William Hill (sportsbook)
Scientific Games
GVC
(technology partner)
(platform)
BRAND
Delaware Park, DoverDowns, Harrington Raceway
Delaware Lottery (licence)
(operators)
Beyond the sportsbook
“The secret to success will be adaptability to the individual circumstances of each state. This is true for everyone – operators, suppliers and brands” Charles Cohen, IGT
IGT
(sportsbook)
GAN
(account management system)
52
BRAND
As outlined by Grove, individual operators’ focus – sports betting being used as an acquisition tool to cross-sell players into casino or whether they can build up a strong enough standalone vertical – will dictate the rest of their actions. For Keith McDonnell, an iGaming consultant now based in the US, the number and variety of brands operating on casino licences will provide the choice that players are looking for. “For the land-based casinos it’s about having a variety of operating brands that gives them the widest reach through all potential demographics,” he says. “They will aim to offer a good mix of sports betting brands: targeting both high-rolling customers and recreational players, using that mix to maximise customer acquisition opportunities across the calendar year around major sporting events.” A rundown of the companies involved reveals how convoluted the deals are. For example, New Jersey’s Resorts has partnerships with SBTech, which is a GAN partner, which is also in partnership with DraftKings, which is in a tie up with Kambi. Meanwhile, SBTech is also in partnership with Golden Nugget, which also has a partnership with Paddy Power Betfair, the Irish operator which owns FanDuel, which is, of course, DraftKings’ arch-rival. Confused? That is forgivable, but there will be many more of these complex partnerships in the short term. (See previous ‘State (licence) of the Sports Betting Union’ feature for a full picture.) However,
Meadowlands
the other big players from whom not much has been heard of yet (with the recent exception of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians mentioned earlier) are the Native American tribes. Many of them hold highly lucrative, exclusive gaming compacts in a number of key states, and the passing of further state-by-state gaming and betting legislation will depend on how much of an advantage they can get written into new regulations. Charles Cohen, vice president of sports betting for IGT, believes all stakeholders should be adaptable and not take anything for granted so early in the game. “To me, the most important fact is that there’s no such thing as the US sports betting market. There will be as many as 50 markets – all with distinct rules, structures and styles. Some states may not allow skins, some will allow an unlimited number. So my view is simple: the secret to success will be adaptability to the individual circumstances of each state. This is true for everyone – operators, suppliers and brands. “It’s going to get larger and possibly more complex because the growth will be both in existing states and new ones. We expect at least a half dozen more states to regulate next year, maybe up to 20 more within two years. It’s difficult to predict because a lot will depend on external factors like the outcomes of the midterms (some gubernatorial races have a betting factor) and state referenda in places where this is required to introduce betting.” This, of course, will not stop operators, suppliers and every iGaming company wanting a slice of the action from the nascent US market. The key will be how much access they can gain via deals and partnerships, and how well (or badly) the different jigsaw pieces stack up and work together in the next few years. n