Over the past 2 years, Gaming1 has seen significant growth in the US with the launch of Betly. After launching in Arkansas, Tennessee, and Ohio, we launched our new website in West Virginia. We sat down with our COO Interactive, David Carrion, to learn more about this launch.
How is the launch going so far, and what are the key lessons we have learned from our experience in the US so far?
David Carrion: The US market is very different from Europe in terms of sports betting. The customer has a long tradition with fantasy sports, betting based on individual player combinations. They can put together teams combining their favorite players from multiple teams. This is a significant difference from the history of European online bettors, who usually follow a team rather than a player.
This has led to the development of a type of bet called a single-game parlay, where players can combine bets on their favorite players, along with a team to win, for example. This creates a significant adjustment in the risk and pricing models as well as the actual offer of such a product.
In summary, sports betting is very different in the US and we are constantly learning to develop our offer. By the time the American football season kicks off in September, we will have a more competitive product and we will be able to better assess the future.
We have also learned that the distance and time difference make things more difficult, that our cultural differences need to be considered, and that it is a very competitive market in terms of marketing spend.
The biggest learning so far is that we should be very strategic in deciding the states where want to operate in, as our partner is very well positioned in some states, like Arkansas or West Virginia, while other states like Ohio or Tennessee are not so interesting so far. This is part of our learning.
What efforts are we making to improve the experience on our platforms, and more specifically the responsible gaming experience?
D.C.: We continue to develop the product offering and the overall UX. We are now introducing improved payment methods, improved UX, more stability and speed and our full loyalty program. All of this is happening under increased local controls for AML and responsible gaming. So we are making steady progress and we will reach Q4 with quite competitive efforts in both verticals: iGaming and sports betting.
What are our hopes for 2023 and our new target markets?
D.C.: Our goal is to end 2023 with a full product offering, a clear strategic approach per state, smooth day-to-day operations with the joint venture operating model, and a good outlook for potential growth for 2024, based on Q4 performance in AR and WV, both in iGaming and betting with our enhanced product.
