Liftoff!: Ontario ignites North America iGaming – SiGMA Americas meets the Canadian industry players
Ontario has just launched its legal iGaming market on April 4th. With SiGMA heading over to Toronto next month for the inauguration of SiGMA Americas, SiGMA News has just launched a series of mini-interviews with major operators and partners who have decided to grow their reach in this market through obtaining their gaming licences.
For the first interview, we met up with Matthew Kelemen. Kelemen is the Business Development Director for North America at Pariplay. The company is one of the first few to be awarded an Ontario licence. This licence has seen Pariplay’s aggregation offering become available throughout the Canadian province, which it says will be done alongside a number of major operators and partners.
With the launch of the new online gaming market in Ontario, how do you plan to leave your mark in this area?
As with any market, it’s important to offer something that customers really want. We are already a well-established name in the industry, trusted by operators across the world, and know that we have a great product. Since its inception, we have worked tirelessly to improve our platform and build up a premium games offering from fantastic studios, including our own Wizard Games.
As well as having a wide and diverse content library featuring the most popular themes, mechanics and features, we also have our own conversion and retention tools that enhance player lifetime value. We know the competition will be tough, as when any new market opens, but we are also confident that operators will quickly realise the strength of our product and the benefits we can offer, especially in a fledgling marketspace.
Why Canada?
Canada, together with the US, has long been on the radar of both operators and suppliers as the next big market to crack. With the regulation of online gambling now slowly progressing, North America has become a reality for the industry, and it offers plenty of potential. The population is massive and mostly untapped so for us, entering both the US and Canada was a no-brainer.
Earlier this year, we entered Alberta as the sole distributor of content for PlayAlberta, the only regulated online gambling website in the province. Alberta’s government has put a lot of trust in us and we are honoured to deliver our premium product to local customers. We’re now looking forward to seeing how the market in Ontario evolves.
The combined market for online sports betting and gaming in Canada is estimated to be over US$2 billion in 2022 according to H2 Gambling Capital, despite the market only going live in April. This includes Ontario, which is expected to become one of the largest iGaming markets in North America so we have high expectations that Canada will become one of our key focal points.
What are your expectations from the newly opened market?
We believe first-mover advantage is key and we are already live with a number of operators in Ontario, including BetMGM and 888casino. Over the next months will be going live with Rush Street Interactive, Caesars, and other big industry names.
We believe Ontario will be an amazing market and will be a great compliment to our Alberta operation. Ontario has a similar set-up to the UK in terms of ease of entry and regulation and it is one currency in and out which makes transactions much easier. You could say it’s a North American market but with a European vibe.
As we get more established, we will analyse the player data and engage with local operators to ensure our offering is as customised as possible and to see if there is more we can do to support our partners. I am Pariplay’s first dedicated North America director and having someone on the ground will hugely help further grow our footprint in Canada. It is still early, but we are excited about the opportunities that Ontario brings and look forward to seeing how it evolves and being a part of it.
What makes your company stand out from the crowd?
Our Fusion platform hosts the biggest portfolio of games from the most sought-after suppliers in the industry and the content has already been proven in the many regulated markets we are active in. Our experience in Europe, and recently also the US and Alberta, has shown that our games resonate well with a wide demographic of players and preferences and offer great experiences and entertainment. Our fast integration makes it seamless for operators to partner with us but what really makes us stand out is the option to take some rather than all of our content, making for a more targeted approach depending on
the size of the business and regions you want to operate in. Operators can therefore enter new markets much quicker and adapt as and when needed to deliver a localised and optimised experience.
Are you planning on exhibiting at SiGMA Americas’ upcoming Summit in Canada this June, if yes why?
Unfortunately, we will miss exhibiting this year, but we plan on exhibiting in the future. However, I and a few others from our Pariplay team will be at the Summit in June supporting this SiGMA event.
Do you have any future plans lined up?
We are constantly in talks with local operators and will have some exciting news to share about our plans for Canada in the second quarter of the year. We also continue to expand in other key regulated markets and have significantly boosted our Fusion offering over the last three months with content from some new and unique studios. We never rest on our laurels and it’s a particularly exciting time for Pariplay so watch this space!
Toronto is the perfect hub for SiGMA’s growth in North America, making it a nexus of networking and business development in the region with regards to land-based, iGaming, sports betting, and more. Playing host to a massive iGaming industry, Toronto will be the home for the SiGMA Group’s initiative to link the industry pioneers of the continent together for 3 days of networking, workshops, and awards. To learn more about sponsorship and speaking opportunities or to inquire about attending the event, please contact Sophie on?[email protected].
