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.”
Live! Casino & Hotel is set to open on February 13, 2025, and the company has announced that the space will feature a retail DraftKings Sportsbook inside of the highly anticipated $270+ million casino project.
The DraftKings Sportsbook strategically located within Sports & Social, the premier sports bar and restaurant in the US, will offer guests an immersive sports entertainment atmosphere highlighted by a state-of-the-art LED media wall, made-from-scratch dining options and expertly crafted cocktails. Gamedays at Sports & Social feature an electric environment with elements such as emcees and DJs, competitions and games, and industry-leading audio and visual displays including music and light effects.
“Live! Casino & Hotel Louisiana will redefine entertainment in the region by offering everything under one roof – from fine dining and live entertainment to top-tier casino games. With the addition of the DraftKings Sportsbook, we are elevating the experience for sports fans, connecting them to a new level of engagement across some of America’s most popular leagues, including the NFL, NBA and more. From cheering on the Dallas Cowboys to the LSU Tigers and every team in between, the new retail DraftKings Sportsbook will be an incredibly popular entertainment option for the entire Ark-La-Tex region,” said John J. Chaszar, Executive Vice President and General Manager of Live! Casino & Hotel Louisiana.
DraftKings will offer Live! Casino & Hotel Louisiana customers comprehensive betting offerings and options, including live wagers and player proposition bets. Louisiana sports fans aged 21 and over will be able to place bets on various professional and other sports leagues, ensuring a wide range of choices for enthusiasts, all while viewing multiple games live.
“We are excited to expand our relationship with The Cordish Companies and open a new retail DraftKings Sportsbook at Live! Casino & Hotel Louisiana. With a shared commitment to innovation and entertainment, our latest retail sportsbook will deliver a premier sports betting experience just in time for fans to cheer on their favorite college basketball teams during March Madness,” said Michael Kibort, VP of Product Operations at DraftKings.
The post DraftKings Becomes Official Sportsbook of Live! Casino & Hotel Louisiana appeared first on Gaming and Gambling Industry in the Americas.
Swedish-founded gaming giant live in New Jersey, Michigan, Connecticut, and now Pennsylvania and West Virginia with top-tier operators
Play’n GO, the world’s leading casino entertainment provider, has today announced a five-state partnership with leading US operator DraftKings, which also includes its sister brand, Golden Nugget.
Having launched in New Jersey, Michigan, and Connecticut earlier this year, today marks a clean sweep of five regulated states where Play’n GO is active and in partnership with DraftKings. To date, DraftKings players in the aforementioned states have enjoyed classic Play’n GO titles such as Piggy Blitz, Fire Joker, and the game taking the US by storm, Colt Lightning Firestorm, all of which are now available in Pennsylvania and West Virginia too.
Play’n GO first partnered with DraftKings in May 2024, and have wasted no time in launching in each regulated state. Having first launched in the US in July 2022, Play’n GO is now live in five US states with multiple operators.
Magnus Olsson, Chief Commercial Officer at Play’n GO, commented “The DraftKings and Golden Nugget brands are synonymous with gaming in the US, and we are excited to further strengthen our partnership with both brands by expanding into these fourth and fifth states together. We believe our games portfolio, our preference for direct integration, and our commitment to listening to our customers all make us the best casino entertainment provider in the world, and the ideal partner for any operator. We are proof that a sustainable, entertainment-led business model is the key to success in the long-term, and we believe that this will allow us to continue providing world-class content in the US and beyond for many years to come.”
DraftKings, one of North America’s leading operators, has gone live with EveryMatrix casino content in Ontario, Canada – the tier-1 supplier’s latest entry into a large iGaming jurisdiction in North America.
EveryMatrix will provide DraftKings customers in Canada’s largest province with games from its in-house studios including Armadillo Studios via seamless integration with SlotMatrix, its proprietary B2B aggregation and content provision offering.
The Ontario launch is the second North American territory to see EveryMatrix content go live with DraftKings, following New Jersey in June last year.
The leading iGaming technology provider is the industry’s largest content aggregator and has secured commercial agreements with several tier-1 operators in the US through SlotMatrix.
EveryMatrix 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: “EveryMatrix is thrilled to expand our partnership with DraftKings into Canada and the largest province, Ontario.
“This means we now reach half of the country’s population and marks yet another important milestone for the company. DraftKings is one of the largest iGaming and sportsbook operators in North America and we are one step closer to full market penetration with them.”
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