Canada
Tech Innovation: The Key to Cracking North America
With major corporations spending big to corner the US online gaming market, smaller operators need to be smarter than ever to compete. But technology that can increase efficiency and help get the marketing right means everyone’s got a shot, says Flows.
For operators looking to enter the US market, how important is it to get the tech right?
It’s probably the most important consideration. Entering the US market has proved to be very challenging for many operators. Major corporations, from Caesars, to MGM Resorts, to Fox, are splashing huge amounts of money on acquiring players. Last year, Caesars vowed to spend $1 billion marketing its sport betting app in the ensuing 24 to 30 months. It’s very difficult to compete with that.
Meanwhile, the US landscape is a hodgepodge of different regulations with several individual requirements for each state. Adapting costs resources and time.
Faced with these hurdles, its crucial operators adopt technologies that can help them with personalised customer engagement, while streamlining roadmaps and offering regulatory agility.
How should operators approach acquisition and retention in the face of such competition?
For operators entering the US market that don’t have a spare $1 billion to splash, differentiation is key, not only in the look and feel they present and content they offer, but also in how they introduce themselves to the market.
It’s also important to think about the way you engage with customers and the type of customer you want to target. Creating a first-class user experience is vital in helping you to stand out and places you ahead of the competition. That experience is about much more than just the onboarding process or the initial content offering you present to your customers.
Creating a personalised experience is vital in the US, where brands are competing fiercely for a share of the market, and it’s important that your technology supports that.
Bettors’ playing habits and needs are ever-changing. Offering personalised, localised and tailored promotions helps to improve the relationship you have with your bettors, increases loyalty and reduces acquisition cost.
Once you build trust, it’s much easier for you to build a loyal customer base. To do this, it’s important to think about the initial experience and journey you are creating for every new customer and continuing to create for every existing loyal customer.
How should we use technology to build personalization?
Creating a personalised marketing strategy requires a level of creativity to ensure that you can offer something remarkable.
Consider tailoring your acquisition and retention campaigns by offering registration bets on demand, for example, or personalised birthday promotions for your VIP customers. You could offer a ‘weather bonus’, based on a player’s location, to cheer them up when it’s raining, or tailored free bets based on a bettor’s team/sports preference. Ultimately there are unlimited options in what you can do, providing you have the right tools in place.
Consumers are demanding, and recent studies suggest consumers in general are becoming less brand loyal. Personalization is the antidote to this. Some 80% of US consumers said they were more likely to make a purchase from a brand that provided personalized experiences, according to Epsilon. Meanwhile, 90 percent said the find marketing personalization very or somewhat appealing, per a Statista study.
The bottom line is, if your new US customers don’t feel they’re getting the right kind of love, they will go elsewhere, and it’s unlikely they will come back.
How can operators better equip themselves to negotiate the US regulatory landscape?
You need to have a control panel that allows for a flexible regulatory approach in several regions. Software that allows you to configure disparate regulatory requirements, rather than having to develop them individually each time, is a must-have.
Regulatory authorities don’t tend to give much notice, which can disrupt an organisation’s road map. This can be alleviated with the right tech, as certain regulatory directives and checks can be implemented directly on demand. It’s about agility and efficiency.
Smaller operators may lack resources of the big corporations, but can they make up for that by being more agile and efficient?
To a degree, yes. Most businesses today struggle with roadmaps that tend to end up with an ever-growing backlog of development requests coming in from several different business departments. As a backlog grows, it’s typical to also see that several trivial tasks end up taking months to complete since they are blocked in a queue behind bigger tasks.
But now, technology exists that can automate digital processes, build digital features, and produce applications without the need for coding.
With Flows, we can bring many items off the development backlog by allowing business units to implement those features and tasks directly through a no-code interface that everyone can work with.
This spreads the control of a business roadmap across more departments and relieves the pressure from development teams who will in turn gain more time to focus and execute properly on bigger development tasks.
You’ve previously said that the gambling industry should be more willing to share things like API’s and open-source technology. Why is this important?
The gambling industry, more than most other industries, is one that is made up of a large number of providers: payments, games, KYC, platforms, etc. Through more open APIs, innovation can come from 3rd parties that create middleware software that leverages APIs from multiple providers all at once. Ultimately, making this more accessible makes it much easier for the industry to streamline work processes and become more innovative and efficient.
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AGCO
AGCO Fines Great Canadian Casino Resort Toronto $350,000 for Serious Regulatory Violations Linked to Impromptu After-Party on Gaming Floor
The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) has issued monetary penalties totaling $350,000 against Great Canadian Casino Resort Toronto for multiple violations of provincial gaming standards. The penalties follow an impromptu after-party that was permitted to take place in the pre-dawn hours directly on the casino’s gaming floor.
On September 27, 2024, an electronic dance music event attended by thousands of people was hosted in the theatre adjacent to the casino at Great Canadian Casino Resort Toronto. The event was marked by widespread intoxication, disorderly behavior, and numerous criminal and medical incidents – both inside and outside the venue – including alleged assaults, drug overdoses, and acts of public indecency. Although paid duty officers were present, additional police and emergency services were required to manage the situation.
