Mohegan Sun

Mohegan Gaming and Entertainment’s flagship Mohegan Sun property, located in Uncasville, Connecticut, has appointed Kim Noto to vice president of marketing and chief marketing officer.

In the new role she will take the lead on all marketing efforts, including overseeing Mohegan Sun’s player’s club, VIP services, hotel sales and marketing, hotel yielding, database marketing, sponsorship, bus marketing and special events.

“Kim is a great example of how hard work, dedication and a personal commitment to development can lead to success at our company,” noted Jeff Hamilton, president and general manager at Mohegan Sun.

“As our business strategy adjusts for a post-COVID world, we are looking forward to her perspective and strategic decisions.”

Paysafe

Paysafe has appointed Ismail Dawood as its new group chief financial officer. Based in the US, Dawood will report into Paysafe CEO, Philip McHugh, when he joins the company on September 28.

Dawood is lauded as bringing a track record of over 25 years in financial leadership and has previously held CFO positions in both public and private organisations. His experience includes corporate finance, treasury, investor relations, tax, financial planning and analysis, operational performance management, controllership, M&A and strategy.

McHugh said: “Izzy is a talented finance executive with a proven track record in strategic thinking and driving impressive results. I know he will be a real asset to our team as we continue our path to become the world’s leading specialised payments platform.”

Sportnco

France-based sports betting solutions supplier Sportnco has confirmed the appointment of Benjamin Böhle-Roitelet as its new chief information officer.

Sportnco praised Böhle-Roitelet’s technical expertise, highlighting that the new appointment will strengthen the company’s technical arsenal as well as ‘increasing innovation and managing acquisitions of tech companies’.

Hervé Schlosser, CEO and founder of Sportnco, stated: “The arrival of Benjamin Böhle-Roitelet as CIO is extremely positive and we are delighted about it.

“Benjamin is an additional asset for our company and will enable us to provide an even stronger level of service to our current and future B2B customers. This will take the company to a new level in what is already a highly technological sector.”

United Remote

Jessica Walker has been appointed as sales and business development manager at aggregator and platform provider United Remote, gaining responsibility for commercial development in present key markets as well as nurturing new territories.

Bringing a wealth of experience across igaming and media, the hire is praised as “the latest significant addition to the United Remote management group.”

Based in Malta, Walker is to gain responsibility for all global business development activities which includes delivery of United Remote’s sales, commercial and B2B customer strategy.

United Remote Group CEO Jeremy Fall commented: “Jessica Walker is an outstanding appointment for United Remote as we extend the influence of our advanced technologies to operators and partners around the world.

I am thrilled to welcome Jessica to United Remote’s senior management team, a highly skilled and experienced woman who will be a key team player in helping us to drive our future development and to achieve our ambitions. Her commitment to United Remote is another mark of confidence in our technology platform and our growth potential.”

The post Part 41 | On the move: Recruitment round-up appeared first on CasinoBeats.

With plenty of movers and shakers around the industry, allow CasinoBeats to give you the rundown on a number of recent manoeuvres.

Kaizen Gaming

The recently re-branded Kaizen Gaming has added to its core management team by welcoming Ioannis Koutrakos as group marketing director, succeeding Chris Tzalavras who is now head of commercial for the Stoiximan brand.

Forming part of the company’s strategic approach to achieving local and international expansion, Koutrakos will be charged with heading-up marketing and communication projects that involve both Stoiximan and Betano brands across all markets.

Panos Constantopoulos, CMO Kaizen Gaming, stated: “We are really excited to welcome Ioannis to Kaizen Gaming family and looking forward to see his wealth of experience incorporated in this key leadership position. I am sure he will thrive in pursuing the company’s great dynamics and values, while developing new, innovative ideas.

“Along with Ioannis, we hope to further enhance our brands’ image across markets. His knowledge and experience in the sector of technology, being in top-tier positions and undertaking big projects, offers great value to our company.”

Paysafe

Payments platform Paysafe has announced the appointment of Jeffry Beene to the position of senior vice president of merchant risk.

Reporting to chief risk officer Richard Swales, and bringing in excess of 25 years leadership experience in risk and payments, primarily in the US market, Beene is to gain overall responsibility for leading Paysafe’s merchant risk function.

