All American Sports Betting Summit Speaker Interview with Ismail Vali

Ismail, you are very well versed on gaming in many markets. In what ways is the US market different to any other?
Ismail: The US is the most important, and, from a consulting perspective, challenging, global gaming market today because of the shifting legal and regulatory conditions across the 50 States. Seeing it as one market is impossible – it is a collection of very localised State-based gaming and betting operations, if any are indeed legally permissible in certain States, with widely differing consumer attitudes and responses. All of which make for a working challenge unlike any other I’ve encountered, and the focus it requires, to get an offering *right* for a Client, and for the Player Experience, is hugely satisfying when ultimately achieving the required mix.

Recently the sports betting market just passed the $1 Billion mark in New Jersey alone. What are your thoughts on the current performance of the regulated sports betting industry in the US?
Ismail: Current performance is hugely encouraging, based on the increasing revenues in New Jersey, and still has a long, long way to go there and in any of the licensed States. What we’re seeing in America today is only scratching the surface by all estimates: there is an huge amount being bet illegally, still, in the absence of legalisation in every State, and this should provide impetus for further States to introduce their own gaming and betting regulation that moves that revenue away from offshore, unlicensed sites, providing little to no player protection and nothing by way of taxation, and back to on-shore, licensed and regulated operations, under a watchful enforcement regime, like that employed in New Jersey under the Division of Gaming Enforcement’s effective supervision.

Before the PASPA repeal, sports betting in Vegas was bringing in a whopping $4 Billion a year. Do you think that the $1 Billion that New Jersey has gained will come directly out of the $4 Billion that Vegas usually brings in? Or is there market expansion, in which case Vegas will continue to make the same amount it usually does and is unaffected by other states?
Ismail: As I mentioned above, there is huge room for growth in the licensed US market, nationally, but, in every case, one should try to look at America as a patchwork quilt of individual State-based marketplaces. The shift from illegal to legal always comes with an increase in the popularity, availability and uptake, generally, of the products we offer as an Industry, and, so long as we meet this increased demand with responsibility and a willingness to maximise the Player Experience, across all touchpoints, I see huge room for growth. The challenge here for legal gaming and betting operators in America, is not a State vs State competition, in my view, but a battle between Licensed, Regulated, Tax-Paying Operations versus Unlicensed, Illegal and Tax-Avoiding Operations, that additionally, come without any regard for player protection.

How crucial are responsible gaming practices in the long-term growth of the US sports betting sector?
Ismail: Responsible gaming and player protection are the major arteries running through the body of our business – we cannot offer our products, practically or sustainably, without them. The licensed States in the US have shown more willingness to seriously tackle the divide between Legal and Illegal gaming operations, and engage and educate Players, to the extent that licensed sites are clearly able to offer and grow their operations so long as they submit to effective control by a Regulator, and that same Regulator monitors and polices the marketplace. In many other global markets, particularly in Europe, this Monitoring, Policing and Enforcement triple-duty, in my view owed by a Regulator to its Licensees, in return for predictable tax yield, is simply not taken seriously enough, and the Industry are seen as a “soft-touch” to be tapped for immediate or unpredictable taxation, as can be seen by recent actions in Italy and the UK.

What do you most look forward to by being part of the All American Sports Betting Summit 2019?
Ismail: The opportunity to join and extend the conversation across the most diverse, and challenging, gaming market in the world. Getting it right, for the Industry, Regulators and Players, simply matters more in America, and has lessons for Gaming, globally.

Ismail Vali is excited to meet you at the All American Sports Betting Summit 2019. See more information on the All American Sports Betting Summit and how you can register below.

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