Exploring new gaming platforms.
Often we hear about the threat of online gaming to the land-based casino industry. It seems only now, having watched it develop into a huge industry, that the bricks and mortar business is beginning to make progress in this field itself.
Of course, this is not true of all operators. Some were quick to make the leap into the unknown, with varying degrees of success, while others made the move only to have the market shut down by reactionary governments. Much of the recent interest in i-gaming perhaps stems from the fact that the US is now on the verge of re-opening its online gaming market and that those waiting for the starting pistol to be fired are the country’s big casino operators.
Getting up to speed
Few, if any, within the industry still have the ‘Us vs Them’ mentality but it has taken time to reach this point. Did the casino industry just not see it coming?
“Land-based casinos weren’t exactly caught out by online gaming, but they definitely underestimated its popularity and initially saw online as a threat rather than a complementary revenue stream,” said JPM Interactive, part of the JPM Group that develops games for the online market. “In 1999, there was only one well-known bookmaker/sports betting business in the UK which had actively decided to go online; all the other brands and land-based casinos had to be persuaded of the value of online gaming. “It soon became apparent that they could not afford to ignore the popularity of online gaming.”
Most major land-based casinos were quick to recognise the new opportunities offered by online gaming, said Jens Halle, managing director of Austrian Gaming Industries, which now lists i-gaming firm Greentube among its subsidiaries. “There were, however, certain licensing issues that affected development and some of those issues exist today in certain markets.” The benefits are clear, he said.
“Remote gaming is not only an additional sales channel for gaming content besides traditional gaming and the street market. For example, to casinos in the UK and in Germany, it already represents an important element of a successful cross marketing strategy. As a matter of course all major British casino operators already have their own online gaming platform where they provide an online or mobile game offering for their guests, while at the same time informing them of the latest attractions, events and promotions at the casino.”
This feature can be read in full in the July 2012 issue of InterGaming magazine.
