International sports streaming giant DAZN now has a licensed sports betting and casino digital platform live in Ontario, the first step of what the company said will be an expanding Canadian footprint.
Building trust with the customer over the long term is how an operator can differentiate itself from competitors in an igaming market as robust as Ontario, which currently has 47 licensed operators, and 81 gaming websites, said Richard Rawlinson, Managing Director, DAZN Bet Canada.
DAZN Among 47 Licensed Operators
Ontario marks the company’s first foray outside its European base of operations. The new site went live Tuesday (June 30).
“Ontario stands out as one of the most mature, competitive and highly regulated online gaming markets in North America,” he told Casino.org. “Ontario players have high expectations and a broad choice of operators, so success depends on delivering a differentiated customer experience.”
Rawlinson said the Ontario launch, offering a locally tailored sportsbook and a casino offering that includes slots, table games and live casino, will serve as the foundation for DAZN’s broader Canadian growth strategy.
Alberta Expansion in the Near Future
The company said in a statement that it will expand into Alberta and become one of the early operators in that market, “in the near future”. The Alberta igaming market goes live July 13.
“Our approach is to combine the credibility and sports heritage of the DAZN brand with a product tailored to Canadian customers,” he said. “We also bring experience from operating in multiple regulated markets, which has given us expertise in areas such as customer-centric product development, compliance, and responsible gaming.”
Watch and Wager Concept
DAZN Bet also operates in Spain, Italy, United Kingdom and Germany. Unlike operators like FanDuel and DraftKings, DAZN already owns a large sports media platform, with millions of existing sports subscribers, offering live and on-demand sports via streaming in more than 200 countries and territories.
Building trust among customers, as Rawlinson said, is one thing, but a “watch and wager” business strategy, owning the platform where people can watch games, follow scores, read news and statistics and bet live, will give them a unique edge in Ontario, if they’re able to convert enough viewers into sportsbook customers.
DAZN is already available to people in Ontario. Company CEO Shay Segev said earlier this year he sees the betting platform as a complementary product to its broadcasting offering. The DAZN Bet technology was built via a partnership with Pragmatic Solutions, which was announced in 2022.
Source link
