INSIGHT VIRTUAL SPORTS - DS VIRTUAL GAMING
Virtual games are popular in almost all countries where they are legalised, and land- based operation is the main base of development of the segment. Peru, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Nigeria, Kenya, Lithuania, Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, Italy... there are plenty of them. Te main thing is to interest players and have a licence or permission to supply games to a regulated market.
All markets are different and have their own characteristics, not only related to the players' preferences, but also to the forms of product supply. Each new market gives us new challenges and experiences. Te mentality of people in different countries is completely different from each other. Moreover, players from different regions of the same country are also different. And that's what makes our work incredibly fascinating and enlightening.
How does the turnover on virtual sports products differ between retail and online platforms?
In order to give you an accurate answer to this question, let's take into account only the figures of those operators who have both online and land-based operations. Te bottom line is that approximately 37per cent of betting is done on web and mobile combined, while the remaining 63 per cent comes from the turnover generated by betting shops.
However, it doesn't mean that we should focus only on the land-based operation, because the hundred per cent result is a comprehensive product development, so we have launched a new online platform to accept bets from computers, tablets and mobile devices. Our online version avoids scrolling that interferes with the full enjoyment of the game, offers different layouts for accepting bets, and makes it easier to experience gaming in general.
DS Virtual Gaming's retail suite includes a prepaid & affiliate system. Could you tell us more about this system and why a prepaid card benefits operators?
Prepaid & affiliate system is a new, fully integrated affiliate system, where each partner can sell a contingent of pre-purchased credit to their customers. Te operator can allocate the credit as desired and sell it to the end customer in the form of prepaid vouchers.
Tis risk-free system is associated with a fixed percentage rate, which increases the profit opportunities. One more plus going your way is the better control of the business. In practical terms this means that the betting shops are only allowed to vend the allocated amount.
Te player buys a prepaid card from the employee at the sales point and scans or keys in the barcode. Now, the customer is good to go and can start betting immediately. Once the player buys the ticket, no further hardware or time investment by the operator's staff is needed onsite. Also, our prepaid system functions on a computer, tablet or smartphone,
allowing its employment through all channels independent of location.
How does player behaviour differ between retail and virtual games? Are there certain types of retail game that are more popular in betting shops than online?
Statistically, those games that are a huge success at the retail shops are just as successful online. But there is another question here, and that is the operator's ability to present all the games offered by the providers at their betting shops.
Depending on the location of the point of sale and the market of operation, shops can be of different sizes. For the best player experience to show odds and transmission, one game may be presented on only one TV. In most cases, the operators can dedicate space only for two-three games, because they also have a need to demonstrate sports betting and events, TV games, etc.
At the same time, online operation does not face such dilemmas, allowing operators to accept bets on all the games available in the arsenal. To get a full experience from virtual games, they must be properly presented both on the online platform, giving players the opportunity to bet from computers, tablets and mobile phones, as well as at betting shops.
Tere have been a swathe of virtual sports providers entering Latin America. What is driving the demand for virtual sports in Latin America and which markets are showing the most promise?
Te Latin American market is very interesting not only for virtual games, but for sportsbook providers, slots, TV games, lotteries, bingo, and poker because of its scale. It is a completely different world with its own gambling traditions and habits.
Peru has a population of about 40 million people, Colombia has more than 50 million, the same number in Argentina, the Brazilian market gives access to 156 million people and Mexico has 132 million people. In many markets both online and land-based operations are very well developed.
However, it is in Latin America that we face a major problem. DS Virtual Gaming only offers its services to operators who have a gaming licence or permission to operate from the regulator. Mexico and Colombia have regulated their markets for a long time, and only recently have gambling business become regulated in the territories of Brazil, Argentina, Peru.
Many countries issue a separate permit for gambling activities, obliging to pay taxes, but do not have regulation as such. However, the regulation of virtual games as a separate segment is important for us. Some regulators classify us as a casino, given the presence of RNG in the core of the product, others classify us as a sport, while others don't find a place for
“The Latin American market is very interesting not only for virtual games, but for
sportsbook providers, slots, TV games, lotteries, bingo, and
poker because of its scale. It is a completely different world with its own gambling
traditions and habits. Peru has a population of about 40 million people, Colombia has more than 50 million, the same number in Argentina, the Brazilian market gives
access to 156 million people and Mexico has 132 million people. In many markets both online and land-based operations are very well developed.”
us at all. Regulatory transparency is fundamental to creating a healthy gaming industry for all parties involved in the sector, especially players.
DS Virtual Gaming previously informed G3 of having ‘a huge interest' in Nigeria, Kenya, Romania, Georgia, Colombia, and Peru. What progress are you making in these markets and are there any others that have since appeared on your radar?
I am pleased to inform you that in some of the above mentioned markets we already operate, in others we have operators who are interested in collaboration with DS Virtual Gaming and are waiting for us to get gaming licences from regulators to start legal operations.
At the moment we are getting licences from Colombia and Panama, which will be a great companion for the already existing licences from the UK, Malta, Romania, Italy, as well as certificates for operating in many countries.
Since our interview we started to operate in markets that were totally unexpected for us, so today I can’t say for sure that this or that country is our target. We are open to cooperation with all operators who want to get high-quality content from one of the first virtual game providers, but with the obligatory condition of free testing of games at their betting shops.
WIRE / PULSE / INSIGHT / REPORTS P77
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