A fast-rising gaming company is set to debut in the U.S. in 2025 with an innovative new brand.
Soft2Bet told Covers this week that the global B2B and B2C online casino and sports betting and turnkey solutions company is receiving a licensing skin through Caesars Entertainment to operate in the robust market of New Jersey.
Soft2Bet plans to launch a mobile sportsbook and iGaming in the Garden State this summer. Chief business development officer Martin Collins told Covers that Soft2Bet’s new brand will center around customers who have grown up in a device-filled world.
“At the heart of it, we’re a casino company. We’re going to change the bar,” Collins said. “We’re not going to do your standard sports layout, your standard casino lobby. It’s going to be entirely different and we’re going to cater to this mobile-native business. Really change it up a little bit and do something entirely different that this industry hasn’t seen before.”
Launched in 2016, Soft2Bet holds more than 16 global gaming licenses in nearly a dozen countries, including through Ontario in Canada. The company has developed brands in Denmark, Sweden, Romania, and Mexico, offering more than 12,500 games from hundreds of providers.
How it works
Soft2Bet’s strongest feature is the award-winning Motivational Engineering Gaming Application product that Soft2Bet believes sets it apart from other operators.
“We are set to redefine gamification here in the U.S. and ultimately provide players with an incredible gaming experience with the debut of a new and transformative iGaming brand this summer,” Soft2Bet founder and CEO Uri Poliavich said.
Soft2Bet says operators using its unique gamification platform have seen a 400% increase in screen time, a 65% rise in net gaming revenue, a 50% increase in deposit amounts, and a 45% increase in Average Revenue Per User.
Soft2Bet’s API technology combines the social media and e-commerce experience with the ability to play in an online casino or place a bet on a mobile sportsbook. Collins said U.S. operators are using an outdated version of the European user interface/user experience model. Soft2Bet’s unique interface will help it stand out in the new market.
“We believe strongly that the industry as a whole has neglected this area in terms of art, design, UI/UX,” Collins said. “We saw a clear proof of concept from B2C and rolled it out for B2B.”
New frontier
Collins said the company has always wanted to enter the U.S. market, but numerous factors make this the right time.
More than a handful of sports betting operators have left American markets over the last 18 months. Soft2Bet sees that has an opportunity to get into the U.S. at a cheaper rate that will help create higher margins.
Only seven U.S. states, including New Jersey, currently offer online casinos. However, the company also believes current iGaming legislation in numerous U.S. jurisdictions and budget deficits that states are dealing with indicate a lot of potential online casino growth.
Collins also said the U.S.’s reaction to sweepstakes gaming and crypto leads Soft2Bet to believe that iGaming will become even more prominent in the future.
“We just see it as a perfect storm to come into the market,” Collins said.
Big plans
While New Jersey is the only focus in terms of market expansion at this time, Soft2Bet is keeping its options open in this new frontier.
Collins said they aren’t opposed to creating partnerships that would allow other operators to use the company’s technology and platform. That starts with creating a good relationship with Caesars that could lead to “potentially massive collaborations.”
“We’re very, very particular about who we work with,” Collins said.
Soft2Bet could also look to acquire established operators to gain instant access to new markets.
“We’re excited about entering and really trying to take advantage of these factors,” Collins said.
Heavy competition
There are nearly 30 online casino and poker operators already in the Garden State as well as more than a dozen New Jersey sports betting options. And with this being Soft2Bet’s American debut and a completely unknown brand, Collins said the company knows it’ll take time to resonate.
“You need to get to know how the customer reacts, what they do, what they do differently, what localization looks like,” Collins said. “That’s part of the opportunity that we see. We don't believe anyone has actually localized for the U.S.”
As far as competition goes, Collins is aware of the two behemoths that sit atop the hierarchy in the Garden State market: FanDuel and DraftKings.
Soft2Bet isn’t trying to go toe-to-toe with those dominant operators, but it thinks it can eat up some of the market share with its unique approach and modern customer experience.
“We just see it a little bit differently, not because anybody is doing it badly or the products are bad,” Collins said. “It’s not just in the U.S. We see it in Europe as well. It’s not a case of we’re better than anybody. We just see it as an opportunity.”
