The North American gambling market is a busy, noisy place right now. The U.S. was once famously the biggest gambling contradiction in the world – home to the epicenter of the industry while having near nationwide bans on sports betting and online activity.
The last decade in particular has seen enormous changes rolling in as the country and its legislators have adapted to technological advances, real-world scenarios versus ideological bans and adaptive, inventive operators and developers.
In the U.S., the single biggest change was undoubtedly the striking down of the PASPA ban and the opening of legal real-money sports betting, while the launch of Ontario‘s regulated market is still causing ripples across Canada. In addition, there have been plenty of other factors fueling the phenomenal growth of the North American gaming industry.
We sat down with Alex Korsager, Chief Gaming Officer at Casino.org, to get his insights into the current state of the market and what changes he expects to see coming down the line.
Please could you let our readers know a bit more about Casino.org’s services and introduce yourself?
Casino.org is the world’s number one guide for players who want a smarter, safer gambling experience. While the North American iGaming markets are relatively new, we have been in the business since 1995. Starting out in the UK, over three decades, we’ve helped millions improve their online betting with up-to-date, unbiased, trusted information. We are totally independent from any online casinos or betting sites and everything we do is data-driven and player-focused.
I head up the team that is here to help players make wise choices. No shortcuts. Our experienced editors follow a process that’s built to be independent, honest and focused entirely on what’s best for the player. Every recommendation we give is earned, not bought. In an industry full of noise, we pride ourselves on being the clear, dependable voice players can rely on. We work globally while delivering local expertise.
With regulations varying widely across jurisdictions, do you adjust your approach depending on the market you are reviewing?
In short, no, we don’t. We apply the same thorough, twenty-five-step process whether we are reviewing American or Canadian online casinos. What matters to us is that online casinos are legal, secure and have the correct licensing in place. The process is the same regardless of the jurisdiction we are in. We have spent years finding safe online casinos and we offer top tips to help keep players safe. What we look for that ensures a site complies depends on the market we are reviewing.
Once we have established that a casino is legal, safe and has the right licenses in place for the market, we do a range of other background checks. Once we are happy with these areas, we start checking out the sites from the player’s perspective. We look at payment options, customer service responsiveness, bonuses and game libraries, among other things. We never just believe the marketing hype but register as players ourselves before compiling the reviews.
Why should players bother with a review service like yours?
The choice of online casinos can be pretty overwhelming and the results can be rather hit and miss for your average punter. In the U.S., in particular, the market is consolidating around a few big names that can outspend the competition on customer acquisition. We like to treat all the platforms the same and can find some real gems that might get overlooked. I am not saying that we do not recommend the big brands either; it is just that we review every option and provide honest feedback so that players can make informed choices.
What do you think will be the biggest changes in the market this year?
While we are considering North America as a whole, the Canadian and U.S. markets are very different beasts. The big change coming down the tracks in Canada is the launch of Alberta’s commercial market, which will open up lots of new opportunities for players and platforms alike. In the U.S., legislators are making another attempt to legalize iGaming in New York. If that happens, that is going to be a massive shift.
However, probably the game-changer right now is prediction markets, which have stepped into the limelight and are drawing a huge amount of attention. As you know, there is still a lot of to-ing and fro-ing between state and federal legislators. The states where online sports betting is legal could potentially lose out to prediction markets, with it being confirmed that Kalshi can offer sports events contracts in New Jersey.
Even before this news broke, we decided to cover prediction markets on our platform. While they might technically be financial derivatives, they share many features with gambling. We know that people who enjoy a flutter are drawn to these operators and we therefore decided to review them as we would gambling sites in the U.S..
Our review team has produced a series of online guides so that players can understand the different types of contracts and get our insights into which apps are the best for each market sector. The apps offer welcome offers that are not dissimilar to those on traditional betting sites. They can be a useful tiebreaker if a player is unable to decide between different operators, but we prefer straightforward bonus funds over offers with more complicated requirements.
We recommend that players always check the terms of the offer and their eligibility in their state. It is interesting that they have taken off so strongly in the U.S., while in Canada, they largely remain off-limits. In Canada, securities are regulated provincially, so it’s going to be harder for the likes of Kalshi to explode in the same way, but we are keeping abreast of it all.
When it comes to prediction markets, my job is chief fact checker. I manually compare our U.S. pages with the prediction app and if anything is unclear, I contact the operators so our readers can make informed and accurate decisions.