In addition to overseeing all merchant risk management globally, Beene will be responsible for monitoring risk across ISO partners, independent software vendor partners, and distributors.

Swales said: “We’re delighted to further strengthen our team with a leader of Jeffry’s caliber and experience. We’re confident that Jeffry, a pioneer in the U.S. payments risk management space, will ensure risk and compliance play an instrumental part in helping Paysafe fulfill its vision of becoming the global leader in specialized payments.”

Mohegan Gaming and Entertainment

Mohegan Gaming and Entertainment has appointed Kevin Lowry as assistant general manager of the operator’s flagship Mohegan Sun Connecticut property.

Working alongside Jeffrey Hamilton, president and general manager of Mohegan Sun, and the leadership team on all major initiatives, Lowry will be responsible for finance, gaming, cashiering, tenant and retail operations at the facility.

“We are pleased to introduce Kevin Lowry as the new Assistant General Manager of our flagship property,” said Mario Kontomerkos, CEO of MGE. “Kevin has been a member of the Mohegan family for more than 20 years and served Mohegan Sun Connecticut faithfully since we opened our doors in 1996.

“We are confident Kevin will guide Mohegan Sun, one of the largest integrated entertainment resorts in North America, on a path of continued growth and success.”

Maxima Compliance

Full-service compliance provider Maxima Compliance has lauded “another major hire,” with María Romero de Alba joining the company as senior business development manager.

Romero de Alba joins Maxima Compliance’s commercial team from BMM Testlabs, and will work across the firm’s client base and Complitech product.

Antonio Zanghi, founder and managing director of Maxima Compliance, commented: “Maxima Compliance continues to expand its team aggressively to consolidate our position as the industry’s leading compliance specialists.

“María perfectly fits the bill and we are confident that her commercial expertise will help take us to the next level.”

The post Part 39 | On the move: Recruitment round-up appeared first on CasinoBeats.

Seminole Hard Rock Support Services

Seminole Hard Rock Support Services, an organisation created to provide support worldwide to hotels, casinos and cafes for Seminole Gaming and Hard Rock International, has unveiled the appointment of Keith Sheldon as the new president of entertainment.

In the role, Sheldon will oversee and direct the entertainment function for Seminole Gaming and the Hard Rock International brand.

Sheldon most recently held the position of executive vice president of programming and development at BSE Global, where he led the development of content opportunities and special events at Barclays Center.

“Keith Sheldon has a proven track record of success and an impressive list of accomplishments from his previous endeavors that will set him apart in this role at Seminole Hard Rock Support Services,” said Jim Allen, chairman of Hard Rock International and CEO of Seminole Gaming.

“We are excited to welcome him to our team and are certain he will continue to leverage his expertise in the entertainment industry to provide unbeatable experiences that our fans will enjoy for years to come.”

Paysafe

Payments platform Paysafe has appointed Afshin Yazdian as CEO of its newly formed US acquiring division, joining the firm on July 1 and being charged with “bringing to life Paysafe’s vision of being the US’s leading payments solutions provider”.

Yazdian boasts more than two decades of leadership experience in payments, and most recently held the position of president of Priority Payment Systems, a Georgia-based payments technology firm.

This latest appointment completes the executive leadership team for Paysafe’s restructured Payment Processing business unit, which now operates as two, distinct customer-focused divisions.

Philip McHugh, CEO of Paysafe Group, commented: “We’re delighted to complete our executive leadership team in payment processing with the appointment of Afshin. The current COVID-19 outbreak poses significant challenges for our direct merchant customers as well as our ISO and Agent partners, and we’re confident that Afshin, with his track record of building and managing high growth organisations, and his laser focus on customer service, will ensure that we all emerge stronger as the market stabilises.”

Alot solutions

Alot Solutions has announced the appointment of Abigail Wahnon as head of legal and compliance. This appointment will support the business as it continues to expand in the B2B and B2C markets providing prize cover, technology and content to a wide range of customers.

Wahnon is lauded as bringing over 10 years of corporate legal experience, having worked in senior management, legal and regulatory positions in Gibraltar, Spain and the UK. She will be responsible for legal, company secretarial and compliance functions at the company and will help to support and contribute to the continued growth of the business.

