Knowing Your Audience As with any freshly regulated market, affiliates who move into this new space will need to make sure they create content that’s localized for the Ontarian market. While some U.S. operators have extended their affiliate programs into Ontario, this doesn’t mean affiliates should just create content based on their experience in the American market. Ontario has a rich sports culture, with multiple sports teams playing across a variety of their most populous cities – from Toronto and Ottawa to Hamilton. Therefore, affiliates need to look to create unique content that’s tailored to the local scene. Although Ontario will be an important iGaming market for all major North American sports, Canada naturally has a dominant focus on hockey as the province and Canada’s most popular sport. With the launch of the market in April, a great deal of operators’ marketing spend was focused on the National Hockey League (NHL) playoffs and trying to convert the many Ontarians watching the games into new depositing players. With the NHL regular season dropping the puck in October, and several new operators licensed since the 2022 Stanley Cup champions were crowned, it will be paramount for affiliates to provide Ontarian audiences with relevant information to make the correct decisions on where they’d like to bet. Key Points for Affiliates to Remember It’s important to remember that the regulated Ontarian iGaming market is still in its infancy, as it’s not even a year old. That means that the market will continue to evolve, and affiliates will need to be aware of all changes that are taking place – from regulations to marketing strategies being deployed. With new operators joining the fray, the importance of maintaining a strong relationship with operators is paramount. As mentioned, the risk of penalties for breaking the rules lies with operators, but negligent affiliates that result in a brand being fined will almost certainly be shunned by operators and fail to prosper in the market. All in all, it seems inevitable that Ontario will become a major iGaming market, and it could be soon joined by other Canadian provinces’ private operator markets. As the iGaming “maple leaf” grows, the key for affiliates is to remain aware of all the changes in order to navigate them as easily as possible. Geoffrey Smorong is a driven leader with 10 years of experience in iGaming and affiliate management. He’s been an important contributor to Income Access since 2012, when he started on the team as an Account Manager. Currently, Geoff holds the Vice President of Operations position where he focuses on overseeing the operational and commercial aspects of Income Access. This includes the continued development and innovation of the product offering, streamlining of all operational processes, and growing the company’s services through focusing on client success. It’s important to remember that the regulated Ontarian iGamingmarket is still in its infancy, as it’s not even a year old. That means that the market will continue to evolve, and affiliates will need to be aware of all changes that are taking place – from regulations to marketing strategies being deployed. 27 G P W A t i m e s . o r g
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NDIzMTA=