The Real Source of SUCCESS

Playtech is looking to repeat its European success to become one of the preeminent suppliers of software for North America’s embryonic iGaming market

By Alan Campbell

Playtech was established by Israeli entrepreneur Teddy Sagi in 1999 and has grown to become one of Europe’s most notable names in iGaming, with its software being utilized by a raft of prominent operators including the likes of Ladbrokes, William Hill and Bet365.

The firm’s innovations today run to an ample selection of web and mobile-based digital gaming applications that encompass everything from casino, poker and bingo entertainment to live-dealer and sports betting.

The London-based company released its first casino product in 2001 before going on to inaugurate its highly successful iPoker network some three years later. This was followed in March 2006 by its floatation on the London Stock Exchange with a valuation just shy of $1 billion and the subsequent appointment of former Oracle and PricewaterhouseCoopers professional Mor Weizer as chief executive officer.

The promotion of Weizer saw Playtech further ramp up its efforts at developing best-in-class gaming products and content that encompassed strong partnerships with a large number of iGaming licensees as well as the acquisition of multiple smaller software operators and developers. These endeavors resulted in rapid expansion to give the innovative company a presence in just about every corner of Europe’s flourishing online gambling industry.

“Playtech was established at the inception of the online gambling industry, and its offering has been developed with over 20 years of investment and experience in the iGaming sector,” says Weizer.

Accommodating Awareness

The firm highlighted quality and flexibility as other important factors in its growing success with the modular capacity offered by its Information Management Solution (IMS) platform serving as a prime example of these differentiators.

This cutting-edge advance provides licensees with all of the tools necessary to successfully manage and run an iGaming operation, while its modular construction means that distinct capabilities can be broken down into a set of easily identifiable services with distinct integrations for the more agile delivery of technology.

For iGaming operators with their own platforms, Playtech furthermore offers a software-as-a-service (SAAS) proposition for access to its vast range of innovative content. The company revealed that this plug-and-play advance gives licensees the chance to benefit from its entertainment while simultaneously taking advantage of low implementation costs and quick times to market.

Adding to its offer, Playtech runs a structured agreement model for partners who may lack the necessary technological expertise to succeed online despite having a strong retail brand. This configuration comes complete with a platform-based solution alongside a range of marketing and operational services, and has already been successfully rolled out with the state-owned

Holland Casino in the Netherlands in addition to a number of iGaming operators in Latin America.

Playtech disclosed that its forward-thinking data analytics offering is furthermore helping iGaming operators to improve player experiences and increase lifetime values. The firm asserts that this overture gives licensees all of the tools they may need to effectively evaluate “big data” and leverage real-time automated insights into players’ behavioral patterns so as to create a personalized gaming experience.

Determined Direction

Playtech today possesses a premium listing on the London bourse’s respected main market while moreover sitting as an established member of the equally impressive FTSE 250 Index. With offices in 20 countries, the company has 180 partners operating in more than 40 regulated jurisdictions, and recently recorded adjusted EBITDA for the six months to the end of June 2022 of nearly $217 million, which equated to an increase of 64 percent year-on-year, driven almost entirely by online growth.

The firm described its initial float as “a significant milestone” that allowed it to begin raising capital to pursue “an ambitious growth plan” that continues to be aimed at a multitude of regulated and soon-to-beregulated markets across the globe, including those in the United States, Canada and Latin America.

“Our mission has always been to empower our customers and partners to be successful,” says Weizer. “This continues today via our ‘source of success’ motto while delivering shared and long-term value for all of our stakeholders.”

With experience in the fields of online gambling, technology and finance, Weizer says he is now focused on continuing to discover ways for Playtech to “grow and innovate,” even as the world continues to come to terms with the war in Ukraine and the lingering impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.

“I have an unwavering and steadfast commitment to safeguarding our people and their families,” says Weizer. “I also have an ambition for this business to have a positive impact on people, communities, the environment and the wider industry.

“As such, we have established our five-year sustainability strategy with commitments and targets covering safer gambling, climate and diversity and inclusion alongside a broader contribution to the communities in which we operate.”

As part of this strategy, Playtech has detailed that it is committed to investing in responsible gambling technologies to build a safer and sustainable industry. This effort has so far included the 2017 acquisition of responsible gambling analytics solution provider Betbuddy alongside the integration of safer gambling solutions into the company’s IMS platform.

American Adventure

Playtech entered the budding iGaming market of the United States in Q3 2020 via its Playtech USA arm. The company initially followed a content-first approach by exploiting existing relationships to launch with New Jersey’s BetMGM, Party Gaming and Borgata brands before subsequently rolling out its online casino software in the Garden State with Bet365.

Weizer says the strict regulatory regime attached to New Jersey’s iGaming environment presented its teams with the “perfect litmus test,” as its initial expansion phase encompassed a focus on entering as many states where iGaming is legal before going on to grow its market share.

Playtech has since secured multi-product relationships with the likes of Parx Casino, 888 and Pokerstars, and is now licensed in eight American states, including Ohio, where it recently introduced a range of Class C retail sports betting kiosks via a partnership with Gold Rush Gaming.

Playtech’s American presence furthermore stretches to content and live-dealer studios for iGaming domains in Michigan as well as New Jersey, where the BetParx service is utilizing its IMS platform. The company noted that “further live facilities are progressing in Pennsylvania among other locations and where iGaming is most popular,” while it has recently grown its local operational and backoffice teams “in order to accelerate its presence in the region.”

The company admits that it entered the U.S. iGaming market later than many other European firms, but nevertheless believes that its success will be assured by the wide range of high-quality technology and capabilities it offers. It describes this portfolio as instrumental, as it looks to accelerate market penetration and deliver compelling and entertaining experiences that will simultaneously help partners to grow their businesses responsibly.

Canadian Capacity

In Canada, Playtech describes the province of Ontario as “an exciting new iGaming environment” where the regulatory framework has been designed to maintain high standards across a number of areas including responsible gambling.

The firm inked a wide-ranging software and services agreement with NorthStar Gaming in December 2021 before going on to extend this relationship so as to allow the Toronto-headquartered operator to utilize its Playtech Protect advance alongside its live-dealer, poker, bingo and casino innovations.

Prominent Pursuit

When it comes to what is popular in the nascent iGaming market of North America, Playtech asserts that while sports betting states continue to outnumber iGaming compatriots five-to-one, official state reports surprisingly reveal that igaming accounts for some 40 percent of aggregated online and sports betting GGR in the U.S.

Playtech now employs over 130 people in the United States, and declares that it is “well-placed to serve and support the needs of American iGaming clients” across a wide range of critical areas from sales and information technology to project management and compliance.

Playtech also has noted it will only seek to deploy its retail sports betting technology “where and when this is financially and strategically viable.”

Admirable Ambition

When it comes to what would constitute success for Playtech in the U.S. and Canada, it is intent on “replicating its success by becoming a leading supplier in the Americas” and “securing a significant market share” as well as a “presence in all states where iGaming is legal and competitive.”

The firm furthermore notes that it is consequently hoping to develop even more strategic projects that will help it to open up new revenue streams and further increase its standing while deploying safer gambling technologies and its “almost unparalleled library of top games” to a large club of American and Canadian partners.

“Our team’s depth and breadth of expertise forms the foundation for delivering the quality technology, must-have engaging content and reliable service that will make us a partner of choice as we expand across the United States and Canada,” says Weizer.