Q&A with Matthew Kelemen, Business Development Director for North America at Pariplay

By | June 15, 2022

 

As North America continues to embrace iGaming and more markets become regulated, there is clear appetite for content among leading operators.

While land-based games remain key, innovative, mobile-first content has emerged as a popular alternative, especially with high degrees of mobile penetration. How important a role do aggregators play as the US States open up and operators look to hit the ground running?

In short, aggregators play a massive role! We believe that everyone wins with great service and innovative content when it comes from the minds of thousands of talented members of the iGaming community, rather than just dozens.

This plethora of choice and creativity is exactly what Pariplay brings to the US and Canadian marketplace for both operators and players. It is no secret that the US in particular is an incredibly active market.

When everyone is on a speeding train of growth, operators unquestionably desire to streamline their time-to-market in an organized manner with trusted professional suppliers that really know how to deliver and support iGaming content.

Recent months have seen Pariplay enter Ontario, New Jersey, West Virginia and Michigan. Is the wealth of content that can be brought to market swiftly by aggregators a key selling point for operator partners?

It is a key selling point, but not just the only one. Beyond swift market entry, Pariplay is making substantial investments on behalf of partner studios. Our investments in terms of legal, talent, technical infrastructure and marketing is being done not only for our benefit, but for the that of the entire network that believe in us to grow their companies.

Additionally, making these investments displays an unfettered commitment to our operators that Pariplay will invest into each state/province that they do. This gives our operator partners the ability to forecast their content roadmap months to years in advance before they enter a new jurisdiction.

 

You are the new Business Development Director for North America. Does this regionalization highlight the importance of the continent for your global business plans?

Many view the US and Canada in comparable terms to the California gold rush of 1849, and we do as well. Hiring an experienced iGaming executive based in North America is our first step of many. Beyond growing our North American team and operational development, we strive to deliver games that fit local desires to our operators and players.

Whilst a ‘buffalo’ themed game appeals to players just about anywhere, players in New Jersey may not favor a UK-style pub fruit machine. Players in West Virginia might have little emotional connection for a branded game based on a soccer star. One of our biggest missions in North America is simple – Go Local and Know Their Customers.

Providing an entertainment experience that tells a story is one of Pariplay’s content values. Players love to be immersed into other worlds, lands and stories. We strongly believe working with data as well as partners to design and deliver games that fit regionally will be a key differentiator.

This is something that has been a major selling point for us in the Americas. As operators know, we have direct access to thousands of talented game makers within our portfolio of studios to deliver locally.

 

In markets throughout Europe, we’ve seen an increased focus on gamification tools. Is this something that is expected to be popular in North America, and do aggregators have an advantage in this with the ability to offer tools across thousands of games?

Pariplay’s aggregation platform offers a set of gamifications tools that can be implemented across thousands of games from multiple suppliers. These tools are essential to help our partners acquire and retain players, with products such as tournaments, free spins, bonuses, and raffles all requiring no extra integration work.

In addition, all third-party jackpots and in-game marketing tools are fully supported by our back office, ensuring operators can get maximum accessibility from all products in their portfolio.

 

For smaller studios, is partnering with an aggregator the only way to securely enter the regulated markets throughout the states?

It’s not the only way for smaller studios, but it is decidedly the most efficient and cost-effective road to market for all studios. As an example, it has taken Pariplay almost twelve months to complete our vendor licensing in Michigan. That’s a lot of time and labor hours and costs just to be approved. Then comes the technical set up, game certifications and integrations with our customers. It’s a tremendous undertaking for any company large or small.

For smaller studios, this arduous process could mean a lack of focus on producing content, or signing commercial deals, while we can offer a secure route to market.

In this way, we provide the dreamers of gaming innovation with a realistic way to achieve their visions at a mere fraction of what it takes to get in front of US gaming regulators and the likes of Rush Street Interactive, BetMGM, and Golden Nugget – just to name a few of our first customers.

 

What can we expect from Pariplay in the US and Canada for the rest of 2022?

There is a lot for us to do in North America for the rest of the year. As well as bringing out new products, we will continue to focus on gaining licenses in key targeted territories including Connecticut and Pennsylvania.

Following that, we hope we will be announcing plenty of commercial deals in those states and provinces. It will be an exciting year to say the least!

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