INSIGHT EUROPEAN CASINO ASSOCIATION
customer perspective, this is how they view the industry. I really hope we are able to work together as opposed to thinking of each other as competitors.
It is simply a fact that during the pandemic the land-based industry was hit much, much harder than the online sector. However, when the land-based industry re-opened, we saw customers returning strongly. I think this is clear proof that the future is bright for our industry.
Customers still want social gaming, social entertainment and a real connection with the dealer, everything we provide as land- based casinos. Te player doesn’t need to choose one over the other - they can choose both.
Has Covid destroyed CapEx to the extent that European casinos are now the poor cousins of the global industry?
When you compare European casinos with the industry worldwide, we need to understand that casino structures are a little different in Europe. We are more focused on the gaming element within the casino and there aren’t the integrated resorts you see at the global level.
As such, the focus of the European casino sector is fixed upon stabilising operations for the next few years to make sure that we can provide the level of service our regular customers expect and to build back our customer base.
From the financial point of view, there are investments that remain essential beyond the need to satisfy game and technology advances. Tere is a need to keep step with regulation, which also includes Anti- Money Laundering restrictions.
Casinos still need to invest, but we have to be careful and judicious as to the areas in which we commit our budgets.
It is important to state that ECA members have experienced the pandemic differently, with localised responses that differ from member to member. We can’t generalise by saying that there’s one line followed by all the casinos in Europe.
Even at the local level there is great variety in the scale and types of operations being managed by members.
We have also seen many members using downtime during Covid to refresh their offers, adding new bars and restaurants, new management systems and
It is simply a fact that during the pandemic the land-based industry was hit much, much harder than the online sector.
However, when the land-based industry re-opened, we saw
customers returning strongly. I think this is clear proof that the future is bright for our industry.
technology to offer the best experience to customers upon re-opening.
I think at the moment casinos are more careful as a result of Covid, especially in terms of the types of major investments they make. However, we continue to see the commitment to new venues and infrastructure as this remains a dynamic business that seeks to offer the best possible levels of service and entertainment to our customers.
How positive are you right now in regards the future of casinos in Europe?
One of the focus issues for the ECA is making sure that we don’t become an over-regulated industry. When you are facing the financial challenges we’ve discussed, over-regulation makes it even harder to bounce back.
At the same time, we have to promote the positive aspects of licensed land-based
Casinos are more careful as a result of Covid, especially in terms of the types of major investments they make.
However, we continue to see
the commitment to new venues and infrastructure as this
remains a dynamic business that seeks to offer the best possible levels of service and entertainment to our customers.
gaming, while fighting against illegal operators in our sector. Te ECA must help our members to recover and I am positive we can achieve this goal, but I also think that the next two years are about stabilising the industry.
We need to be careful and we need to be realistic. We can’t expect to bounce back to 2019 figures in the near-term - that’s just the reality of the situation. However, by sharing information with each other I think the whole industry stands the best chance to recover as quickly as possible.
Finland is at the forefront of changes to embed social responsibility within gambling policy and legislation. How have these changes affected business, especially when combined with Covid restrictions?
Te gaming industry in Finland is a large business operated by Veikkaus Oy, but looking at my sector, Helsinki Casino and the coming new casino in Tampere, we have taken huge steps during the pandemic.
In the summer, we implemented carded play throughout the casino in Helsinki, including table games and slots. A few months later we offered a wide range of gaming tools for our customers, enabling time and loss limits on slots machines and further limits on table games.
We are building a whole new way of playing at the casino using technology to create an environment that was not feasible even just a few years ago.
It is a choice made by the company that comes with a price tag, but it is a choice that we see as the foundation for our operations in Finland.
We stand behind this choice and it is a very big part of building a positive image of the casino sector in the country. I don’t think the casino industry should be hidden behind a curtain and kept in the dark.
I think we should be able to openly build trust and be unafraid to show all aspects of our operations. We are proud of what we’re doing and this is the message we want to convey to the public.
We are also getting attention from ECA members regarding the impact of these changes.
We are only at the beginning of this
P34 WIRE / PULSE / INSIGHT / REPORTS
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