Michael Carruthers, CEO of Alot Solutions, commented: “Earlier this year Alot Solutions launched to offer our prize cover, technology and content to a diverse range of operators. Having someone of Abigail’s calibre join our team will help us to grow quickly and safely as we power innovation in the lottery, gaming and prize promotion sectors to benefit players, operators and their good causes.”

Hong Kong Jockey Club

The Hong Kong Jockey Club has named Philip Chen as the chairman of the club after being elected by the firm’s board of stewards.

Chen will take over from Dr Anthony Chow, who has stepped down from the HKJC after 18 years as a steward, two of which were as chairman.

In addition to Chen’s appointment, the board confirmed that Michael T H Lee was elected as the new deputy chairman. Lee has been a club member since 1989, a voting member since 2001, and currently serves as director of Oxer Holdings.

Speaking about the chairmanship, Chen said: “It is an immense honour and privilege for me to take up this new role. Our past chairmen, stewards, voting members and management have built a strong foundation for the Club over the decades. In particular, I would like to thank my predecessor, Dr Anthony Chow, who has contributed so much to the Club and to the community it serves.”

The post Part 32 | On the move: Recruitment round-up appeared first on CasinoBeats.

The firm argued that as sponsorship frameworks tighten and marketing becomes a more abstract and challenging prospect, the potential payments hold in terms of bolstering customer acquisition is vital. 

It emphasised that ‘play starts with pay’ as one of the first touchpoints for many players is the payment process. 

Specifically in European markets, payouts are almost as crucial for commencing the customer experience – with 35 per cent of UK players prioritising brand trust (35 per cent) when choosing an operator, however, payouts are almost as essential a factor, prioritised by 27 per cent. 

Furthermore, the report detailed that the strong correlation between the availability of a player’s preferred payment method and converting them underlines that operators need to offer as broad a range of transactional options as possible. 

In his blog post, Zak Cutler, Paysafe’s President Global Gaming, commented: “Of course, every customer experience ultimately starts with a deposit,” he said. “Given players’ prioritisation of rapid deposits, all payment methods they integrate should be evaluated according to their speed at funding a wager.”

“Although the Premier League’s front-of-shirt ban is two years away, it’s payments rather than sponsorships that mark the real start of players’ customer experiences with sportsbooks. 

“In the countdown to Euro 2024 and Paris 2024 this summer, the best time for operators to optimise their payment stack is now.”

Back in April 2023, the government published the UK Gambling Act review White Paper, a planned overhaul of the country’s gaming legislation.

A flagship proposal of the White Paper is the introduction of ‘finance risk checks’, referred to as ‘affordability checks’ by many stakeholders and observers. 

What will be key for the UK market is ensuring that checks avoid being intrusive, embodying just how crucial it is for operators to collaborate with the payment industry.

The post Payment process a crucial avenue for customer acquisition  appeared first on CasinoBeats.

This initial stage will see the payments platform enable Betr customers to seamlessly fund micro-bets and traditional wagers across the aforementioned states.

Paysafe, currently live in 25 other states of jurisdictions, as well as alongside “multiple operators” in Ohio and Massachusetts, noted that the alliance will be expanded upon Betr extending its US reach.

Last month, Betr raised an additional $35m via an investor funding round that gave the company a valuation of $300m.

The group, which holds plans to launch in Virginia and holds Indiana market access, also disclosed plans to launch into two additional real-money gaming verticals.

“We are excited to announce our partnership with Paysafe and are looking forward to working with them as we continue scaling the Betr business,” said Joey Levy, Founder and CEO at Betr.

“They are reliable, experienced, and share our perspective that we are just scratching the surface of product innovation in the regulated real-money gaming industry.”

This agreement will see players securely deposit into their account using their debit card, with all transactions processed in seconds by the Paysafe payment gateway.

Betr’s connectivity to the group’s platform will also allow the operator to access a range of alternative payment methods, including its digital wallet and eCash solutions,” explained Zak Cutler, President of Global Gaming at Paysafe.

“We’re proud to partner with Betr, which shares Paysafe’s own dedication to product innovation and driving the broader evolution of the US sports betting space. 

“We look forward to supporting the growth of Betr in Ohio and Massachusetts as well as future states by providing the operator and its customers on-the-go with an unparalleled payment experience that befits the impressive UX of the Betr app.”

