PlayStar Casino: focusing on a new approach to the US gaming market

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With two new deals recently signed – a long-term agreement with GiG and a multi-year partnership with Ocean Casino Resort – PlayStar Casino is making good headway towards its stated ambition to become a player-favorite in the US. We spoke with Co-Founder and Executive VP Adam Noble to find out more about the firm’s progress stateside.

By way of introduction to our readers, tell us about the PlayStar brand and its offer. 

PlayStar Casino has been developed to offer an online casino experience like no other to players across the US. The team behind PlayStar Casino has a proven track record of building successful, disruptive businesses and we aim to replicate this with PlayStar Casino by launching the brand into regulated states across the US. 

In order to compete in a competitive market, we know we need to bring something different to the table and that is what we plan to do with PlayStar Casino

How will the company differentiate itself in what is becoming a crowded marketplace?

In a market where all of your competitors are offering the same content and experience more or less, the differentiation has come down to strength of brand and of course very aggressive acquisition strategies. 

With PlayStar Casino our focus will be to deliver value to the player, by putting personalization, engagement, and exemplary customer service at the heart of our proposition and this will allow us to differentiate in the market. 

We want to deliver an engaging and immersive experience to players from the moment they walk through our digital doors, and to also reward them for choosing PlayStar Casino as their preferred online casino. 

Other brands are not doing this to the same level that we have planned, so this will be a big point of difference between PlayStar Casino and our competitors.

How far down the line are you with the application for getting licensed in New Jersey and can you talk us through some of the challenges in going through that process?

In anticipation of securing market access, all key personnel and business entities have completed the application forms and prepared the necessary supporting documentation. The milestone for submission came with the signing of our market access agreement with Ocean Casino Resort – we were able to submit to the DGE a few days after signing with Oceans, so we are in great shape there.

As far as challenges, I think an obvious one is not being able meet the regulator face to face in the current climate, but there are ways around that. And of course, the process in general is extremely rigorous, and so it should be given the nature of the business. We are prepared for that and look forward to working through the process with the DGE.

What were the biggest takeaways from your market research efforts in the US?

This was a really interesting process, we sort research far and wide, commissioning specific reports on the US and specifically New Jersey online casino markets, and referencing reports focused on broader consumer habits in the rapidly changing digital world we live in. 

There were many takeaways, not least the number of operators in the market focused on acquiring market share at any cost for their own valuation, with less focus on value to their players.

This question is specific to Joel Wikell, Group Founder and Chairman. How different are things this time around from your experiences back in the 90s and is there anything you learned then that would apply to the business today?

Putting the technology aside for a moment, that has obviously advanced beyond comprehension, I believe the biggest difference is regulation. Back in the early days it really was the wild west, with little governance ensuring operators ran an honest operation. Today’s regulatory environment ensures a safer environment for the player, which is paramount, but also for the security and stability of the business.