Going mobile in Asia

Habanero CEO Nic Ioannoy on why mobile is the key for cracking emerging markets in Asia

Perhaps more than anywhere else, the online markets of Asia have promised much but delivered seemingly little over the last few years.

Viewed as the next big opportunity for operators and suppliers alike, regulatory uncertainty has limited activity.

However, there are signs that regulation is moving in the right direction in a number of territories. Even China – the biggest prize of all – appears to be taking some tentative steps towards more open online regulation, although for the time being opportunities remain limited.

When operators do make the move into Asian territories, mobile must be at the centre of their proposition.

This might seem counter-intuitive to the traditional strategies which are informed by an outdated view of the Asian gambler.

It was long assumed that unscrupulous operators had left Asian online gamers with a distinct lack of trust when it came to the type of RNG games which thrive on mobile.

Instead, the focus was placed on live dealer table games, particularly baccarat, which have not always been the most natural fit on mobile devices.

But the modern Asian gamer has changed in recent years. A number of clean operators have flourished across the region, improving trust in RNG content.

This process has been helped by the high return to player percentage (RTP) offered on a lot of RNG content, which has made it an appealing product within the online space.

Meanwhile millennials who have grown up online, are never far from a mobile phone and grew up playing console games present a target demographic very different to that of their parents.

Local approach

It has been the growth of an affluent, tech-savvy middle class which has brought US and European brands flooding into Asia, but for gaming firms to capitalise on the opportunity, they must understand these consumers.

It will not be enough to enter Asian markets with the same products which have served operators in Europe. A tailored, local approach to each market will be critical, and Asian-themed games are becoming increasingly popular.

At Habanero, we recently launched a new slot, Fa Cai Shen, as a way of celebrating Chinese New Year. It is the sort of product which will not only be popular in Asia, but also with the Asians who live in Europe’s regulated markets.

This targeted approach might not mean that all games are successful in all territories, but the days when generic content could succeed on the mobile channel have long passed.

As with all our new games, Fa Cai Shen was produced in HTML5. This is helping spur the rapid growth we’ve seen on mobile in recent months, with in excess of 40% of total wagers now coming directly through that channel.

The table below illustrates very clearly the propensity for players to switch to mobile since we began releasing the mobile games to clients in January 2016.

The fact that by wagered amount, the mobile player tends to be of relatively higher value than their desktop counterpart is as good a reason as any why we’re currently in the process of transferring our entire flash library of more than 60 games to HTML5.

Offering omni-channel flexibility will also be extremely important for those entering Asia, where land-based gaming tends to enjoy more advanced regulation.

Content should be available across desktop, mobile and in the land-based environment if it is to exploit the full range of opportunities.

Needless to say, multi-language and multi-currency versions are essential when it comes to ensuring a presence across all major markets in the region.

It will also help to have boots on the ground. Despite not being the biggest of suppliers, we believe the investment in our Asia office will pay dividends in the long run.

Asia is still a long way from the mature markets of Europe, but with some mobile-centric thinking, rapid growth in emerging jurisdictions could soon become reality.