eGaming Review December 2013 | Page 5

EDITORIAL TEAM Editor Tom Washington T: [phone] E: [email protected] Senior reporter Gerard Starkey T: [phone] E: [email protected] Reporter Andy Roocroft T: [phone] E: [email protected] Reporter Liam Stoker T: [phone] E: [email protected] Head of Content, Pageant Gaming Media Alun Bowden T: [phone] E: [email protected] PRODUCTION Head of production Claudia Honerjager E: [email protected] Art Director, eGR Toni Giddings E: [email protected] Sub-editors Rachel Kurzfield Eleanor Stanley Luke Tuchscherer COMMERCIAL Group commercial manager Ben Robinson T: [phone] E: [email protected] Commercial manager Sam Compagnoni T: [phone] E: [email protected] Publishing account manager Debbie Robson T: [phone] E: [email protected] Publishing account manager Jonathan Vintner T: [phone] E: [email protected] Group head of content Gwyn Roberts CEO Charlie Kerr Circulation manager Fay Muddle Content sales T: [phone] E: [email protected] eGaming Review is published monthly by Pageant Media, Thavies Inn House, 3-4 Holborn Circus, London, EC1N 2HA ISSN 1742-2450 Printed by The Manson Group © 2013 all rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or used without the prior permission from the publisher [E D I T O R ' S LETTER ] No one needs to be told about the huge opportunity a regulated US market represents – that’s the simple bit. As many a CEO will tell you, it is probably the single most attractive online gambling market in the world. But that’s where the simplicity ends. Because if you’ve been keeping as close an eye on the US online gaming market as I have, you will have seen a complicated and fractured landscape slowly emerge. For European operators the only option is to be patient and to be prepared to compromise in order to get a shot at the eventual big prize. In this month’s cover story (See p30) we dispel a few of the myths surrounding the US, from partnership models to political wrangling, from suitability to market value. Without proper knowledge of all these nuances – regulatory and operational – European hopefuls might as well stay at home. It is due to that level of difficulty that kudos must go to those companies that have already established a presence there. The operator to arguably make the most progress is 888, the Gibraltar-based firm that provides Caesars Interactive with its poker software, and is about to launch its own 888Poker and 888Casino brands in two states. Compared to its massive operations in Europe this might not sound much, but as CEO Brian Mattingley told me (see p46), they’ve worked seriously hard to get this far. Closer to home – and something 888 has struggled with of late – the challenging nature of the online bingo market continues to worsen. Recent financial results from some of the industry’s biggest multi-vertical operators show decline with most blaming increased competition and rising marketing costs. But as we discover on page 19, it’s not the end of the road for the product as other bingo-centric firms show the rest how it’s done. It appears to be all about sticking to what you're best at, supported by innovation and strategic marketing. And that’s not a bad summary of how to approach the US market, either. 03