Continent 8’s Nick Nally, chief development officer, and Graeme Price, commercial development director, spoke with iGaming Business on the developments and challenges in the United States market.
As the US market continues to expand and develop at a rapid pace, agility and speed to market continue to be critical.
However, the emerging regulatory landscape across the states poses challenges for new entrants and existing companies alike. Addressing all of the various requirements from state to state means managing and maintaining multiple contracts with the necessary infrastructure providers.
To provide igaming businesses with the reliability, connectivity and security that they are accustomed to from suppliers across regulated markets in the US, Continent 8 Technologies, an igaming data center and global network solutions provider, is preparing to open their newest data center in Atlantic City, New Jersey, on June 1.
We spoke with Nick Nally, chief development officer and Graeme Price, commercial development director at Continent 8 to learn more about the development and the challenges their clients are facing in the market.
Continent 8 began working in New Jersey in 2013 when online gaming was legalised, however regulations meant that hosting for online gaming providers had to be placed within brick and mortar casinos. Nally explains: “We started working with the regulator, with operators and other various lobbyists and groups to see whether there was a way whereby an independent data centre which had all of the accreditations and standards could be implemented in Atlantic City and would still meet the regulatory requirements of the state.”
In order to offer their services, Continent 8 became the only non-gaming company to acquire a Casino Service Industry Enterprise (CSIE) license, with Nally saying: “In any building that we either lease or buy in Atlantic City, we are able to use the license to bring online gaming companies into it. It’s the first time that operators will not need to be in a licensed casino.”
This allows the company to act like a casino but without the business, and is fully regulated under DGE regulation, via Bill (S185 / A1903), which allows and enable online gaming equipment to be located at a secure facility other than a casino, so long as it lies in Atlantic City.
Price continues, saying that having the license ensures that customers’ servers and infrastructure are managed and protected around the clock.
