Canada

What the iGaming industry in the US can learn from the UK

Published

3 years ago

July 6, 2021

There can be no doubt that the iGaming market in the US represents an increasingly lucrative sector, and one that was worth an estimated $1.978 billion at the end of 2020.

What’s more, this is projected to grow at a CAGR of 17.32% between 2021 and 2026, as the sports betting market continues to boom, and more states consider legalising online casino gameplay.

However, this market continues to face significant regulatory and legislative challenges, while it also lacks the maturity of its contemporaries in the west. But what lesson can it learn from the UK?

The Importance of Regulating Advertising

Through 2021, the UK Gambling Commission has made the safeguarding of vulnerable players its core strategic objective, and this has resulted in a number of regulatory measures and recommendations in Europe’s largest market.

Interestingly, this has also compelled individual operators to take proactive steps in this regard, with a number of UK brands agreeing to a blanket, “whistle-whistle” advertising ban across all pre-watershed broadcasts in 2019.

This trend is commonplace throughout Europe, with Italy having banned all gambling advertising back in 2019 and the Spanish authorities unveiling new restrictions aimed at barring operators’ brands from appearing on football team’s shirts going forward.

Such measures should definitely pique the interest of US operators, especially as the nation’s iGaming market continues to grow at a rapid and exponential rate nationwide.

We will touch more on the concept of responsible gambling below, but there’s no doubt that this will become increasingly prevalent as a growing number of citizens are afforded access to sports betting markets and virtual casino verticals.

With this in mind, proactive US operators have a chance to steal a march on their rivals and become ambassadors for responsible gambling in the region, by creating a more considered approach to advertising (especially on mass channels like TV) and being particularly careful about the precise demographics that they target.

Not only could this be crucial to the long-term function and profitability of the marketplace, but it could help operators to avoid the type of backlash that has been in the UK sector over the course of the last three years or so.

Make Responsible Gambling a Key Watchword

Of course, advertising represents just a single element of the responsible gambling landscape and developing a sensible marketing approach means little if this isn’t followed up in other disciplines throughout the business.

So, we would argue that operators and regulators in the US should proactively make responsible gambling a key watchword across the board, with this providing a broad framework in which they build their platforms and commercial offerings.

This is definitely the case in the UK, where operators almost compete to offer the best and most comprehensive responsible gambling tools to help vulnerable players. These are becoming increasingly tech led too, with the resources made available by the William brand Mr. Green best representing this evolution.

For example, this platform has introduced a relatively high-tech system that enables players to analyse their own gambling behaviour and wagering decisions in detail, while measuring this against the site’s own perception of how they play.

Through the use of complicated algorithms, you subsequently gain access to bespoke dataset and are alerted to potentially problematic behaviour ahead of time.

There’s clearly a demand for this type of technology in the burgeoning US market, which is why we’re seeing so many domestic operators merge and collaborate with UK brands. This is definitely fulfilling a gap in the market, while helping to protect players and deliver a responsible gambling experience for all.

Understanding the Role of Comparison Sites

In order to help players identify the best and most reputable iGaming brands, the UK has seen a number of independent comparison sites spring up in recent times.

The established Mybettingsite.uk is one of the best examples of this, as the site provides a comprehensive list of UK casino brands that are ranked according to a diverse range of factors.

These include everything from an operator’s live welcome bonus and licensing information to their approach to responsible gambling, while you can also access authentic user reviews on the same site.

This type of resource helps to create a sense of trust between players and individual casino brands, while enabling customers to make informed decisions about the brands that they partner with.

It should therefore be welcomed by operators, particularly in the online casino niche which is considerably less popular than sports betting stateside.

Canada

Play’n GO announces partnership with Canadian operator Loto-Québec

Published

3 days ago

May 16, 2024

GamingAmericas.com

play’n-go-announces-partnership-with-canadian-operator-loto-quebec

Play’n GO, the world’s leading casino entertainment provider, has today announced a partnership with Canadian operator Loto-Québec, launching the Swedish gaming giant’s games into another Canadian province.

Already active in another Canadian province , this partnership sees Play’n GO’s content available in the province of Québec exclusively with Loto-Québec, a state-owned corporation, where online players now have access to titles such as Tome of Madness.

