INTERVIEW
“Not only do I think (the deal is) important for New Jersey, it’s important nationally. The
world may not be watching, but the US certainly is.”
this is the first step and not the last step in
the country. I think it will prove out over
time, given how much time, energy and
effort the state of New Jersey has put into the
regulations and controls.
There will be dissenters and people who may
not look favourably on the presence of online
gaming companies in US sport, especially
when federal sportsbetting restraints like
PASPA are active. What are the benefits in
the US for the two sectors working more
closely together?
It depends on who you’re talking to. From
an online gaming company’s perspective, as
you see with what PartyPoker has done with
Real Madrid, AC Milan and Bayern Munich,
you cut through the clutter – you have
passionate fan bases as you do in the case
of the Sixers and the Devils. You have an
instant connection with those fans. There’s
a tremendous amount of loyalty that goes
back and forth between the fans and brands
associated with the team.
If you’re going to play poker online, you
want it to be safe and easy. I think this is a
good housekeeping seal of approval. If you’re
a brand in a space with some trepidation and
it’s new and it’s emerging, you want that
good housekeeping seal of approval.
In terms of organisations like us, the
properties, the deals are financially healthy,
so that’s always good. Secondly, any time we
can get smarter about our fans, their online
patterns of behaviour and commerce online,
we can help translate that and improve our
core business, which at the end of the day is
to make sure that the Prudential Center is
full for all 200 events; whether that be Jay-Z
or Kanye West or Super Bowl media day,
UFC fights or Devils games. For us, we’ve
got a lot of events. It’s a terrific building and
now we have a terrific partner.
get to market and to drive revenue. Around
six years ago, the NBA had approved the
fact that we could work with casinos. It was
more of a tweak of the existing rules they
had in place for land-based casinos,
to make it applicable for online. With
that, as you can imagine, comes a pretty
intensive look at how you engage an online
gaming company versus the casino, which
has a lot to do with how it looks on social
media and digital activations. It was more
tactical than strategic.
looking at so closely – goes as smoothly as
can be. From a state perspective, I don’t
speak for Governor Christie, but the state’s
under a lot of financial pressure. They all
are. There’s an opportunity in a state that
has such a base like Atlantic City. It seems
very intuitive, and I think this can help with
jobs, with commerce, with tax revenue and
the benefits that come with it.
Finally, do you think the presence
of a regulated online gambling
industry, and the foreign
companies that come with it, is
a positive thing for the state of
New Jersey?
I think so. Time is always the best
revealer of truth. I would say that
foreign online gaming companies
are a little more sophisticated,
advanced and experienced. So, if
we can get some of that expertise
and drop it into a system, and rules,
regulations and controls that are
new, I think it definitely helps the
adoption, the comfort and makes
sure that this launch –
which everyone is
What adjustments did the NBA have to
make to permit this deal?
They were relatively minor. The NBA
has been at the forefront of rules and
regulations that enable the teams to actually
iGB Affiliate FEBRUARY/MARCH 2014
79