Traditionally a get-together for the big beasts of the land-based slot supply industry, the Global Gaming Expo (G2E), which takes place towards the end of the year in Las Vegas, has taken its time to come to terms with the distinctive challenge, and indeed the opportunity, posed by online gambling.
Much of this is due to the understandable fears over legitimacy, particularly with regards to the US. But after attending this year’s G2E, we find ourselves agreeing with the view of one New York-based analyst that the competitive marketplace for gaming suppliers – helped by the convergence of online and offline already witnessed elsewhere around the world – is now very much heating up.
The analyst at Wells Fargo commented: “Just looking at the booths at this year’s G2E, it was clear that it is no longer just the big five. The reality is that there is a huge amount of content out there, making it harder for suppliers to differentiate themselves.” In this respect, the land-based world is just catching up with its online cousins.
As with other leading names in the field of online supply, we see a heightened competitive environment as a positive. OpenBet very much prides itself on the first word of our name; our platform is open for a reason and “a huge amount of content” means greater potential for our clients.
Third-party content is at the heart of our proposition. As much as we take pride in our own world-class games, the central proposition of our platform is that we can integrate the content from other developers and suppliers – including, intriguingly, some of those land-based behemoths such as IGT and Aristocrat. Third-party content is key to anyone in online gaming. As the Wells Fargo analyst suggested, third-party development “increases the variety of games in the market”. This is good news for operators as much as suppliers. The online consumer will always be choosy, and will always seek out the games and experiences which offer them the greatest entertainment.
Online gaming has taught the land-based operators to expect more, and competition for share of wallet is driving further innovation. Suppliers too, in online as well of offline, are locked in this competitive struggle. One last thought; the analyst at Wells Fargo closed by suggesting that the “…reality is that there is just a huge amount of content out there.” The cost of producing that content is becoming ever more significant, and this is one of the other resounding messages that we heard on the show floor in Vegas.
To mitigate that cost, content will need to be leveraged across a number of distribution channels. This means slots, this means online, this means lottery. In short, convergence. Again, we think that in these business circumstances, the open nature of the platform and channel distribution is very much of central importance, giving operators and lotteries the ultimate choice and ever-changing compelling content.
