The growth in i-gaming will see a trip to a land-based casino become a “fairly rare occasion” for consumers, it has been claimed.
DJ Smith, managing director of gaming consultancy firm New World Gaming, is predicting that i-gaming will become the preferred method of gambling worldwide.
“The very low costs, very high convenience and the rate of innovation of the i-gaming model are irresistible factors,” he said in an interview with InterGaming. “We believe that i-gaming will be the predominant mode of gambling worldwide and that smartphones and micro-billing technology will bring about a gaming culture that pervades modern day life.
“A visit to a casino will be like a visit to the cinema – a fairly rare occasion.”
However, Smith suggested there will still be growth prospects in what he described as the “physical distribution model” but suggested there is presently limited demand for cross-platform brand development from land-based casino operators.
“It seems that offline casinos that have extended their brands into the online space have received limited success, largely due to the relatively small market for players that play on both platforms,” he explained. “Perhaps in future we’ll see i-gaming entities extending their brands offline, perhaps through acquisition, to take advantage of opportunities to strengthen relationships with players and between players.
“For example, offering a ‘free’ holiday at a gambling resort rather than a sign-up bonus with yet another new online casino.”
Read the full interview with DJ Smith of New World Gaming in the next issue of InterGaming.
