Opinion: Avoiding the innovation trap

It is no secret that the dramatic growth in online gaming over the past 10 years has been driven by innovations in technology. Commentators today are still examining how traditional operators can manage the migration to mobile and handheld devices that is driving growth in the sector.

And in boardrooms ‘innovation’ has become something of a buzz word. Companies are falling into the trap of innovating for innovations’ sake, with no consideration given to continuity or quality of player experience.

Budgets are immediately allocated to the “next big thing” to constantly throw new content and products at customers. Virtual reality, for example, captured the headlines in the technology pages for its ground-breaking ability to replicate environments and artificially create sensory experiences.

Back to basics

Yet innovation in technology is not going to make the gaming sector money in the next two to three years. To my mind, it is far more important in the short-term to focus efforts on creating an exceptionally strong platform and strong product. These two fundamentals will guide my strategic decisions at GVC.

Amid increased competition, new taxes and tighter regulation, there is increasing pressure on gaming companies to provide products that will keep players and ultimately retain revenue.

Mobile has changed consumer behaviour. Facebook, Netflix, Instagram, Amazon and all the other mega apps are now a daily ‘habit’ and consumers expect gaming companies to have the same level of professionalism.

A mobile product must deliver the most relevant and intuitive content with the least navigation. Any app which is installed on the device is a potential competitor on the punters ‘share of time’ metric. Any call, text or push message can divert customers from your product.

Platform for growth

One of the reasons I chose to join GVC over other operators was the fact that it has just inherited one of the best platforms in the market through its acquisition of bwin. Over the coming months I will focus on closing the product gaps on all verticals and improving the basic elements and features in both sports and gaming.

By the time we finalise the migration to the bwin platform, it will have a uniform coding system across all brands on its proprietary platform.

We have seen in the industry more and more companies flirting with developing their own technology and this is often expensive and time consuming, especially if not done well. At GVC we want to maintain our own platform independence but believe it is also important to work very closely with third parties in order to retain new and engaging content and user experience.

The unique capabilities of GVC’s propriety platform allow for product differentiation and bespoke innovation, and are a major advantage when many competitors are beholden to other companies for development.

Development of a platform isn’t simple, however, especially given the need to support multiple markets and regulations, and manage CRM activities and overall marketing costs. GVC is therefore already at an advantage, and maintaining a degree of independence not only allows the company to compete, but helps it stand out from the crowd.

Making a difference

While my initial focus will be on completing the platform migration by the middle of next year, we don’t want GVC brands to be just another sportsbook skin. We want GVC to both differentiate from its competitors but also between its own brands (i.e. bwin and Sportingbet) to maximise material upside.

In order to successfully differentiate, we will work tightly with our marketing team but crucially, our customers. We will build a UX lab which will supervise the changes and manage a process whereby our customers validate any major changes. We know where our competitors have failed, and will be sure to not repeat their mistakes.

Another key to success will be creating the right balance between in-house products and licensed products. It’s always a danger to fall in love with your own product and not realise when others who specialise are doing it better.

On the proprietary front, GVC’s games studio needs to compete with the other providers while on the third-party front, an integration of virtual sports and racing products for example could benefit from some collaborative product development, and would allow us to penetrate new markets.

In summary, I will be working to ensure that GVC’s product has the trinity of a best-in-class platform, diversified content and a captivating user experience. No matter how strong a company’s brand is or how talented its marketing guys are, if its product falls behind, it is spending money for nothing.

So it’s all about getting the basics right and only once we’ve mastered those can we begin to think about innovation in the longer-term.