12 minute read
Casino
by SBC Global
IS THE US HEADING FOR A MOBILE VERSUS LAND-BASED BATTLE?
THE NOTION OF IGAMING BEING THE
NEXT BIG GOLD RUSH for US gambling is one that is quickly becoming well trodden. However, in equal measure, it continues to captivate many as numerous conversations continue amid an array of industry incumbents vying for position in the handful of legal states
BY CRAIG DAVIES
Despite being met with much scepticism at certain stages, the growth of online casinos throughout those legal regions is one that certainly cannot be argued against, with it being a question of when, and where, will the next drives for legalisation come to fruition.
The uncertainty of the last 16 months
or so has certainly done no harm to the digital charge, with land-based entities shuttered and quickly striving to either establish, or enhance, an online presence.
This is backed up by recent comments by the American Gaming Association, which said that the COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the US commercial gaming ecosystem, with the “enormous challenges” bringing “significant changes”.
“The gaming industry faced enormous challenges in 2020 – and we also saw significant changes, as player
demographics shifted and emerging verticals saw strong growth,” the Association's CEO Bill Miller reiterated.
Alongside a rise in online gaming comes an accompanying surge in mobile play, a topic of conversation that united numerous speakers at the recent CasinoBeats Summit as representing the future of the industry.
However, with all of this mind, how will the rise of mobile gaming across the US impact the country’s land-based casino space? And what impact will the numerous stay-at-home mandates have?
Troy Zurawski, CEO of Design Works Gaming, begins by suggesting that this does not have to spell the beginning of the end for land-based entities,
which could view these developments as an opportunity as opposed to a hindrance.
“The legalisation of online gambling across the US will have an enormous impact on the country’s land-based casino space.
“First, it will have an impact on how often current land-based players go to casinos. If a casino offers an option for a player to continue playing from home, many will take that option.
“This does not have to be a negative for that casino; leaning into the vast new opportunities to engage with players is the right way to go.
“Next, it will provide an opportunity for casinos to interact with players who previously may not have stepped foot on the physical property. For the land-based casinos, this provides an opportunity to increase the player base tied to its brand.”
A viewpoint shared by Kent Young, president and CEO of Spin Games, whose buyout by Bragg Gaming Group is expected to be completed during this year’s final quarter, who asserts that online should be seen as an additional service rather than a competing one.
“Since the COVID-19 pandemic forced a shut-down of land-based casino operations, and then resulted in numerous operational restrictions like social distancing, capacity reductions and shorter hours, the North America
gaming market has seen a rapid increase in online gaming interest from states where land-based casinos are not allowed to offer igaming, especially as ‘stay at home’ mandates had a positive impact on online revenue with some markets seeing up to a thirty percent increase.
“Over the past year, numerous landbased gaming states including Nevada have begun exploring legislation, while states like Connecticut have passed laws that permit igaming as an additional wagering and state revenue opportunity.
Troy Zurawski, CEO of Design Works Gaming
Kent Young, president and CEO of Spin Games
“These efforts are in part due to online gaming being seen as an additive service to bricks and mortar operations rather than as one that cannibalizes traditional play.
“Land-based gaming appears to be quickly recovering from the COVID closures and restrictions as players are eager to return to traditional casino services, but the strong interest in online wagering is continuing and represents an exciting opportunity for online gaming companies.
“As one of North America’s first approved online technology and content providers, we are pleased to be at the forefront of igaming expansion.”
With the overwhelming message
being on a wholly union, Kent moves on to look at if the online and landbased ecosystems can work together to ensure collective success, and what this could potentially look like.
“Because online and land-based gaming services are complementary and often serve the same patrons, it’s optimal for them to work together to support the growth and sustainability of each gaming industry vertical.
“This structure provides for cross marketing opportunities which have shown great success in markets such as New Jersey, Michigan and Pennsylvania. The market is beginning to see omni-channel product releases, whereby gaming products are being launched in the land-based and igaming segments simultaneously, and we expect to see more of this in the future.
“Player database leverage is key across both verticals, and we are seeing operators with existing databases in the land-based space having optimal success in the iGaming space after launch.”
Zurawski closed things off by strongly insisting that collaborative actions are perhaps the logical way to proceed by those occupying space in one or both ecosystems.
“Online and land-based ecosystems absolutely can and should work together to ensure collective success. The three main verticals of casino games have vastly different barriers to entry.
“Social is the easiest and fastest to market. Online real-money gaming is much more difficult, while getting games into land-based casinos is by far the most complicated process.
“Because of this, suppliers should be incentivised to get data from at least one of the two online sources before bringing games to land.
“The relationship is not 1:1, but online performance is a powerful predictor of land performance. This should reduce the large, unnecessary cost of bringing unsuccessful games to land-based casinos.
“On the practical side, we are working directly with customers in the US on ways to bring the best of the land-based and online worlds together to create a stronger product for all.
“Sometimes it can be as simple as migrating a popular mechanic from one space to another, as we did with our recent release Diamonds, Sapphires & Rubies 4Play; playing across four simultaneously spinning reels is a fairly new concept in online casinos despite being well-established in land-based casinos.” •
SLOTS ARE BECOMING ‘MORE DIVERSE’ TO KEEP UP WITH PLAYER ENGAGEMENT TRENDS
KAJAL VERMA, ART DIRECTOR AT PUSH GAMING, AND NORBERT MATHIES, MANAGING DIRECTOR AT SPINMATIC
ENTERTAINMENT, delve into whether slot design is key to attracting new player demographics
BY JAMES ROSS
Slot content and design are constantly evolving, with new features being released all of the time. But how important are these design elements when it comes to attracting new players? And if this is important, what scope is there for the localisation of certain slot titles to cater for the differing tastes across global markets?
