Interactive MOBILE/ONLINE/LAND-BASED
The top priority must be on ensuring the best pos- sible customer journey. The user experience has to be fun, engaging and comprehensive. It is incredibly easy to lose peoples’ attention in the online space. It is an environment where things happen quickly and efficiently.
Use data collection and analytics to power tai- lored marketing. Against the obscurity and anonymity of the internet, a personalised offering allows operators to stand out. Focus time, effort and budget on creating bespoke sites, communi- cations, bonusing, paid search and, above all, their user experience, marketing and technology.
Players want to be able to play the same great games that they love from the casino floor. Quality is everything. The online offering needs to come complete with fantastic features, beautifully rendered graphics and movie studio-like sounds.
Online also needs to be backed by a fully opti- mised mobile product. The momentum across mobile gaming in the last five years has been nothing short of staggering, redefining competi- tive landscapes across product verticals and driv- ing growth in a new phase for our industry.
Recent research has predicted that the global mobile gambling market is set to generate just over €19bn of gross win by 2018 – this would rep- resent just under 44% of all interactive gambling and just under 5% of all gambling. But based on our current mobile casino volumes, we would expect to reach this milestone well before then.
How much is land-based technology linked to the online gaming experience? CRM, payment solu- tions, loyalty programmes, incentive schemes etc.?
The potential is there for almost everything to be linked, but we are not quite at that stage yet where all of the dots are joined up all of the time. However, it will not be long before it becomes the norm, and in isolation there are some excellent case studies of this happening.
One of these is at Rank Group’s Grosvenor Casinos. It is doing an excellent job of migrating its 1.7 million retail customers online, where it offers IGT slots. It reports that more than half (52%) of its online customers come from its clubs and knows that these players will be most valuable thanks to their existing brand loyalties. A key driver in the process has been the implementation of in-venue iPad stands that allow players to reg- ister for online gambling. Grosvenor also employs digital champions to roam the clubs and directly interact with players to encourage registration.
How important is the exposure and expansion of a retail gaming brand into the online space at this time and into the future?
It is vital. Even if a casino is open 24 hours, play- ers loyal to the brand may not always want, or be able to, access the venue, but we know from mar-
1 1 2 understand behaviour. To illustrate how important
mobile is to IGT, we now have 33 game titles available on mobile, of which 21 are also available in retail casinos. In newly-live New Jersey, mobile
is already responsible for more than one-third of igaming volumes in that market.
kets where interactive gaming is well established that players want to engage around the clock, regardless of their present location. Firstly, you are missing out on transacting with an active, current customer base. Beyond that, not having an online offering means missing out on swathes of new players.
The convergence that is happening in the betting and gaming industry is just as rife in other sectors. Convergence is ordering your groceries from your desk at lunchtime then collecting them from a station on the commute home. It is watching your football team’s match on-the-go; it is using a boarding pass downloaded to a smartphone to check-in for your flight.
For gambling businesses it means the chance to have that all-round, single view of players. The opportunities to up-sell and better engage and
For players it means a seamless, personalised customer journey and experience, while enjoying the same entertainment products and service on all channels, rewarded for their loyalty as they play.
There have been lots of missteps from smaller
operators into online gaming - what’s the big dif- ference now in recreating a location successfully online and how should operators manage their expectations?
You don’t need to simply re-create the casino in the online world – you offer the same products and services in a way that suits the platform and the behaviour of the users. The emphasis must be on offering quality content and an unbeatable service. In a crowded marketplace, differentiation is an important sales tool.
Who are the players that are looking for this solu- tion and is it worth the investment to target them?
There is not one type of player who goes online – the potential audience is simply vast. Interactive players often fill a wider demographic, thanks to the ease and comfort of engagement, and they will want to be able to play anytime and any- where.
To become a major protagonist online will take significant investment, and this should not be made lightly, yet it is a must. Plan your online strategy meticulously and execute it carefully. Do that and you will reap the benefits.
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