2011 will be a critical year for operators to be innovative or risk losing out.
It’s the chance for all operators to either build by being different, get swallowed up or fade away, according to commercial director at Zukido, David Sargeant. "The more solid regulatory boundaries that are emerging in Europe will only reinforce this trend as the cost to market greatly increases," Sargeant told iNTERGAMINGi recently.
Looking back on 2010, Sargeant cited 2010 as the year of the connective device, stating: "The Google v Apple battles for smartphones and internet TVs will be ones to watch next year and this should help drive the innovative ends of the gaming industry."
He also went on to talk about sports betting carrying on the trend of in-play as a core rather than a fringe product. "Even in Vegas there isn’t a successful sports book that isn’t wall to wall in-play any more."
He continued: "Now that in-play is a must have, everyone is looking for the next thing in sports betting - and everyone is still talking social, community and multiplayer. The social networking figures are astronomical but noone has managed capture this market yet. With the amounts being invested in social gaming, 2011 will surely reveal some innovative new products."
