unique and engaging product and gaming content will be the winners.
- Competition creates cash
This year has been a rollercoaster, in terms of acquisitions and market exits. Kindred recently announced it will be leaving its North American experience behind as quickly as possible. Fanatics can now access every key sports betting state via its PointsBet USA acquisition and Penn Entertainment is planning to shoot for the stars by rebranding its sportsbook as ESPN Bet. Add DraftKings, FanDuel, Bet365 and BetMGM into the ring, and that is one hell of a battle for a share of players’ wallets.
Fanatics and ESPN Bet will most likely use their huge marketing budgets to attract the Gen Z bettors and casual sports fans. Winning the battle to attract, and more importantly retain, this key cohort of players will be significant. Marketing dollars will not be enough; product innovation will be crucial in the attempt to give players the experience they demand. They will demand to be entertained in ways they experience elsewhere.
Outside the ‘big three’ of FanDuel, DraftKings and BetMGM, in terms of US gaming market share, it will only be companies who continue to evolve and innovate their own offering that can close the gap. The likes of Entain and Angstrom, who are well known and have large wallets, can buy the maturity and experience needed. They can make inroads with the quality of their product and people, as well as via the acquisition of operators and challenger brands (particularly when more states go live with iGaming).
- Marketing tech and needle-like focus on ROI
With the big three effectively owning the sports-betting market and making gains in the iGaming space, the chasing pack will need to innovate with needle-like focus on ROI.
Martech is crucial for success in an industry that is seeing shifts in CPAs and one that has historically not merged fragmented data very well. As there is no real single view of acquiring through to retention, and almost zero real data, technology is holding operators back in the battle to retain Gen Z bettors and give them the experiences they demand; i.e. personalization.
Therefore, a holistic 360-view of customer data which is then deployed across multiple marketing channels is the key to being competitive in this landscape. As biddable platforms rely more and more on AI, it is essential that data which is representative of quality customers is used. As experienced industry veterans know, standard first-time depositor data is not enough. In fact, relying on incomplete customer insights can be detrimental to revenue.
As we all know, customer acquisition is only the starting point. Retention and cross-sell is essential to delivering the return on ad spend required to sustain campaigns in this competitive market.
The front-of-mind game is where the winners and losers will ultimately be determined. There is no personalization without sufficient marketing technology integration. Personalization is a key cog in the retention machine you must be leveraging.
As a result, a full martech stack is needed to operate an effective marketing department. The gap between the haves and have-nots in this space will widen not just year-on-year, but also month-on-month.
Industry News
Ruud Bergervoet Reappointed as CFO of Holland Casino

Ruud Bergervoet has been reappointed as CFO of Holland Casino. He will remain financially responsible for the gambling provider for another two years. Bergervoet has already been CFO for two terms of four years, but due to the special circumstances of the company, he has been asked to remain as a director.
CEO Petra de Ruiter said: “I am very happy that Ruud is prepared to stay with us. With his experience and knowledge of the company, he is indispensable at this moment. We have to work very hard in the coming years to keep Holland Casino financially healthy. And I am certain that this is in good hands with Ruud.”
Ruud Bergervoet has been working at Holland Casino since 2017. Before that, he worked as CFO at FD Mediagroep and Sdu Uitgevers, among others.
During the shareholders’ meeting of April 16, Bergervoet was nominated by the Supervisory Board and his nomination was confirmed.
The post Ruud Bergervoet Reappointed as CFO of Holland Casino appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Industry News
The 8th AskGamblers Awards Officially Enters the Voting Stage

