Added to site by Assaf Dor (contributor)
The iGamingNEXT conference I recently attended in New York was an eye-opener on the current state of the US gaming market. The industry is still unstructured and going through a definition process in terms of procedures and business flows that are emerging.
Here are five key takeaways from the conference that I believe were worth sharing:
- The US gaming market is still quite unstructured. Company procedures and business flows are still going through a slow definition process. Seemingly the US is still not as established as other regions like Europe or Asia in Affiliate marketing tactical strategy. The industry is still in its infancy here since states have reopened and brands are still trying to understand how to work with publishers alongside other traditional marketing channels. Many aspects of the business and marketing parameters are not yet defined. This presents a unique opportunity for entrepreneurs and startups to enter the market and shape its growth by building solutions and opportunities for brands to connect to niche customer segments around the country.
- Many of the up and coming operations are struggling, leaving the stage to the big operators to define where and how this channel contributes to the development and growth of the industry in the US. Despite the opportunity for startups to enter the US gaming market, many of them are struggling to gain real customer traction. This is because the regulatory environment is challenging, and the cost of entry is still quite high around obtaining licenses and rights to advertise and promote in certain states. As a result, big operators are dominating the market, and smaller companies are finding it harder to enter and compete with bigger budgets and mass brand promotion.
- The regulatory environment is a massive barrier leaving many innovative entrepreneurs out of the market.The regulatory environment in the US remains too complex and varies from state to state. This creates a significant barrier for entrepreneurs who want to enter the market. Not to mention for the marketers who are trying to find value propositions and innovative ways to spend their marketing budgets. The typical digital marketing split of above and below the line advertising that works in more established area’s like the European market simply won’t transcend over to the US. A different model to acquire customers needs to be thought our and measured in some cases , state by state. This provides complexity around infrastructure, resourcing, tracking and reporting what’s working and what isn’t as state geo location parameters need to be applied to all digital activity.
- The cost of obtaining licenses and complying with regulations can be prohibitive for startups. This means that only the big players who can afford to comply with the regulations are succeeding and gaining early entry and market share. This means there’s a limited choice for customers to engage with and that could impact user experience and loyalty options significantly causing brands to churn and burn players at a faster pace and not maintain the competitive innovation that other regulated markets have enjoyed.
- Lots of the large affiliate campaigns resulted in substantial losses for the US operators. This led them to change their sentiment towards the affiliate channel. Affiliate marketing is an essential channel for the gaming industry. However, many US operators have had bad experiences with affiliate campaigns that resulted in substantial losses. This has led them to rethink their approach to the affiliate channel and look for ways to mitigate their risks.
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?
Personally, I can attribute these “Affiliate losses” to their lacking affiliate technology that doesn’t allow them to monitor and manage their partner budgets and or effectively optimize for ROI on the campaigns they’ve delivered with partners to date, secondly I think that this is also a result of trying to approach the market with a lack of understanding in terms of what the value add partner should bring in the entire marketing funnel.
A district lack of strategy and a desire to enter fast and first – has possibly left operators short changed when working with affiliates to engage audiences across different states. Many operators do not have the right tools to monitor and manage their affiliate budgets effectively. This makes it challenging to optimize their campaigns for ROI and identify where they are losing money – in real time.
They might be choosing the wrong partners to spend with and are not embracing affiliate marketing as a part of their wider digital marketing and brand strategy. They are looking at this channel as a silo to do broad strokes message pushes that are not targeted enough to convert a newer inexperienced digital audience.
It’s time to get serious about understanding what tools, resources and strategies you need to enter and grow successfully in the US!
IN CONCLUSION
In conclusion, the US gaming market still presents unique opportunities and challenges for entrepreneurs , publishers , affiliates and established players. The industry is still in its infancy and that means those that invest to truly understand where and how to activate partners to drive value and can measure the results of that – are going through a slow but worthy definition process.
The regulatory environment is complex, making it hard for startups to enter the market. However that doesn’t mean there isn’t a market to engage with! Big operators dominate now but customers still want choices and that’s leaving a gaping hole for smaller companies to come in and leverage innovation, insight and data to create a competitive advantage. The right tool, like Cellxpert’s next generation technology might be just the trick to help you do that!
Talk to our sales team if you’re looking to gain a competitive advantage for your business and if you’re entering the US soon, hit me up with a message on LINKEDIN and I’ll be happy to help you navigate the best way forward based on what I’m seeing and hearing at conferences and events.
Get in Touch talkwith@cellxpert.com or book a FREE demo call to discover how Cellxpert can help your business grow.
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