LeoVegas eyes digital advertising push to aid US expansion

LeoVegas is preparing to deploy its online casino in New Jersey during the first half of 2022.

Speaking to EGR about the firm’s expansion into the crowded US market, LeoVegas CEO Gustaf Hagman revealed the strategy has been under preparation for the last two years.

“We’re aiming to do things a little bit differently maybe than other larger operators, we’re not going to do things like team sponsorships or arena sponsorships, stuff like that, we’re going to go very digital,” Hagman told EGR.

“We want to echo what we’ve done in the European markets in our work with Google and Facebook, using those sorts of digital marketing channels mostly and focus on being the king of casino or the king of smartphone casino.

“We want to play to our strengths, and we’ll work on putting those products to New Jersey customers and hope that the customers will enjoy that,” Hagman added.

While he would not be drawn on specific numbers, Hagman confirmed that a “substantial” amount of the operator’s marketing budget would be directed towards US expansion.

EGR has learned that LeoVegas is currently in the process of setting up a dedicated US division in the country, which will be initially staffed by 20-30 employees.

LeoVegas will use its existing player account management (PAM) platform as the main interface in the US, something which Hagman cited as a potential benefit in accelerating its attempts to take market share.

Discussing a potential market share percentage for LeoVegas, Hagman said: “It’s hard to say, but as long as we can see some good ROI on everything and good player values we will spend wisely, but we’re aiming to take a position in the US market.”

Hagman confirmed discussions with officials from the New Jersey Department of Gaming Enforcement are still in the early stages.

“We believe that New Jersey is a really good state to start off with as they have been regulated for quite some time,” he explained.

“I know that in a lot of other states we’re looking at, if you have a licence in New Jersey, it’s 80% to 100% certain you’ll be able to get a licence in those states.

“A New Jersey licence is something that really compliments your application, so it’s a good start, plus they have a very healthy igaming environment with clear regulation, which obviously helps,” he added.

Discussing the firm’s investor appeal in the US, Hagman highlighted that 22% of LeoVegas investors are US based.

“It’s an extremely interesting statistic as we start the organisation and speak to the markets, talking to potential investors and educating them about LeoVegas,” he explained.

“It’s funny because when we do our roadshows there, I’ve been told a number of times that we have a great name for the US market, in terms of Las Vegas and LeoVegas,” Hagman added.

The expansion forms part of LeoVegas’s strategy to diversify its revenue streams into markets beyond Europe and follows the group making a similar play in Canada.

Revenue from Leo’s North America operations grew by 33% during Q2 2021, accounting for 10% of total revenue.

However, the firm’s wider group revenue declined 13% to €96.8m (£83.4m).