What US states have hearned from Europe’s iGaming

The combined sports betting and iGaming market in the US generated an estimated $7.7 billion in gross revenue through 2021, with this lower than the GGR reported by the UK and the continent of Europe as a whole.

However, there’s no doubt that the US marketplace has borrowed heavily from the technology stacks and regulatory frameworks deployed throughout Europe, creating a scenario where it could generate GGR of $24.3 billion by 2026 and become the largest sector of its type on the planet.

But what exactly have US states learned from the iGaming market in Europe? Here are some considerations to keep in mind:

1. Constructing the Ideal iGaming Tech Stack

European operators have been able to build large and scalable technology stacks over time, with Playtech’s innovative IMS and the pre-existing GAN stacks enabling brands to bolt on multiple titles to their libraries in an incredibly short period of time.

Make no mistake; these prominent stacks now house thousands of different games across multiple iGaming verticals, enabling operators to quickly build the library that’s right for them while guaranteeing players a safe and seamless gameplay experience.

Historically, creating such libraries and tech stacks in the US was laborious, as everything had to go through a stringent testing process and receive individual certification. However, as the market has evolved and UK and European operators have successfully moved into the US marketplace, IMS, GAN and similarly impressive stacks have become more readily available to native brands.

This means that they’ve had much easier access to a huge range of popular games, with US casinos able to adopt a plug-and-play strategy that helps them to build their tech stacks and scale their libraries in double-quick time.

2. Putting Responsible Gambling and Player Safeguards Front and Center

While the US remains a burgeoning and immature marketplace, iGaming sectors in Europe and the UK are at a completely different stage of their journey.

As such markets mature, they also shift away from focusing on exponential growth, instead emphasising responsible gambling, player safety and the eradication of underage betting across all markets and verticals.

This is a natural progression, and one that the US market has looked to embrace proactively by entering into a number of strategic partnerships with established UK and European brands such as William Hill.

William Hill is certainly a key driver of responsible gambling principles in the UK, and has been ever since a £6.2 million fine imposed by the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) forced the brand to revise its approach to safeguarding vulnerable players and negate money-laundering practices.

Mr. Green, which was subsequently acquired by the William Hill brand at the end of 2018, is another betting company that has blazed a trail for others to follow with regards to responsible gambling, by implementing a number of innovative features that enabled customers to track their activity and impose restrictive measures where required.

Such measures are built on complex algorithms and live tracking software, and it’s this type of technology that American gambling brands have looked to leverage as the US market has continued to boom over the course of the last four years or more and accelerate at a rapid pace.

We’ve also seen a number of independent comparison sites break out online in the US of late, which will offer insights into the best NJ online casino and similar establishments nationwide by publishing objective and comprehensive reviews.

Such considerations are enabling US gaming brands and stakeholders to reinforce their status as ambassadors for responsible gambling in a burgeoning market, which may afford these companies a clear competitive edge as the region’s regulatory framework evolves and operators are put under increased scrutiny.

There’s no doubt that this trend will evolve further in the months and years to come (especially given the exponential market growth forecast stateside through 2024), but it’s clear that responsible gambling and player safeguards are already up front and centre in the US.

3. The Importance of Regulating Advertising

The US Constitution made the free exercise of speech its iconic First Amendment, with this protecting freedom of speech in the context of the press, assembly and the right to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

Of course, the advent of social media and cultural evolution means that a more informal (and much broader) definition of the freedom of speech is now applied in the US, with relatively relaxed guidelines pertaining to practices such as marketing and advertising.

This is important from the perspective of iGaming, as it affords operators relative freedom when marketing their verticals and minimises the rules imposed on betting brands when targeting specific audiences.

However, responsible messaging is inextricably linked to responsible gambling, and US brands have already noted the recent sea change in the UK with regards to iGaming advertising. More specifically, the UKGC has recommended a number of restrictions in terms of how gambling products should be advertised on TV and online, while operators themselves proposed blanket television ban across pre-watershed live broadcasts in 2019.

The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Gambling Related Harm has even proposed that all TV and online ads for iGaming products be banned going forward, although it has yet to be seen if this is actually carried out in the future.

US brands have observed this trend and are increasingly aiming to promote themselves carefully and strategically as a result, with a view to protecting customers and minimising the risk of stringent regulations being imposed in the future.

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