Pulse
Greentube CEO: our US strategy is opposite to Europe
By William - 11 April 2022
Thomas Graf, CEO of Greeentube, explains why the company’s stateside strategy differs significantly to Europe and the lessons being learnt as the NOVOMATIC division continues to expand in the US.
How beneficial has the last few months been in getting to grips with the inner workings of the flourishing US market?
We made our debut in the US in September last year, so we are still very much learning about the market. To start with, we are focusing on the three big states, New Jersey, Michigan and Pennsylvania, and our approach is to partner with key multistate players in those markets as well utilising existing partnerships from Europe where possible.
In addition, in some cases, we also have existing relationships through NOVOMATIC America’s land-based slot machine business, so we can use those synergies as a foot in the door for other potential partnerships. It hasn’t been difficult for us to identify the right strategy and we are now working on executing that to establish ourselves as a leading supplier to the US online industry.
How have players in New Jersey taken to Greentube’s portfolio of blue-chip titles?
We haven’t brought the entire blue-chip portfolio of NOVOMATIC titles to the US because not all titles are suitable to the local market. These games are some of our most popular in Europe where Book of Ra and Lucky Lady’s Charm for example have a long tradition with players and are well established but in the US they are less familiar.
We therefore had to use these IPs to create popular Hold N Spin mechanic versions of those European blockbuster titles. This is an approach we have adapted with a selection of our existing titles with these successful mechanics better suited to US players, but we have also developed market specific content, such as Wild Lines: American Eagle, a traditional stepper slot game with add-on features, to cater to the preferences of the local audience. We thoroughly believe that this is the right approach in North America.
There’s a general feeling that US players are more inclined to seek out recognisable land-based slots when playing online. Do you feel this gives Greentube a sizeable advantage over competitors?
We actually have a limited installed base of slot machines in the US market. As a result, we haven’t created the same loyal player base yet as we have across Europe and our land-based position is only gaining traction in some niche markets like in Illinois.
We can, however, analyse the performance of our online social and RMG content in the US and draw on our learnings from Greentube Pro, our US-based marketing platform that targets land-based players to get a better idea of what content this player group enojoy the most.
So, our strategy for the US is in a way opposite to what we do in Europe, and it will be an interesting lesson for us as we expand further and boost our product portfolio from a multi-channel perspective.
You’ve previously stated intentions to develop dedicated content for a new generation of US players. Do you feel like Greentube is now able to do so having gained insight and experience in the market?
Our approach is to look at what games and mechanics work best in the market. This will take some time, but we already have a good idea and we are investing resources into further exploring this. Our Hold N Spin mechanic, alongside other games, has already proven popular in New Jersey so that’s a good entry point.
We are adding our own flavour to our content, such as our Diamond Cash series, which has a clear Greentube identity that we want to establish in the market. We are on the right track and our portfolio will contain a mix of established content from the land-based slots and innovative new games, built for online.
We also have experience from social casino gaming in the US, where our portfolio has been available as a freemium product to casino customers via our Greentube Pro offering and our recent partnership with GAN.
That has given us intel on local preferences, and we will use the data collected from that vertical and elect the most popular titles and bring to our online offering in New Jersey and later also Michigan, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and other iGaming states. In the near future, we will also increase our focus on new concepts that are not yet established in the market.
Greentube recently received its licence in Michigan and has made public plans to do so in Pennsylvania and Connecticut. Are there other States that you have a close eye on?
Michigan and Pennsylvania are by far the largest states besides New Jersey and the three states cover around 90 per cent of the addressable markets for us at this stage. We are also taking steps to enter Connecticut, but our focus remains on the ‘Big 3’ states offering igaming.
Our first step is therefore to enter the larger states and partner with Tier 1 operators there as we want to reach as many players as possible from the get-go. We also expect regulation to move slower for online casino than for sports betting, so it makes sense to keep our focus on those states that now allow it and not look too far into the future.
We are not in a rush, and we will now be busy with New Jersey and Michigan and making sure we integrate with operators so we can look at other states going live next year. We are definitely not running out of work. We will need time to build up any substance and establish the strong local team we need to be successful in North America.
You can say we are being conservative in our approach as we need to first have a product that we know works and then build upon it. From the feedback we are getting from local stakeholders we are on the right track.
With different states having different regulations, does this pose a challenge to suppliers trying to gain a market share in the US, especially when first-mover advantage is so crucial?
Timing is of essence, and we have waited years to enter the US. We made the decision to make our debut after a few states had announced the intention to regulate online gambling and after seeing that New Jersey was going in the right direction. It is now the right timing for us as Michigan and Pennsylvania have opened up, offering relevant scalability.
First-mover advantage is important. We are currently seeing a lot of M&A activity in the space as well, with international suppliers bolstering their position by buying smaller studios with local expertise or innovative games portfolios. Furthermore, operators are launching their own in-house studios so there is intense competition coming from a content perspective.
The marketplace will only become more competitive than it is today, but we are entering at the right time to position ourselves with our localised offering. With a sufficient content supply, we can get critical mass to all operators.
We can clearly see that US players are spending more money on slots than in Europe, so the potential is worthwhile the effort. We are very excited about what the next few years have in store as the US market continues to evolve.
It will be a key part of Greentube’s strategic growth plans, and we have an ambitious investment plan for organic and inorganic growth to ensure we deliver the right content to local players and support our operator partners’ businesses.
