NORTH AMERICA
State launchers :
Why MediaTroopers must enter every single US market
It ’ s not uncommon for those in US sports to take a long-term view on strategy when it comes to building a championship-winning side . US paid media affiliate MediaTroopers holds a similar view , CEO and co-founder Sam Segal tells Dan Kleiner
A new market for affiliates presents fresh opportunities , but it also comes with risks . The US isn ’ t without its struggles but , as MediaTroopers has found , it pays to be consistent and willing to work with operators on terms they prefer .
For Shmulik ( Sam ) Segal , the affiliate ’ s CEO , it was a waiting game for the US to become an opportunity worth exploring . With online poker booming and policymakers seemingly leaning towards igaming regulation rather than prohibition , operators viewed the US as being “ completely open ”. This of course all changed overnight in 2006 with the passage of UIGEA .
Of the ensuing years , which saw him head up product for Playtech and Aspire Global before leading performance marketing for PokerStars ’ iBus Media , Segal says : “ I remember coming to the shows and everyone would question when the US would open again , it was always there in the background .”
Next gold rush
It was in 2018 that Segal noticed things were changing , especially with the Supreme Court ’ s ruling that sports and casino igaming regulation sits with individual states . At this time , Benjamin Truman , MediaTroopers co-founder , had his own company , while
Segal had a business that focused on UK sportsbooks . And it was Truman who approached Segal with a proposition .
“ He came to me and said , ‘ Listen , New Jersey is open , Pennsylvania is opening up but it ’ s going to be challenging as an affiliate because you have to get a licence ’, but we decided to build a company around a totally regulated market ,” Segal says . “ We decided to be licensed everywhere that ’ s open which we knew would be a tedious process .”
In the US , all the opening states require new licensing applications even from companies already approved to operate in other legal markets in the country . “ Every new state we need to go and get our fingerprints and send it to the local police ,” says Segal .
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