Events


IAGA SUMMIT New York 2017


audience and tech-literate current generation of players?


So far I would say not at all. I think if we are honest with ourselves, 25-30 year old males are not running around telling their friends about the new coolest game on the casino floor. And that’s problematic. Online poker was one way in which the past met the future, but with the law passing in 2006, that car was put into reverse. It was, to date, the best marriage of old school and new school technology and nothing has come close since.


Is the industry doing enough to connect social and mobile technology to improve the customer experience? Is gaming keeping pace with the changes in this social environment in order to remain relevant to its player base?


I think my colleagues at Caesars, MGM, Wynn etc., would all tell you that they have not dedicated enough resources to the social mobilisation of their databases and their businesses. Although everyone is now putting resources against it, I think they'll all admit that they didn’t put in enough - or soon enough. Obviously, the elephant in the room is that Caesars Interactive, by putting huge resources into mobile gaming, did incredibly well and sold our business for US$4.4bn. However, I think more has to be done going forward. We built it and we sold it, but now the future of social is more important than ever.


Where do consumer options such as e-Sports and


play-for-fun social games fit into the modern casino offering?


I think eSports, Daily Fantasy Sports and mobile sports-betting each have real audiences. To bring those audiences to slot play you have to socialise it - you have to tie slots play on the floor to rewards both on your phone and on-premises. It needs to be connected to your Facebook page and to your friends’ accomplishments in the game, with play offered both offline and online, for real money and for virtual money. If that’s all integrated together then I think there is a future.


What part does regulation play in constraining innovation in the gaming industry? What changes would you like to see?


In my nine years with Caesars the Nevada Gambling Commission has been incredibly open-minded to everything within reason and has been open to looking at anything interactive. Nevada and New Jersey continue to be in the lead and they are both open to interactive. Te problem isn’t regulation it’s proliferation. Having other states enact their own legislation having missed the boat on having a federal poker bill in the US, which would have meant that we wouldn’t have to go state by state. Tose are the things that get in the way.


Has the industry done enough to harness a younger customer and appeal to the changing demographic of this key demographic?


I think if we are honest


with ourselves, 25-30 year old males are not running


around telling their friends about the new coolest


game on the casino floor. And that’s problematic.


Online poker was one way in which the past met the future, but with the law


passing in 2006, that car was put into reverse.


IAGA


The International Association of Gaming Advisors (IAGA) will hold its 36th annual International Gaming Summit May 30-June 1, 2017 at the JW Marriott Essex House, New York, US.


NEWSWIRE / INTERACTIVE / 247.COM P45


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