Driving Digital Commerce
Zak Cutler was still in high school in Reading, Massachusetts, when his passion for poker emerged—but from a different angle.
“I’d play poker for fun with friends and became fascinated in the game theory and math behind it,” he says.
It’s no surprise that such a biz wiz would choose accounting as a major at Bentley University in his home state. “When it came time to write my admission essay, I wrote about the parallels between poker, gambling and business, with a strong focus on the risk management aspects,” Cutler explains. “The essay helped get me an early-decision acceptance.”
At Bentley, he analyzed the online poker user experience as well as the product itself. “I started thinking I should be on the other side of the online poker screen instead of playing, as this seemed like a nascent industry with material growth to follow.”
He launched a website to measure interest in an intercollegiate poker competition among alumni in the U.K., Ireland and Canada. While raising money for the project, Cutler connected with Everest Poker’s software subsidiary, CIDC. “They were impressed by my website and took me on as an intern,” he continues. “Three promotions followed.”
At Everest, Cutler managed the product offerings for online poker and iCasino. He oversaw a number of product developments, but his main role was to cross-sell poker players into casino products and optimize the use of online poker tables. The result increased both revenue and profit for operators.
“I drew on my own user experience and would be constantly proposing ways we could improve or innovate the product,” says Cutler, who earned a B.S. in management, psychology and entrepreneurial studies.
After Everest, Cutler worked for DraftKings, then Jackpocket, both successful companies in the gaming space. Disruptors, he calls them. Jackpocket allowed consumers to purchase lottery tickets online, taking on the large retail industry in the U.S. And of course, DraftKings, which had a large daily fantasy sports offering, transitioned to sports betting when the Supreme Court in 2018 overturned a federal ban.
“A parallel can definitely be drawn with Jackpocket, which I joined in 2017. I looked at its business model—which essentially created a way for users to order official state lottery tickets from the convenience of a smartphone—and thought, ‘This is a really great idea,’” says Cutler, who cites his father as a mentor on his rise in the business.
In 2021, he joined Paysafe, which developed payment solutions for a host of industries, online gaming among them. While such a move could be seen as a pivot from product development, Cutler views it differently.
“I guess everything in my career before Paysafe culminated in my current role,” he says. “This year Paysafe celebrates its 30th anniversary, and we remain on the cutting edge of the gambling industry as it relates to payments.
“The transactional experience is essential for the growth of not just an individual online sportsbook or iGaming brand but our wider industry. Ultimately, I’m optimistic about the future and excited to continue to play a key role in the next phase of the industry’s development.”
