Egaming industry predictions for 2016 - part 6

Jeremy Thompson-Hill, CEO, OpenBet

1) Operator consolidation will continue. The mega-mergers announced by Ladbrokes and Gala Coral, Betfair and Paddy Power and GVC and bwin.party last year look to be just the start of the consolidation process in the betting and gaming industry. Operators are under pressure to discover new ways to drive growth. This will demand, for example, huge investment into new technologies

2) Suppliers will form deeper partnerships. Key suppliers in the industry are set to form deeper partnerships, enabling them to share in product synergies and complement the overall market offering. There are some fantastic products being produced across the industry that, when brought together deliver a best in class player experience.

3) Operators will put more emphasis on differentiation. Businesses are going to have to put more emphasis on differentiation in 2016, driving ever more business-specific product roadmaps. For operators to pull ahead, they’ll have to be sharp and stand out from the market. Betting opportunities aren’t enough, they’ll need to be innovative with their delivery channels, payment processes, marketing and more.

4) Omni-channel wallet products to thrive. Businesses with large in-venue estates will continue to replace and renew their products, with an eye on extracting more value overall from their offering. Omni-channel wallet products, which enable players to use their phone to get access, update and withdraw funds in a land-based environment, will make a large bearing on the market.

5) The pressure will increase on grey markets. Across the world, we’ll see the grey betting markets come under more pressure to re-regulate. Current regulated markets will look to block unregulated activity as they support those operators who are acting with the highest levels of probity. More legislative backing is sure to come into the global industry, which also puts those suppliers who solely focus on regulated markets in a strong position.

Giulio Coraggio, gaming lawyer and partner, DLA Piper

1) The third revolution for the Italian online gaming market. After the first two revolutions subsequent to the launch of online poker and casino games in Italy, the very recent change of the taxation for sports betting and poker tournament (including fantasy football and eSports) coupled with the award of new online licenses in 2016 is likely to lead to a massive change in the Italian gaming market with new entrants and operators that will considerably increase their market share.

2) Diversification will be the magic word in a European market where operators are offering very similar products and those able to develop new mechanics of games will be able to get a considerable market share in a short time.

3) Daily fantasy football and eSports will explode. These games have been minor for a long period of time but the entrance in the European market of new operators might create a new vertical with substantial potentials. The tricky part will be the ability of operators to adapt their products to the European market that is quite different from the US – even within Europe each market is quite different.

4) International liquidity moves closer. We have been discussing international liquidity for several years but the recent move by the French Government towards that might create opportunities for operators that have a large market share in Italy, Spain and France. On the contrary I don’t believe that we will reach the goal of a global sharing liquidity.

5) Mobile is old, it is the time of wearables. The possibility for players to bet and gamble immediately wherever and whenever they are will become a ‘must have’. Mobile gambling is already something consolidated, but the launch of devices like Apple Watch has created a new channel for operators that needs to be fully exploited.