iGaming Business magazine iGB 111 July/Aug | Page 105

People
“It looks like one of Philadelphia ,
Atlantic City or New York
will become a hub for talent
as US sports betting starts to take
shape ”
Integrity, legal, risk and compliance
The ongoing integrity of sports betting in the US will be critical to its
success and longevity. Any indication that the outcome of US sports
events is being compromised through sports betting, or suggestions
that operators are acting in any way irresponsibly is likely to be met
with a very strong arm of law. In-house lawyers and experienced
compliance professionals are likely to be in demand.
Trading and retail bookmaking
Automated trading has become the norm in Europe and a good deal
of this capability will be leveraged for the US sports betting market.
However, given the embryonic nature of the sports betting industry
in the US, this may well create a revival for ‘traditional’ forms of
bookmaking and trading. Technology will inevitably have a part to
play here, but certainly in smaller, retail-led sports betting sites the
ability to offer relevant, personalised markets for customers will be
key. In some respects, the ability of frontline retail staff to educate
punters will help build brand and product loyalty with what could
be a new sports betting customer base in the US.
Marketing
Over time, there may be a need for digital and performance
marketing skills to acquire and retain customers through non-retail
channels. However, we expect that the American casinos feel they
know enough about retail marketing that offline brand and loyalty
marketers won’t be the first skill-set they look for from overseas. The
need for more specific sports betting marketing skills will largely
depend on regulation, i.e. whether sports betting advertising will
be allowed in the US and what the player promotion and bonusing
landscape is going to look like compared to Europe.
What’s more, having a sports betting talent hub on the East Coast is
especially helpful from a time zone perspective with Europe.
That is not to say that Las Vegas and the West Coast cities of
LA and San Francisco will not play their part. Nevada is a current
hub of land-based sports betting talent in the US (probably the
only one right now) and as the industry evolves it may be that some
of the major media conglomerates, social gaming and interactive
entertainment businesses headquartered on the West Coast start to
play their part in shaping the industry.
Interims – a flexible solution
Interestingly, the most urgent market chatter has been about
interim opportunities. Firms are reaching out for interim managers
who can be deployed quickly to the US to get operations off the
ground. Technology, digital