The post Paysafe commences first phase of US roll-out alongside Betr appeared first on CasinoBeats.

This region has been at the heart of Paysafe’s year, following a number of deals which have seen the online payments company target Ontario, Arkansas, Kansas and many more jurisdictions across the pond. 

In an interview with CasinoBeats, Paysafe’s President of Global Gaming, Zak Cutler, documented the company’s expansion throughout 2022, highlighting key North American entries while predicting which markets are up next in the coming year.

CasinoBeats: 2022 has been a year of many developments, what would you say have been the standouts for Paysafe?

Zak Cutler: We have expanded our North American presence in tandem with the wider regulated market’s growth this year. In the US we are now live with multiple operators in New York, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Kansas.

In Canada, the province of Ontario launched an expanded sports-betting market for private operators, and we were processing payments for multiple operators from day-one on April 4, including theScore Bet and PointsBet Canada. 

We also launched the first ever affiliate program for a Canadian provincial lottery via OLG.ca’s new affiliate channel, which is powered by our Income Access business unit’s affiliate software and managed by IA affiliate managers.

At a product level, we built on our Q4 2021 Skrill USA wallet upgrade by launching a VIP player programme, which supports some of the highest deposit limits for high-stakes sports bettors in the industry. 

More broadly, we are transforming our Skrill wallet into the go-to digital wallet for North American players, including VIPs.

CB: Like so many across the industry, North America, and the US in particular, has formed a key focus for the group. Which new jurisdictions will be targeted next year? And what advantages do you believe they will bring?

ZC: In the US, we expect Ohio, Massachusetts (the home state of DraftKings, a longstanding Paysafe payments partner), and Maine to launch their sports-betting market in early 2023 through mid-year. It’s possible that the incremental progress in these states could lead Texas, and even California, to reconsider their regulatory positions.

Likewise, in Canada, the provinces of Quebec and British Columbia could perhaps consider emulating Ontario and launching their own private igaming markets alongside their respective provincial lotteries.

The Latin America region, whose regulated market was limited to Mexico and Columbia only a few years ago, is now transforming itself into a major market. Peru enacted igaming regulation this year, with Chile and Uruguay also considering legislation, while Brazil’s gambling bill is currently before its Senate. Arguably, 2023 could be a big year for Latin American igaming.

CB: As countries around the world face varying degrees of economic hardship, how much of a challenge, and perhaps fear from a consumer perspective, is a rise in fraud rates? How do you combat such issues?

ZC: Without exploring the correlation between the state of the economy and fraud, it remains an important challenge for the igaming industry – for operators, players and payment service providers. Close collaboration and constant communication between all stakeholders is essential in combating fraud.

At Paysafe, providing safe and secure transactions is one of our top focuses – whether through our unified payment platform or our upgraded Skrill USA digital wallet. Our platform brings the full force of Paysafe’s two decades’ experience in gaming-specific fraud and risk to bear in financially securing igaming brands and protecting their data and their players’ data.

Overall, we’re seeing improvement in players’ confidence in the security of iGaming transactions. Our 2021 research revealed that 65 per cent of US players agreed that making an online deposit was as secure as making an in-person wager, a major improvement from 2018 (just 37 per cent)

CB: What do you believe the major talking points will be during the next 12 months? And what can we expect from Paysafe?

ZC: As mentioned, we expect the global igaming market to continue to expand in 2023, with several key US, Canadian and Latin American markets set to launch, stimulating further regulatory progress. 

As the global market expands, Paysafe will be supporting our new and existing partners as they enter new jurisdictions and grow their brands, given payments’ fundamental role in player acquisition and retention.

At a product level, we will continue our transformation of the Skrill wallet into the go-to wallet for not just US igaming but globally, including for brands’ VIP players. Likewise, we will be evolving our unified payments platform, with a strong emphasis on the integration of major third-party alternative payment methods. 

Finally, we will continue to upgrade our Income Access business unit’s affiliate software solution to ensure it remains the leading tech for igaming affiliate marketing.

The post North America, VIP programmes and uncharted territory: Paysafe’s year in review appeared first on CasinoBeats.

The move sees the group supporting multiple online sportsbooks in the state with players’ credit and debit card deposits plus ACH payments.