Speaking to SBC Leaders, Kajal Verma and Norbert Mathies explain why they believe the slot sector is becoming ‘more diverse and including visuals to attract more players’ and how keeping up with market trends is ‘crucial in understanding what is engaging players’.
SBC: Throughout the slot sector, we’re seeing more and more titles becoming diverse visually, yet are slots still being tailored for current players and, in regards to slot design, is enough being done to attract a new audience of players?
Kajal Verma: I feel the industry is definitely stepping out of its comfort zone and pushing the boundaries more. We are seeing more themes and
art styles that are visually daring and standing apart from the typical slot styles that have dominated over the years.
Successful games such as Jammin’ Jars and Fat Rabbit have shown how players are looking for something different and are enjoying greater diversity. I do believe there is still more to do in successfully attracting a new audience, for instance taking inspiration from outside the slot space, and I look forward to seeing how this will influence and evolve slot design in the future. Nortbert Mathies: Spinmatic is always looking to innovate and introduce new games and features to attract players from all over the world.
It is certain that some games are tailored for the customers but at the same time, it is obvious that the sector is becoming more diverse and including visuals to attract more players. Although those ideas seem to contradict each other, they actually don’t.
Frankly in tailoring, thanks to our customers, we have the chance to meet their needs with our perspective of innovation. So we actually have even more chances to think big! Whether tailoring or not, we always consider our user friendly and innovation policies.
There’s still so much we can do, and new technologies allow for incredible and exciting innovations. In the future, we believe both current and new audiences will enjoy seeing the incorporation of AR and VR technology, for example.
Kajal Verma, Art Director at Push Gaming
SBC: Slots tailored for localised markets can generate tremendous success - do you think this will be the same on a global scale?
KV: I think as we continue to move more into a more globalised world, this will affect all areas, including games and game design.
At Push Gaming, we design according to how we feel players will respond globally and not just one market. This has been very beneficial for us and shows that titles can cater for multiple markets if designed well. A perfect example of this in the recently opened up Dutch market.
Traditionally, players in the Netherlands have preferred a particular type of game, influenced by the landbased ‘casino’ market. The charts of the most popular games and the studios that make them are dominated by similarly styled games, but now the market is open and players there have access to a much wider selection of games, we’re seeing the titles that have been popular globally gaining greater traction there. NM: We used to consider local things from other places as special, rarely known and even sometimes exotic. In today’s era, although this can still be the case, we are also now in the middle of globalisation, so localised markets or even local customs and traditions are nearer than ever before.
This means that slots tailored for the localised markets do not have to come to a dead end, but rather can attract globalised markets because the themes, genre or slots created are not unfamiliar for the rest of the world.
As an example, Spinmatic Entertainment has a ‘Sushi House’ slot game which could seem to be created for markets in Asia since it includes localised elements. However, although everyone has the consensus that sushi is a local element, nobody considers it far or distinct from themselves.
Norbert Mathies, Managing Director at Spinmatic Entertainment
Similarly, ‘Plato o Plomo’, Spinmatic’s slot game which is inspired by Pablo Escobar, is not only for Latin America but also the rest of the world. In short, games for localised markets can definitely be global.
SBC: How much of an impact is player preference having on slot design and how can developers use this to innovate future titles?
KV: Keeping up with the market trends across games and mobile titles is crucial in understanding what is engaging players and how we can incorporate that into our future releases.
We’re an entertainment provider and our ethos is ‘Players First’, so it’s vitally important for us to invest time and resources into researching this and creatively responding to player’s preferences as the market evolves.
SLOTS TAILORED FOR THE LOCALISED MARKETS DO NOT HAVE TO COME TO A DEAD END, BUT RATHER CAN ATTRACT GLOBALISED MARKETS SLOT GAMING IS A MUTUAL RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE PROVIDER AND THE PLAYERS CONNECTED BY OPERATORS
For example, hyper-casual games are very popular at the moment, and we are looking at ways to bring that into our future games, the prospect of which is very exciting. NM: In my humble opinion, thinking as a player I wouldn’t play the games I do not trust. If any customer feels like the game is robbing them and trying to cover it up with attractive visuals, that means the game is not reliable and credible.
Slot gaming is a mutual relationship between the provider and the players connected by operators. This relationship should always be in equilibrium so that games are developed fairly - both mathematically and technically.
Moreover, implementing the advantages of new technology for players’ chances of winning always attracts them. Hence for developers, the reliability of the game and likelihood of winning is directly related to the future of the game.
At the same time, creating userfriendly interfaces can lead to a more positive gaming experience and introducing new players to the game. Likewise, attractive visuals, game designs and sound effects play a significant role in creating a sentimental bond between players and the games.
To achieve those goals, Spinmatic has released the Fruity Beats Xtreme! slot game which has 99.08% RTP and is the debut of a new Xtreme! product line.
SBC: How do you think slots can be redesigned to adhere to responsible gambling guidelines and protect the player?
KV: We have always, and will continue to, work hard to ensure that designs, animations and the overall presentation of games more closely match the wins that the players achieve. This creates the more honest and transparent gameplay experience that we truly believe in at Push.
We want players to enjoy themselves - but we are equally aware of the responsibility we have and always strive to communicate this to our audience as best we can. NM: Taking special care of security and legacy is paramount to us. We’ve been working on our newly updated framework, SpinEngine 3.0, which is all about enhancing the player’s experience in all sorts of aspects, not just entertainment. Players are informed and protected according to regulations and the framework complies with all the relevant legal requirements. •
