Can live casino replace sports betting as the star player?

“As you know, our top performer, sportsbook, will not be able to play for some time. We need to regroup. Live casino will lead our attack. Poker, virtual sports, casino, lotteries, guys I expect tons of hard work from you, too! I want the ball getting passed twice more than usual! Let’s get over this together. It’s just another challenge in our dynamic league.”

Lines like these, yelled out by a coach, might be overheard from a dressing room of some egaming team these days. And if you do hear them, be sure of one thing – the coach is a smart fella.

When the main superstar is out, it’s almost impossible to just substitute him and continue with business as usual. You need to regroup. Lower performance is sure to be expected, but you have to do everything possible to keep up decent levels. When you are an egaming operator, this is when the integrated quality of your service is vital.

These days, the question everybody naturally asks is, “What would a regular sports punter redirect his energy to during this crisis?” As mentioned, it is impossible to imagine he would just switch to, say, blackjack or bingo.

Nothing can really replace sports betting as the most preferred way to gamble. It just combines so many unique factors, that we need to stop searching for a close alternative. Instead, it’s better to slightly alter the line of thinking.

Customers pay to get a thrill, adrenaline, exciting experience and chance of winning. It’s easy to assume that these needs, at least partially, will be still present, even when there’s no sports to bet on. In which cases it’s most likely that customers’ energy will be spread among the other forms of gambling entertainment, rather than just redirected to a single one.

Strong appeal

Live casino is the vertical that holds the strongest potential in terms of offering combined egaming experience. It’s like a powerful young offensive midfielder who is yet to prove his real, great abilities if properly motivated and further developed. He needs to be trusted, properly invested in, promoted, monitored and adjusted to the needs of game on the move. Then you can safely bet he will soon be able to lead the team.

The biggest asset of live casino hides in the mixture of experiences it offers. The thrill is there, the excitement and the chance to win also. Now add the beauty of the spectacle, the flamboyance, the shine, combined with a feeling of cutting-edge technology. A gambling reality show with your own participation. Live casino is able to touch the customer in quite a few ways, only one of which is the old chase of win. Another huge advantage of this service is the vast potential for new features, scenarios and creativity.

Nowadays, proven players like poker and good old casino games are not to be underestimated and left without being cared for. So are the relatively new trends like virtual sports or esports. They may very well carry a lot of customers’ energy on their backs.

That is why a smart recipe for keeping a solid egaming business during these hard times will definitely include keeping a rich overall variety of high-quality games, loyalty to customers and excellent support, staying flexibly creative and investing into promoting and improving live casino.

Georgi Stoianov has spent almost 10 years in online gambling, mainly in risk management, operations and affiliates. He is currently managing partner of Restate Bulgaria and co-founder of 007 Casino.