Elsewhere, its marketing technology and services provider Income Access is powering the affiliate marketing programs of several igaming brands in the region.

Caesars, DraftKings and PointsBet have all extended longstanding payments partnerships into Kansas, with the group also supporting player acquisition for Kansas-facing operators using the affiliate marketing channel. 

The affiliate software of Paysafe’s Income Access is being used to track, manage and optimise the programs of several brands in the new Kansas market, including Caesars Entertainment’s Caesars Sportsbook.

Zak Cutler, President of Global Gaming at Paysafe, said: “We’re delighted to continue our 2022 North American expansion by entering Kansas, the newest regulated US igaming market. 

“We look forward to using our payment solutions and affiliate marketing technology to help operators in Kansas establish their brands by acquiring new players and retaining them, to also ensure the wider market’s growth.”  

With Kansas going live this month with online and retail sports-betting in time for the 2022 NFL season’s kickoff, the market becomes the 23^rd US state or jurisdiction where Paysafe has a presence supporting operators with payments. 

The Midwestern state, which BetKansas forecast will generate $1.78bn in first-year sports-betting revenue, is highlighted as just the latest North American igaming milestone for Paysafe after entering New York, Louisiana, Oregon, Ontario, and Arkansas, so far this year.

The post Paysafe continues US charge with Kansas entry appeared first on CasinoBeats.

Hard Rock 

Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Las Vegas has named Joe Lupo as the President of the future property.

Subject to regulatory approval of Hard Rock International’s purchase of The Mirage Hotel & Casino from MGM Resorts International, Lupo will take over the role once the Nevada Gaming Commission licensing process has concluded. 

“As president of the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City for the past four years, Joe Lupo has achieved amazing results,” said Allen. “Thanks to his dedication and expertise, financial results continue to outperform expectations, while our team members share an unmatched commitment to guest service and satisfaction. 

“I am confident Joe Lupo will achieve even greater success at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Las Vegas.”

Moreover, in Atlantic City, Anthony Faranca is set to become the President of the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City – subject to regulatory approval – from September 1. 

A Philadelphia native, Faranca has extensive experience managing large gaming properties in several states including Maryland, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey.

“Anthony’s deep knowledge of the Atlantic City and Northeast region is an invaluable asset to the company,” explained Allen. “We are confident that Anthony will continue Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City’s legacy of success and impactful leadership in the community.”

FanDuel

Andrew Sneyd has become the Executive Vice President of Marketing at FanDuel, which will see him oversee the core marketing functions across the firm’s complete suite of brands. 

Formerly the Senior Vice President of Brand, Sneyd will now steward growth marketing, media, customer engagement, and marketing operations, in addition to brand and product marketing strategy, creative, customer insight, press relations and partnership activation. 

Mike Raffensperger, Chief Commercial Officer for FanDuel Group, noted: “Since his arrival at FanDuel, Andrew has elevated our creative efforts and continued our explosive growth. His acumen for brand marketing has separated us from the field and under his leadership, I expect that we will continue to make moments matter more for our customers.” 

Prior to joining FanDuel, Sneyd served as Vice President, Brand Marketing & Strategy at Priceline. Before joining Priceline in 2017, he held multiple marketing leadership roles at Anheuser Busch InBev.

AstroPay

UK-based AstroPay has appointed Fayyaz Ansari as the firm’s Chief Financial Officer who will be responsible for overseeing and coordinating the payments firm’s global financial management activities. 

“I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to join AstroPay as the next step in my career,” commented Ansari. “I am excited about working with a team that is passionate about the business, has a clear strategy and always puts customers’ needs first. 

“With its commitment to global expansion, a strong business model, a focus on diversity and proud history, AstroPay is well positioned for extraordinary growth and impact. 

“I believe the company’s unique value proposition and strong foundation will allow the business to grow and execute its vision of making payments much more accessible to customers around the world.”

AstroPay added that its new CFO has also managed banking, investments and financial systems, and was also involved in fundraising and coordinating an exit via a trade sale/IPO.

Mikael Lijtenstein, CEO of AstroPay, remarked: “I am delighted to welcome Fayyaz to AstroPay, where he will undoubtedly make an immediate impact as we aim to become the world’s leading payments platform. 

“His wealth of experience will be essential in implementing our strategic plans to accelerate growth and position AstroPay for the future. 

