Focus


MICROGAMING


operator applications to the National Regulatory Authority of the French online gambling market the ARJEL, two of which are in collaboration with 888 Holdings. Several more are in the pipeline according to Chris Hobbs, Head of Corporate Affairs, who underlined Microgaming's position as a software provider, not an operator. "We are a software provider as opposed to a licence holder. In certain markets it makes sense to combine forces in joint ventures to meet the challenges of government requirements. In Denmark, the go-live date is January, which is a very rapid turnaround when there's so much development lead time to consider. The practical challenges of developing bespoke software for each country, and to continue to develop that software as the requirements evolve, is something that we're working extremely hard to meet."


It's also very important in the online poker sector to be a first-mover in new markets. The joint venture with 888 in France was an opportunity recognised by both companies as an appropriate vehicle for the market," describes Andy. "Discussions continue as to how we can


develop the best solution for operators and players in each of the regulated markets in the pipeline in Europe."


One of the problems, as highlighted by Microgaming's poker specialist Lydia, is the ring-fencing of markets by countries in the belief that they're prospering by limiting their network's scope to domestic play. It could be argued that this could back-fire as individual licence-holders struggle to maintain liquidity levels from relatively small pools of players. The combination of 888 and PNL, powered by Microgaming in France ensures that their network benefits from a wider pool of players, but ultimately an unrestricted environment with players joining from across European boundaries would be an ideal outcome.


The European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) has been championing such goals as the setting of standards for online operators in the European Union and the harmonisation of gambling rules in the EU. The eCommerce and Online Gaming Regulation and Assurance (eCOGRA) organisation already has a set of


G3i I ISSUE 2 I PAGE 32


NeillWhyte,Head of Bingo,Microgaming.


“The collective global industry for online bingo generates


revenue of around US$2bn annually,


with 70per cent of themarket


concentrated in


Europe.Of that 70 per cent, theUKis responsible for approximately 50


per cent of that,with revenues of $600m


generated by British players last year. While land-based


bingo is prevalent in mostmarkets,


there's been a great deal of focus on the


UK, inwhich you now have over 300


brands created by fewsoftware providers."


standards that its members sign-up to which includes Microgaming. Chris comments: "I believe that there is scope for the harmonisation of gambling legislation in Europe. Certainly in terms of the harmonisation of liquidity such legislation would benefit all parties, rather than what we're seeing at present, which is cherry-picking by individual countries of EU rules and regulations."


THEWORLDINHARMONY While it is clear that regulated markets present opportunities for online gaming companies, the barriers to entry are high, not least from the perspective of development. While in the past the regulation of markets has been slow and steady, the domino-effect is beginning to light up Microgaming's regulated markets map like a Christmas tree. "We are prioritising our resources and have a defined development pipeline for each of the individual markets," explained Andy. Our aim is to launch into each market first and to date, the regulation of markets in Europe has been well staggered. Microgaming is very well positioned to meet our goals, however, developers in the online sector as a whole are finding that resourcing is a significant issue. Denmark is a priority right now due to the timescale and the fact that it is a very attractive market for us."


Denmark has been very receptive to meetings with online gaming companies, recognising that there is a lot of work to


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