Egaming industry predictions for 2018 – including artificial intelligence and short-form betting

Jasper Hoekert, co-founder and CEO, Revenue Engineers

1. Data & AI – The industry runs on statistics, mathematics and probability and operators – and large affiliates – will jump on the opportunities that come with utilising big data to their advantage. There is already a massive trend of key players investing heavily in big data specialists, econometrist models, technicians and using big data to model sportsbook odds, innovate slots games add additional and custom odds to punters and use big data to innovate the CRM game. I believe 2018 will be the year where operators will finally make the most of big data to optimise their marketing activities and move away from blind media buys/marketing partnerships but move towards a highly targeted, personalized and relevant marketing campaigns and more importantly more tailored CRM and loyalty programs.

Being smart with your CRM and loyalty programs will increase a gamblers loyalty to your brand and will eventually increase overall ROI. Of course any operator will struggle making the most of – and investing heavily in – making smart use of AI. Smart use of AI will allow to create a more engaging gambling experience and automate a part of customer support and in the long term future can potentially disrupt the overall gambling industry.

2. Cryptocurrency & blockchain – It was hard to miss the growth of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology in 2017, and we expect cryptocurrencies and blockchain to continue this growth in 2018 (and onwards). We believe 2018 to be the year where companies like FunFair.io will gain traction and blockchain technology – and/or third parties using blockchain technology to improve for example KYC – and will be on every forward thinking gambling operators’ radar.

Key players in the industry will, or should, look to accept bitcoin and other crypto currencies as payment methods. And key ‘crypto currency only’ like bitcasino.io, sportsbet.io and others will benefit massively from the growth in adoption of crypto currencies and will keep growing.

3. Gateway product marketing – Where in 2017 we experience a strong consolidation in the affiliate space and a lot of operators are modernizing the way they work with affiliates and marketing partners we expect to see a growth in affiliates that drive value via gateway products – such as matchcenters, predictor games, data driven predictions etc – that add value to users and allow affiliates to increase the number of touchpoints with users, built more data (that can be leveraged in their relation with operators) and open up the doors to different commercial models based on the brand/data impact they can have on an operators business.

Where currently a lot of affiliates are very much dependent on Google and don’t necessarily have a relationship with their audience and thus don’t built any data and don’t build a brand, those that look at gateway products either as a stand alone feature or as an add-on to their existing affiliate assets will be more future proof and open up more sustainable revenue streams.

Sandra McWilliams, sales director, SIS

1. Rise of short-form betting

There’s no doubt the World Cup in Russia will feature heavily in the mindset for sportsbook operators, as well as for casinos looking to take advantage of the cross-sell opportunities. One area of sports betting which is likely to become a key area of focus will be the availability of short-form betting markets. These quick-fire betting opportunities are becoming increasingly popular due to the instant gratification they offer, as outcomes are often delivered within minutes of placing a bet.

Betfair has already launched a service which lets exchange bettors bet and trade on five-minute periods of games on outcomes such as the next goal scorer and corner. In addition, other sports such as greyhounds offer similar opportunities, where the races are short and results are delivered in seconds. Not only do these markets help to increase dwell time for operators, they are highly engaging with the next generation of bettors who are known to enjoy these quick-fire events.

2. Greyhound racing back on track

Greyhound racing has had some negative press coverage in the last few years – related to racetrack closures, but this year will prove there’s life in the old dog yet. There’s a lot of investment going into the sport to improve its image, and by tracks to improve competitiveness, to ensure an optimal spectator sport and betting product. Betting market suppliers such as SIS are helping to increase the popularity of the sport internationally by enabling streaming of greyhounds globally, and developing t a new racing channel across online, mobile and retail channels. The sport is heading into a new era and will become an attractive proposition for bettors and operators.

3. New territories opening up

The igaming regulatory landscape continues to evolve, and we fully expect there to be more changes in the new year. Across Europe, Africa and the Americas, many regions are either looking to introduce new frameworks or to relax current regulation concerning online gambling. With such expansion on the horizon, the onus will be on suppliers to provide content which will appeal not only in the UK, but on an international stage too. We think short form content like greyhound racing does just that and will see further international expansion over the next 12 months due to its simplicity and frequency.