“Fayyaz and the team will contribute to our mission of providing financial freedom to millions of people worldwide. He is an excellent addition to the AstroPay team and I look forward to working with him in our journey.”

Paysafe

Rob Gatto has been hired the Paysafe’s newly created role of Chief Revenue Officer, who will be tasked with developing the sales functions for Paysafe Card, Neteller and Skrill brands. 

Charged with spearheading the company’s international sales strategy, Paysafe underscored Gatto’s diverse technology background, having executed successful commercial strategies for Tubemogul – a  “programmatic video platform acquired by Adobe Systems for $540m;  NeuStar Inc, a cloud-based, information services company; and as CEO at PointRoll Inc, a leading provider of digital marketing technology”.

“I believe Paysafe is uniquely positioned to offer an unrivalled end-to-end payment offering to both consumers and merchants in the specialised industries it focuses on,” Gatto stated. 

“I’m thrilled to be joining Bruce and the talented Paysafe team at such an exciting time and look forward to playing my part in driving some solid growth across the business.”

OPTX

OPTX has appointed JP Symeonidis as the firm’s Vice President of Sales as the company expands into Canada. 

Symeonidis expressed his enthusiasm in joining OPTX, emphasising: “I’m always there for my customers; I’m very customer driven. After sixteen years in the business, my customers are more like friends. Additional motivation for him to join OPTX stemmed from the inner workings of the company itself. 

“I love the forward-thinking and innovative nature of OPTX. The company’s focus on its product from an operational mindset to better the functionality in casinos aligns with my personal mission to streamline and optimise an industry that serves as an entertainment haven for so many.”

Boasting 19-years of sales experience, 16 of which have been in the gaming tech space, Symeonidis’ prior accolades include working as the Director of Sales for Amaya.

“Considering the success OPTX has had across the states, the decision to expand to Canada was a no-brainer,” Brooke Fiumara, Co-CEO of OPTX, shared. “JP is the perfect puzzle piece fit for V.P. of Sales in Canada. His lengthy resume is only outweighed by the connections he has forged during his time in the gaming tech industry.” 

The post FanDuel, Hard Rock, OPTX & AstroPay: on the move appeared first on CasinoBeats.

Ahead of his participation at next week’s SBC Summit North America, Kirstein offers a sneak preview of what attendees can expect, as well as elaborating on the critical nature of payments when it comes to acquisition and retention.

CasinoBeats: On a panel at the recent Canadian Gaming Summit, Andrew Crowe of Sightline stated that “payments are always often the last thing people think about”. Would you agree with this statement? And what needs to change to ensure that payments are at the forefront of operators’ minds?

Greg Kirstein: I’d broadly agree that North American operators have tended to prioritise other factors over payments, such as licensing, platform technology, KYC, and geolocation.

That said, not every operator is the same – many have experience working across multiple global markets and understand the critical role payments play in player acquisition and retention.

Newer operators can be so focused on going live that payments tend to be an afterthought. If a new igaming brand pays to acquire a customer and they only offer a single payment method that doesn’t meet expectations, the customer can be lost. 

Overall, it’s experience that makes operators appreciate the value of payments for conversion rates, as well as the nuances related to compliance, merchant category codes, or getting a merchant account to process credit cards.

With newer operators, we share our experience on how payments support their growth, though the marketplace speaks for itself. All the best-performing operators by market share have robust cashiers with a smooth payments experience. 

With the competition in the market, an operator needs to stand out. A seamless and intuitive payment experience, where players’ preferred payment methods are saved, becomes a competitive differentiation for a brand – and operators are increasingly realizing this.         

CB: How critical a tool can payments be when it comes to the crucial realms of acquisition of retention?

GK: Payments are a crucial part of the acquisition funnel. With the diversity of North Americans’ payment preferences, an operator’s cashier needs to be flexible enough to meet every customer expectation – from cards to alternative payment methods like digital wallets and ecash.

US sports bettors actually prioritise frictionless payments, and pay-outs in particular, over all other factors when choosing a sportsbook, including odds, sports markets, and bonuses, according to our 2021 research. 

Operators need to make sure a player can easily deposit with their favourite payment method, and seamlessly repeat a deposit plus cash out. Friction in the payments experience can significantly impact retention, with 79 per cent of US players we surveyed left with a negative impression of a sportsbook if cashing out takes longer than expected.  

