In this edition of the Industry Insider, we spoke with Chris Krafcik, Managing Director of Sports Betting and Merging Verticals at Eilers & Krejcik Gaming, about how he’s seen the gaming industry change, what 2023 looks like for gaming, how U.S. operators can successfully scale for sports betting and iGaming, and more.

You’ve been working in the gaming industry for over 16 years, primarily in research and analytics. Can you tell us about your background and how you have seen the industry change during your tenure?
I've been covering the industry in one form or another since 2006, focusing almost exclusively on the U.S. online gaming sector. During the first few months of my first job (I was an intern at a trade publication called iGamingNews), the CEO of offshore online sportsbook BetonSports was arrested by U.S. federal authorities, while Congress passed the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act. Fast forward 16 years, and we have 26 states with legal, online, sports betting. Safe to say, things have changed a bit.

Commercial gaming revenues consistently grew in 2022 and shattered previous records. With that in mind, what does 2023 look like for gaming? What trends should we be on the lookout for? Are there any that surprise you?
2023 should be an eventful year in U.S. online gaming. From an online sports betting perspective, I expect lobbying resources to concentrate heavily in the southern U.S., where a number of tier one emerging markets—including Texas, Georgia, and North Carolina—remain in play.

And while I also expect to see a more concerted effort by the likes of DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM, Caesars, and others to expand the U.S. online casino footprint (currently just 6 states or 13% of the U.S. adult population), I'm not confident we'll see much in the way of end-product (i.e., enacted legislation) in 2023.

iGaming and sports betting has been operational in many international jurisdictions for quite a while. With both now taking center stage in the U.S., what are some best practices operators can apply to successfully scale? Are there any learnings that the U.S. sports betting and iGaming industries can improve on from our international colleagues?
At Eilers & Krejcik Gaming, we've done a lot of proprietary research on product—specifically, on online gaming app performance. We have a team of secret shoppers around the U.S. who rigorously test every U.S. online gaming app (sports betting and casino) every quarter. We then analyze their findings and share those with our clients.

If there's one thing that's become clear from our research, it's this: You can't be competitive in U.S. online gaming without a good product. Indeed, the category leaders in U.S. online sports betting (FanDuel with 40% national GGR share in T12M, per our estimates) and online casino (BetMGM with 29% national GGR share in T12M) have the best-performing apps in our testing.

The global gaming community came together to discover, connect, and explore at Global Gaming Expo this past October. What new trends and technologies interested you the most at this year’s show and what do you look forward to seeing at next year’s event?
G2E is the only can't-miss industry event on my calendar (my colleagues at Eilers & Krejcik would probably tease me by saying that, as an introvert, G2E is likely the only industry event on my calendar—so it goes).

I've been attending for nearly two decades, and it's the place to connect with colleagues and expand your professional network. Every year, I'm struck not only by the massive scale of G2E but also by the quality and variety of the interactions I have there: everything from one-on-one client meetings to dinners with coworkers to large, parties and networking events. My favorite thing, though, is spending a couple of hours by myself taking in the expo floor. I'm hoping that at some point, one of the major slot suppliers adds foot-massaging technology to their cabinets.