What markets could represent the best growth opportunities for NetEnt?

Published on the 2021-02-05

After such a strong and reputable history for online software provider NetEnt, especially in the UK and wider European markets, this has seen them establish a considerable foothold in the global online gambling industry.

Established in Stockholm, Sweden in 1996, NetEntertainment AG to give the company its full name, has wowed the online gambling world with some of the most attractive and popular products ever since and has continuously stayed right at the forefront of technology throughout the company’s history.

Arguably the main aim of the software provider was to make sure that it could consistently be one of the most respected of its kind, which has been achieved thanks to the quality of the products that the company develops on a regular basis.

Indeed, there are slot game titles of even 20 years that are still just as highly sought after today and which have stood the test of time, such as the software provider’s almost magnetic Starburst slot which attracts fans in its millions. This substantially helps to add to the company’s brand strength which is one of the reasons why it has grown such a strong reputation in its current markets. One of the requirements for many players when they are looking for a new online casino often includes making sure that it has NetEnt products on the player’s checklist, which is further testament to the strength and popularity of the brand.

With new markets starting to open up in the online gambling world all of the time, we take a look at where they might be able to capitalise effectively based on industry demand. 


Canada

Over the last couple of years, online gambling legislation in Canada has relaxed considerably in a number of states and as a result of this, it has given rise to a number of online casinos in the country. Canada is seen is a major potential growth market in the online gambling industry and as a result of this, software providers such as Netent have already started to make significant moves in the region.

Already the statistics of the Canadian online gambling industry stand at $31 billion in terms of revenue which is a good indicator of the current health of this and it is predicted that this will rise rapidly over the next few years as more gambling sites launch.

Canada also offers their players what is viewed as more sophisticated payment methods as well, which appear on the face of it to be significantly more efficient than the likes of mainstream internet payment gateways such as PayPal. Interac is one in particular that has gained a considerable amount of traction with Canadian online gambling players.


New Zealand

This is one market that a lot of people do not realise is gaining significant movement in the online gambling industry and over the last 12 months it has really began to demonstrate a lot of potential for growth.

The true beauty of the online gambling industry in New Zealand is that the sites that are available for players are all regulated by the UKGC (United Kingdom Gambling Commission), which means for the likes of NetEnt, their brand awareness can increase dramatically.

It is because NetEnt products feature on the vast majority of UK regulated sites due to them being one of the most popular software providers in the world. In addition, there are also a lot of expats from the UK who live in New Zealand, which means that they are already familiar with the major online gambling brands and are aware of how the market works.

This could definitely be a major market for NetEnt to really take advantage of and because of this, it would come as no surprise if they suddenly emerged as a favourable software provider in the New Zealand online marketplace marketplace.

USA

With legislation being passed in more and more US states all of the time, there is no doubt that the opportunity here is considerable. The states of New Jersey and by extension, Pennsylvania essentially established a blueprint for how successful the online gambling industry could be in the US and since, it has seen other states such as West Virginia, Illinois and Michigan approve online gambling.

This is because state authorities very quickly realised how much that they could make in revenue from online gambling taxation and that combined with the considerably high demand that there was for the activity meant that this was effectively a ‘no-brainer’.

While there are already a couple of established software providers currently in the US, such as Scientific Games, which has been around for over a decade, but servicing the international market, companies such as NetEnt have a repuation that speaks for itself.

As such, new US based operator companies such as Pennsylvania based Rush Street Interactive have actively sought partnerships with the likes of NetEnt and are already reaping the results of being aligned to such a credible software provider.

Currently, the global online gambling industry is predicted to increase by just less than half in overall revenue to over $92 billion by 2023 and it is thought that quite of a lot of this will be contributed to by the US market as even more states look to replicate the examples set by Pennsylvania.


Final thoughts


No doubt about it, there is a significant opportunity for NetEnt to take its brand to the next level, if they are able to identify the right markets and can strategically plan their moves. As with a lot of industries, timing is everything and their recent merger with fellow Swedish software provider Evoluton Gaming will more than likely help them to achieve expansion at a much faster rate than they may have initially anticipated.

What is certain, is that for NetEnt fans, the future looks bright and there could even be scope to expand into other markets such as India and African countries depending on the rate of regulation in those regions over the next couple of years