CB: What opportunities does the Canadian market present for Paysafe? What major differences have you witnessed, or do you expect, when contrasted to the US?

GK: Since 2010, we’ve been supporting the regulated Canadian market with payments through our partnerships with the major provincial lotteries. Ontario’s launch of a private market marks a major opportunity to expand our long-standing role helping operators grow through our payment solutions.  

We have a deep understanding of Canadian players’ payment preferences. As in the US, credit cards are king, though there are local differences like the popularity of Interac, the Canadian interbank network that ties the banking system together, allowing players to fund wagers and receive pay-outs through their debit card. 

Ontario’s major difference is that the card decline issue US operators faced has largely been resolved. It took six or seven years for American brands’ card approval rates to reach the levels we had for Ontario’s launch.

This has meant there’s been less pressure on operators to launch with nine or 10 payment methods, so they can really focus on how Ontarians prefer to pay and the overall payment experience. 

The Ontarian market will mature to attract different customer types – and operators will need to evolve their cashiers to convert these new players. As in the US, Canadian operators will have to constantly adapt to consumers’ changing payment preferences, as new payments technology is brought to market.

CB: You are set to speak at next month’s SBC Summit North America on a panel entitled ‘consumer first payments – the journey to a true e-commerce experience’. What can we expect?

GK: You can expect a wide-ranging discussion from subject matter experts at payment companies and operators like Caesars Entertainment, with reference to our own data and experience in multiple US and Canadian markets.

As the US sports-betting space expands and matures into mainstream entertainment alongside the new Canadian igaming market, there’s never been a more important time to discuss players’ payments journey – how we got here, and where we go next.

At next week’s SBC Summit North America, Kirstein will participate on the aforementioned panel alongside Christopher Granger, Lottery and Gaming Lead at Visa; Trent Striplin, VP of Payments and Fraud at Caesars Digital; John Parsons, VP of Gaming at Trustly; and Warren Tristram, SVP of Sales and Head of Gaming, Lottery and eSports at Nuvei, with Sue Page, General Manager of Neosurf, on moderating duty.

SBC Summit North America, taking place from July 12-14, will gather more than 3,000 delegates, over 1,000 operators, and 250 expert speakers. To asses the ticketing options CLICK HERE.

The post Greg Kirstein, Paysafe: payments are a crucial part of the acquisition funnel appeared first on CasinoBeats.

The new programme, which builds on the recent Skrill USA upgrade, provides enrolled players with the US igaming industry’s highest limits for instantly funding a deposit. 

“As part of our transformation of Skrill USA into the go-to digital wallet for American igaming, we’re delighted to launch the VIP player programme with innovative brand PlayUp USA ahead of a wider roll-out,” commented Zak Cutler, CEO of North America igaming at Paysafe. 

“With VIP players preferring digital wallets over every other payment method, we’re confident that our programme and product upgrade will make Skrill USA the preferred wallet of American operators’ VIP customer segments.”

PlayUp USA, which operates online sportsbooks in Colorado and New Jersey, was one of multiple operators to upgrade its Skrill USA integration in Q4 2021, when Paysafe rolled-out the revamped digital wallet to support instant funding of deposits and payouts. 

Now, PlayUp USA becomes the first American igaming brand to offer Skrill USA’s new VIP player programme.

Once a PlayUp USA sports bettor is onboarded into the VIP programme by the operator and Skrill USA, the single transaction limit for an instantly funded deposit is increased, depending on individual KYC verification.

Deposits are fully automated, though enrolled players are assigned their own dedicated Skrill VIP account manager. In addition, VIP players can withdraw their winnings from PlayUp USA to their Skrill USA account in real time, and they can be transferred directly to their linked bank accounts.

Kevin Smith, Chief Marketing Officer at PlayUp USA, explained: “We take great pride in taking care of our VIPs and the ability to onboard them quickly once they have cleared our due diligence protocols. 

“Having a platform like Skrill USA allows us to have very little friction in the deposit process with our VIPs but still be fully compliant with the regulatory standards that are in place.”

The post Paysafe launches high-stakes digital wallet upgrade appeared first on CasinoBeats.