Magnus Olsson, Chief Commercial Officer, Play’n GO said: “At Play’n GO, we have always been clear in our vision to be active in every regulated market in the world, and this partnership with Loto-Québec is the next step on that journey.

“Our past success in Canada gives us confidence that players in Québec will enjoy the best Play’n GO content, and we look forward to many years of success with Loto-Québec in the province.”

Stéphane Martel, Head of Product and Innovation at Loto-Québec added: “As the sole iGaming operator in Québec, we pride ourselves on offering titles that truly add value to our platform, lotoquebec.com. We are happy to bring Play’n GO games to our players.”

Canada

Court Decision Upholds iGaming Ontario’s Model

Published

4 days ago

May 15, 2024

GamingAmericas.com

court-decision-upholds-igaming-ontario’s-model

iGaming Ontario has welcomed the decision of the Ontario Superior Court, which found that iGaming Ontario’s model is consistent with the Criminal Code and that iGaming Ontario is conducting and managing igaming in the province.

“We have always been confident in our model and are pleased that the court has ruled in our favour, and that Ontarians can continue to play with confidence in our regulated igaming market,” said Martha Otton, Executive Director of iGaming Ontario.

“Ontario’s model meets the requirements and contributes to the public good by protecting players, their data and their funds, while helping to fund priority public services in Ontario, and bringing well-paid, high-tech jobs and economic development to Ontario,” Otton added.

In dismissing the application brought forward by the Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke (MCK), the Superior Court found that iGaming Ontario is the “operating mind” behind Ontario’s competitive igaming market in accordance with the conduct and manage requirements of the Criminal Code.

iGaming Ontario will continue to conduct and manage igaming as it has since the launch of the regulated market on April 4, 2022.

Bragg Gaming Group

Bragg Gaming Appoints Renowned iGaming Executive Neill Whyte as Chief Commercial Officer

Published

1 week ago

May 10, 2024

GamingAmericas.com

bragg-gaming-appoints-renowned-igaming-executive-neill-whyte-as-chief-commercial-officer

Bragg Gaming Group, a global iGaming technology and content provider, announced that Neill Whyte has been appointed as Chief Commercial Officer (CCO), effective 1st May 2024, establishing a new global commercial structure at the Company and bolstering its leadership team.

Whyte brings over 18 years of experience in the iGaming sector, most recently in the role of Chief Commercial Officer at Digital Gaming Corporation’s (DGC), B2B iGaming Division. After joining DGC in early 2020, he was responsible for the commercially successful launch and growth of its content distribution business in the US.

Prior to joining DGC, Whyte held multiple positions in the gaming industry including as Head of Business Development at Isle of Man-based iGaming specialist Apricot Investments, as Board Member at Swedish iGaming product and Lottery content distributor Genera Networks, and in various senior roles over eleven years at leading iGaming content supplier Microgaming, including as Head of Product Channels.

In his new role with Bragg, Whyte will be tasked with leading the Company’s global commercial teams to drive growth across all of the Company’s product verticals which include proprietary online casino content from its Atomic Slot Lab, Indigo Magic and Wild Streak Gaming studios, exclusive content from content partners, HUB a leading casino content aggregation platform, Fuze player engagement, as well as its award-winning player account management (PAM) platform and turnkey solutions.

Matevž Mazij, Chief Executive Officer at Bragg, said: “I am very pleased to be announcing today the appointment of Neill Whyte as Chief Commercial Officer at Bragg. His iGaming product and market knowledge, together with his record in driving growth from developing successful and mutually beneficial commercial partnerships are exceptional.

“As we leverage our broad content and product portfolio to grow in existing and new markets, including in the United States, Canada, Latin America and Europe, Neill’s unique combination of knowledge, skills and experience in this sector are a perfect fit for our ambitions at Bragg.”

Neill Whyte, Chief Commercial Officer at Bragg, said: “It’s an honor to join Matevž and the wider teams at Bragg already in place across North America, Europe and in India. I have been impressed with the depth and quality of the content, product and technology offerings at Bragg, and its ability to rapidly adapt, certify and deploy this content and technology in newly regulated markets is a distinct advantage.

“We also have a huge opportunity to grow our footprint with our existing customers in markets in which we are already established. Our content and product roadmaps are second to none, and I’m planning to get on the road in the coming weeks and months to meet the team and our customers and to start building for the next stage of mutual growth. I can’t wait to get going.”