industryQ&A
MOVING WITH THE TIMES COVID-19 has accelerated the trend towards increased digitized gaming options, and industry giants are helping drive the change. It ’s a ch a n g i n g world r i g ht now, a nd t he g a m i n g industry is no different. Gaming has been hit hard by closures and falling revenues during COV ID-19. The stark reality is that even once things are under control and we can begin to ret u r n to a for m of “nor m a l ”, t h i n g s w ill look strik ingly different than they did pre-pandemic. In some ways, gaming will never be the same again. W hile there have been notable negative repercussions, the pa ndemic is a lso play ing a role in accelerating innovation within the industr y. How customers gamble and the options that are available to them are evolving at a fast rate. The indust r y wa s already shifting pre-pa ndemic towards exploring and employing more technological advancements, including cashless options for playing. Pa r t of t h is wa s t he g a m ing indust r y ’s at tempt to keep up with wider social trends, with the population looking for more convenient, easy, and eff icient ways
t o conduc t t r a n s a c t ion s. C OV I D -19 h a s b e en a n accelerant in that regard, as that trend was magnif ied by new safety concerns. In rea lit y, this is the direct ion g a ming ha s been g o i n g i n fo r s o m e t i m e . T h e C a n a d i a n G a m i n g A sso c i at ion’s St a nd a rd s for Ca sh le ss Sy st em s – a concer t e d , col l a b or at i ve, i ndu st r y-w ide ef for t t o provide a thorough framework for cashless wagering – recognize that we embrace technolog y in our daily lives, especially when it comes to paying for things. C a n a d i a n G a m i n g B u s i n e s s s p o k e t o i n du s t r y g i a nt s E v e r i , I nt e r n a t i o n a l G a m i n g Te ch n o l o g y (IGT), and Scientif ic Games about the industry-wide trend towards cashless. All three companies had been working on this prior to the onset of COV ID-19, and they discussed the impact the pandemic has had, the cashless options they already offer to consumers, and how this technolog y may help the Canadian gaming industry.
These interviews have been edited for length and clarity. Participants:
Kathiravan Palanisamy, Senior Director, Software Engineering at Scientific Games:
16 | Spring 2021
Ryan Reddy, IGT Vice President of VLT, Systems, and Payments Products at IGT:
Darren Simmons, Executive Vice President and FinTech Business Leader, at Everi:
