DraftKings
Jamie Shea Urges United States Betting Brands to Embrace Player Education
Strive Gaming Chief Marketing Officer tells Xtremepush podcast Experts in the Room in-play betting has the potential to take off as it has in Europe
Sportsbooks in the United States must focus on educating bettors about the availability and benefits of in-play betting for a profitable future, according to Strive Gaming’s Chief Marketing Officer, Jamie Shea (pictured).
Speaking as a guest on a forthcoming edition of Xtremepush’s podcast series Experts in the Room, the industry leader and former VP of Sportsbook at DraftKings stressed that live betting has so far only reached a fraction of its potential in the country.
That’s despite it being more than five years since the first legal online bets in the United States outside of Nevada were placed with DraftKings in New Jersey.
Also key to profitability is a concerted push to retain expensively acquired players, Shea argues, with increased personalisation favored above expensive blanket bonusing.
“The education of the player is the best retention tool as it teaches them how to play,” said Shea, speaking to Xtremepush’s New Business Account Executive and podcast host, Will Hansen. “A lot of the time, customers just don’t even realize that certain bets exist. One of the things that’s driving me crazy right now in the United States industry is in-play. Why is that not bigger? Seventy per cent of bets should be in-play, as they are in Europe, because it’s fun and provides instant gratification.
“I would love to see that happen in the United States. We need to educate the players on how it works and where they can find it in an app and that’s where push notifications come in. Brands should be doing all they can to let the customer know that hey, there is this wager available and it’s a lot of fun. Every time that I’ve sat down with people and taught them how it works, they love it and it becomes their go-to.”
Shea also stressed that United States operators’ acquisition budgets need to be more in line with player lifetime values, a trend which is already in motion.
“After the first bet on August 1st, 2018, in New Jersey, it was a free-for-all,” she added. “Nobody knew what should be done or how it should be done, just that they wanted as many active customers as possible. And so it was a bonus here, a bonus there.
“Unfortunately, as everybody came to realize, this set the customer up with an expectation that isn’t realistic, because those offers can’t last forever. It also created a lot of promiscuity within the different brands through ‘promo hunters’ and it started to become a race to the bottom. Nobody was profitable.
“Having Strive Gaming and Xtremepush in the United States market allows for so much more targeted marketing, so that bonuses aren’t just thrown at everyone. It allows us to look at what resonates with certain player types as a targeted and measured approach.”
In line with the data-led approach to personalized offerings, Shea also stressed that detecting problematic player behavior is of paramount importance for United States-focused platform provider Strive Gaming.
“For me, it’s a very personal topic,” she said. “I grew up with my dad losing his business and that’s because gaming was not regulated. Nobody was texting him and asking him how he was doing back in 1984. One of the great things about having all of this data available is you can look to see, has someone changed their behavior dramatically?
“I’m very cognizant of player interactions with us. Our customer service team is extremely well-trained to notice when certain trigger words, for example, suggest a person might be having a problem. We can’t be their therapist. We can’t know everything they are thinking. But what we can do is provide the right tools to enable people to keep enjoying sports betting and iGaming, in a very responsible manner that isn’t going to affect their lives.”
Red Rake Gaming, a prominent developer of high-quality online casino content, is excited to announce a new strategic partnership with DraftKings, a leading name in the U.S. sports betting and online gaming industry.
This landmark agreement will see Red Rake Gaming’s innovative and engaging casino games integrated into DraftKings’ platform, offering their extensive player base access to a rich selection of top-performing titles.
The partnership will initially focus on key states, including New Jersey and Pennsylvania including Ontario in Canada, where Red Rake Gaming aims to establish a strong presence and contribute to the vibrant online gaming markets. This collaboration is a significant step in Red Rake Gaming’s broader North American expansion strategy, highlighting its commitment to delivering exceptional gaming experiences to American and Canadian players.
“We are thrilled to partner with DraftKings, a true leader in the U.S. online gaming sector,” said Nick Barr, Managing Director of Red Rake Gaming Malta. “DraftKings’ extensive reach and dedicated player base provide a fantastic platform for us to showcase our innovative games. We are confident that our diverse range of content will resonate well with DraftKings’ players and enhance their gaming experience.”
This collaboration with DraftKings is one of several strategic alliances that Red Rake Gaming has planned as part of its entry into the U.S. markets of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Michigan. By partnering with leading operators in these states, Red Rake Gaming aims to replicate its European success and deliver its captivating gaming experiences to a new audience.
Players across these states can anticipate an influx of engaging and innovative games, characterized by Red Rake Gaming’s trademark high-quality graphics, unique game mechanics, and player-centric features. As Red Rake Gaming continues to expand its footprint in the U.S., it remains committed to pushing the boundaries of online casino gaming and setting new standards in player entertainment.
Over the past two years, DraftKings has teamed up with hoops culture crafter Set Free Richardson to create an award-winning (2023 Clio Sports Bronze), multi-dimensional game plan that helped connect DraftKings to basketball culture through music, fashion, meaningful conversations with all-star athletes and celebrities, and more, amplifying the brand’s initiative to deliver fans more exciting offerings both on and off the court.
As we approach the 2024 NBA Finals, DraftKings is excited to announce Set Free as the brand’s first-ever Creative Director of NBA Culture. In this role, Set Free will be instrumental in continuing to drive fresh opportunities and ideas that engage basketball fans and further elevates DraftKings as an innovator within this space.
“Set Free has an incredible track record for bringing creative ideas, brands and people together with the purpose to connect to culture through art, fashion, music, sports and more,” said Michael Shonkoff, DraftKings Vice President of Brand Marketing. “We are thrilled to continue to work closely with Set Free in this newly created role to deliver elevated basketball experiences for our customers.”
Fans can expect more collaborations with artists, exclusive DraftKings hoops-inspired merchandise, events and more.
If you are interested in learning more Set Free’s role at DraftKings, or would like additional information about our NBA initiatives, please feel free to reach out.
EveryMatrix is live with Supremeland Gaming, Inc. on DraftKings, its first exclusive content aggregation partnership in US.
The partnership will see Supremeland Gaming, through its American-based game studio Powderkeg, develop exclusive content on EveryMatrix technology, while also enabling EveryMatrix to distribute its games and provide additional gamification features such as free spins and tournaments for the US market via its SlotMatrix aggregation platform.
Supremeland Gaming’s content, via SlotMatrix, is now available on DraftKings in New Jersey with further states pending.
EveryMatrix is the industry’s largest content aggregator and has secured commercial agreements with several tier-1 operators in the US through SlotMatrix including DraftKings with its in-house content live in New Jersey and Ontario.
It has more than 300 global customers with North American licences in Ontario, New Jersey, Michigan, West Virginia, Connecticut and Pennsylvania.
Erik Nyman, President, EveryMatrix Americas, said: “At the core of the EveryMatrix product strategy has been to deliver its world-leading casino productivity and aggregation platform to the US market.
“Today, we have enabled our first partner Supremeland Gaming to go live and our customers can facilitate bonus capabilities for third-party games which has been never seen in this market until now. Powderkeg develops high-quality games and we are confident players will enjoy them.”
Rickard Öhrn, CEO of Supremeland Gaming, said: “This major milestone represents the first step on an exciting journey we are undertaking to deliver mischievous, innovative, and really fun-to-play online games to a broader audience through our partnership with EveryMatrix.”
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