AskGamblers has announced that the final voting stage of the 8th annual AskGamblers Awards has started.
The voting phase kicked off on 28 April, and will last until the award ceremony scheduled for 12 June.
As in previous editions of the Awards, players can cast their votes for one of the top 10 finalists in the following categories: Best Casino, Best New Casino, Best Sportsbook, Best New Slot and Best Software Provider.
The Best Crypto Casino, Best Partner and Best Manager categories will traditionally be chosen by the AskGamblers team. This year’s edition introduces a new category, the Superstar Award, a crown achievement handed out to one operator that best represents the values of brands, whose laureate will also be chosen solely by AskGamblers.
Another novelty in this year’s Awards cycle is the Forum vote: the votes from the members of AskGamblers Forum will be counted towards the final tally of votes as a separate voting tier.
Commenting on the launch of the 8th AskGamblers Awards voting stage, Dijana Radunović, General Manager at AskGamblers, said: “Now that we have the finalists, we are entering the final stages of preparation for our biggest night of the year. To say that we are excited about the 8th edition of the AskGamblers Award would be an understatement.”
“As everybody in the team is working tirelessly to make the gala ceremony a night to remember, we invite our players to do their bidding: to give a vote to their favourite contestants and help us choose the rightful winners in the five categories that are open to public vote,” Radunović added.
Before the award ceremony on 12 June, AskGamblers will host the traditional Charity Night on 11 June, where the partners will bid for positions on the website, with the money raised allocated to a humanitarian cause.
The post The 8th AskGamblers Awards Officially Enters the Voting Stage appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Industry News
Flexion Reports Revenue Increase of 9% for 2024

Flexion, the games marketing company, has announced that its revenue grew 9% to year-end December 2024. The growth is attributed to the Company’s success in the alternative app store market.
Since its IPO in 2018, the company has built a well-positioned games marketing business around the alternative stores and grown annual revenue 50-fold to almost US$100 million. Its game portfolio represents several billion US$ in gaming IP for alternative market partners like Samsung, Amazon, Huawei, OneStore and Xiaomi.
“With the Digital Markets Act (DMA) coming into force in Europe and recent legal actions in the US, mobile game developers have felt a new-found freedom to explore their market options. We’ve already moved beyond the era when Google and Apple controlled everything. Developers are looking for alternatives that offer better margins, and additional audiences and revenue. Partnering with Flexion opens up a range of market channels with very little up-front investment,” said Jens Lauritzson, CEO of Flexion.
Flexion currently distributes more than 30 high-profile titles on the alternative stores. Top-tier games in the Flexion portfolio make on average US$ 10 million a year based on Q4 2024 run rate. That’s income in addition to their Google and Apple revenue with a business model that adds little to their costs.
In Q4 2024, Flexion-serviced games were, on average, generating 9.3% through the alternative stores of the revenue they made on Google Play. This is a significant boost for Flexion’s partners without major costs or effort.
“If you scale for the size of the stores, the alternatives massively out-performed Google in Q4 for our games. This is exciting both for Flexion’s business and for the future of the games industry as a whole. We’re seeing the beginning of a sea change in games marketing,” Jens said.
“We’re seeing just the beginnings of a major shift in how top-tier developers address their markets. Using Flexion to access alternative stores is an easy first step into the post- Google and Apple world. Many developers are already looking at their options beyond that and Flexion will be right there with them providing the technology and expertise they need to maximise the potential of their games,” Jens added.
The post Flexion Reports Revenue Increase of 9% for 2024 appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
-
Online7 days ago
Best Online Casino Canada: (Complaints Investigated) 2025 User Reviews Tested & Verified
-
Online7 days ago
New Online Casinos in the USA 2025: Big Dollar Casino Best for New Players
-
casino7 days ago
Best Online Casino Games 2025: Black Lotus Top for Real Money Casino Games
-
Nasdaq:LTRY7 days ago
Lottery.com Files Amended Registration Statement on Form S-1
-
Nasdaq:LTRY7 days ago
Sports.com Named Headline Event Partner for Soccerex Europe 2025 in Amsterdam
-
Sweepstakes7 days ago
Best Sweepstakes Casinos 2025 – VegasGems New Sweepstake Choice
-
casino7 days ago
Best Non-GamStop Casino: Non-UK Casino 1RED Tested
-
Asia4 days ago
Construction of Japan’s First Integrated Resort with a Casino Begins