In the midst of this high-risk environment, casino management approved an unscheduled request by the performing artist to host an after-party on the active gaming floor. The artist and more than 400 guests were permitted onto the gaming floor where the artist was allowed to perform amidst operational table games and gaming machines – without any prior risk assessment or planning.
As a result, security personnel were unable to effectively control the casino floor, including witness reports that an attendee was seen climbing onto slot machines. Failure to maintain appropriate control compromises the security, safety, and integrity of the casino floor. Following the conclusion of the event, the operator failed to promptly report these incidents to the AGCO as required.
Based on the findings of its review, the AGCO’s Registrar has issued an Order of Monetary Penalty (OMP) totaling $350,000 against Great Canadian Casino Resort Toronto. These penalties address critical failures in their operations, incident reporting, employee training, and the management of disturbances.
A gaming operator served with an OMP has 15 days to appeal the Registrar’s decision to the Licence Appeal Tribunal (LAT), an adjudicative tribunal that is part of Tribunals Ontario and independent of the AGCO.
“Casino operators have a fundamental duty to control their gaming environment. Great Canadian Casino Resort Toronto’s lapses in this incident compromised the safety of patrons and the security and integrity of the gaming floor,” Dr. Karin Schnarr, Chief Executive Officer and Registrar of AGCO, said.
The post AGCO Fines Great Canadian Casino Resort Toronto $350,000 for Serious Regulatory Violations Linked to Impromptu After-Party on Gaming Floor appeared first on Gaming and Gambling Industry in the Americas.
International Game Technology PLC announced that its subsidiary, IGT Canada Solutions ULC (hereinafter “IGT”), signed an eight-year agreement with Atlantic Lottery to supply its IntelligenEVO video lottery central system technology across Atlantic Canada. The agreement includes the option for multiple extensions and positions the Atlantic Lottery to become the first World Lottery Association (WLA)-affiliated lottery operator to deploy IGT’s next-generation central management system in a game-to-system (G2S) distributed market.
“By leveraging IGT’s IntelligenEVO technology, Atlantic Lottery will power its video lottery network with the industry’s best-in-class central system and position itself to maximize future contributions to good causes. As an organization that prioritizes system security and exceptional player experiences, Atlantic Lottery believes that IGT’s IntelliegnEVO solution will help generate high player satisfaction and optimal network performance,” said Michael MacKinnon, Atlantic Lottery VP, Product.
“As a long-time supplier to Atlantic Lottery, IGT looks forward to helping the Lottery achieve its growth and player engagement goals with our leading-edge IntelligenEVO video lottery central system. IGT’s IntelligenEVO is a scalable technology for the WLA market that is backed by decades of experience and operator feedback, and maximizes the benefits of real-time data, cloud-based technologies and in-depth analytics,” said David Flinn, IGT SVP Canada, EMEA and LATAM, Gaming Sales.
With peak system security, network availability and responsible gaming functionalities, IntelligenEVO is a reliable, scalable solution that can meet the needs of today and in the future. The solution will accelerate time-to-market and enables the Atlantic Lottery to benefit from the system’s suite of player-focused functionality. The technology’s G2S and open API design optimizes data collection and delivery and will enable Atlantic Lottery to customize their program for evolving player needs.
The post IGT and Atlantic Lottery Sign Eight-Year Video Lottery Central System Technology Agreement appeared first on Gaming and Gambling Industry in the Americas.
NetGaming, a fast-growing online casino content supplier, is proud to announce its launch in Ontario with Rush Street Interactive, Inc., a leading online casino and sports betting company in the United States, Canada and Latin America. This strategic collaboration marks a significant milestone for NetGaming as it continues to expand its footprint across regulated North American markets.
As part of the launch, Ontario players on BetRivers can now enjoy a diverse portfolio of NetGaming titles, known for their high-quality graphics, immersive gameplay, and unique themes. Standout games such as Zeus’s Thunderbolt, Bison Gold, and Fireball Inferno are among the first to go live, with additional titles set to follow soon.
This partnership is just the beginning. NetGaming plans to extend its collaboration with Rush Street Interactive into Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Mexico over the coming months.
Pallavi Deshmukh, CEO of NetGaming, commented: “We are thrilled to go live with Rush Street Interactive, a powerhouse operator with a strong presence and loyal player base. This launch marks a significant milestone in our
North American expansion strategy and underscores our commitment to delivering exceptional gaming experiences tailored to local player preferences across the region.”
Richard Schwartz, CEO of Rush Street Interactive, commented: “We are pleased to partner with NetGaming to bring innovative, premium games to our players in Ontario. This collaboration aligns with our strategy to offer world-class
entertainment through engaging, action-packed online casino games. We look forward to expanding this partnership into additional regulated markets in the months ahead.”
This strategic partnership highlights both companies’ dedication to providing high- quality, innovative, and responsible entertainment to players in regulated markets.
The post NetGaming Goes Live in Ontario with Rush Street Interactive via BetRivers Platform appeared first on Gaming and Gambling Industry in the Americas.
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