GIGSE Day Three
Published: Friday, May 19, 2006 Online-Casinos.com
GIGSE DAY THREE
The importance of entertainment, transparency and technology
The third and last day of the Global Interactive Gaming Summit and Expo
in Montreal gives the opportunity to look back on a period of intense information
sharing activity and reflect on the trends and developments since the last major
industry conference only 5 months ago in London.
In summary, the trend is to enhancing the gaming experience and through it client
retention through the use of wider entertainment techniques; the continuing critical
need for solid anti-fraud and excluding underage gambling product; more player
protection and the ever present dynamic advances in technology.
Each of these were examined in detail in the Day Three presentations and out on
the excellent Expo floor this year.
Early morning sessions presented the latest information and product development
on ID verification appropriate to combating underage gamblers and fraud
threats. At least four companies at the show were presenting improved services
using a wide range of international databases to achieve this goal, and today
it was the turn of the UK firm 192.com, already widely experienced in other
industries.
Sales Director Ian Green told delegates that his company conducted 30 million
searches a year for 700 clients around the global, delivering the fast and accurate
verifications that were demanded by clients, especially in the online gambling
business. This helped reduce the incidence of underage gambling, fraud, chargebacks
and provided reliable ID checks.
Interesting online and offline techniques, often complementing each other had
been a feature of new technology and database developments which were steadily
improving Internet gambling defences against the unscrupulous, but there was as
yet no "silver bullet" complete solution he said.
In a related but seperate session, the problems of underage and addictive gambling
received close attention from a sizeable audience listening to Robin Burgess
of Responsibility in Gambling Trust, a British body trying to develop and
fund treatment worldwide.
Early morning conference goers interested in how poker networks are put together
were rewarded for their diligence by an excellent presentation by an executive
who should know - Jeffrey Haas from the giant PokerNetwork in Sweden.
Later in the morning poker delegates were treated to two other quality poker
sessions, one by poker writer and player Roy Cooke - an excellent speaker
- on poker marketing to the players, and another involving serious poker players
Ken Kafieh and Jimmy Corporino who emphasised the skill element
in poker and talked about player preferences regarding payment (immediate if possible!)
gifts, tournaments, bonuses and the online experience.
Both players underlined the element of fear of cheats which could discourage novice
Internet poker players, and an interesting discussion on bots developed: conclusions
- bots are not currently a serious threat but improving AI technology could change
that in the years ahead.
The importance of sportsbooks as feeders of players to the game of poker was noted,
as was the far better climate nowadays for top quality online tuition in the game,
evidenced by the large number of young, successful players in the online poker
space.
Cooke's words of wisdom were especially worth noting - player retention is critical,
as is top rate player support and service. "If you lose your losers, you'll
lose your business," he commented pithily."Use your statistics to keep
your finger on the pulse and generate activities that your players want. Second
depositors are your real "acquisitions" so look after them with honest
games and solid service."
Cooke said it was important for poker to distinguish itself from the general run
of gambling, thus reducing the risk of legal complications. Poker players gambled
against each other, and not the house and the levels of skill were considerable.
Unfortunately, in Cooke's opinion there is too much cheating online, and
this needs to be the focus of constant attention as it discouraged new players.
He quoted a recent study which showed that only 10 percent of the millions of
American players have ventured into online poker for real money play due to personal
fears and perceptions of collusion or being cheated.
Money, fraud detection and techie IT matters dominated other sessions, but a games
workshop on mobile gaming was the one most delegates attended, mainly because
this promising sector has yet to deliver the big revenues expected.
Yishai Habari of Gibraltar-based 777Mobile.com delivered an expert
paper well illustrated with accurate and current statistics, including one that
strategic partner Probability Games already has 20 000 players on the books. Not
big business, but certainly indicating the potential of the genre.
Habari pointed out that this was the time to get involved in the market as there
was as yet no dominant competition, but over the next 12 to 18 months that would
change. Habari suggests that phone gambling appeals to a wider audience, particularly
females but that technology hurdles include keeping pace with the dynamic technology
and different protocols.
Following Habari, Mfuse's commercial director Charles Palmer pointed
to similar bumps in the road and showed that 95 percent of revenues were from
existing sportsbook gamblers, with in-game betting peaks on Saturday afternoons
and on big match days. Mfuse has an impressive client list of 18, embracing most
of the big names in UK betting.
Getting new phones properly configured was at times a hassle for players, and
games for cellphones were best specifically designed for this application rather
than adapted from Internet versions. "Operators need to understand that mobile
is very different from online," he said.
Final session of the morning before the Expo Hall again opened was a high powered
panel discussion of industry leaders, now a traditional part of the GIGSE
program.
Moderated by River City's Sue Schneider under the banner "I-Gaming
- What Have We Done" the panel consisted of Trident group's Michele Oster,
Calvin Ayre from Bodog, Lee Richardson CEO of Chartwell Technology in Europe,
Intertops founder and entrepeneur Detlef Train and research guru Eugene Christiansen
of CCA.
In a wide ranging and educated discussion the potential for continued significant
growth in the industry was discussed, as were impediments that might cause problems
such as legality issues in the USA and a lack of transparency and
agreed metrics in the industry which made it more difficult for outsiders to assess
viability.
The percentage of total gamblers who used the Internet was still relatively small,
leaving vast room for expansion, and the rapid advances in technology would bring
the opportunity for new or enhanced products and safer business.
Some debate took place around the subject of regulation as a means of achieving
more respectability and delivering a better service to players.
At this point a questioner from the floor made a critical observation: as a newcomer
to the industry he did not see any global umbrella organisation acting
as the standards setter and unified voice of the industry, which was too fragmented
to be as influential and powerful as it might be.
Citing the Direct Marketing Association as an example, the delegate pointed
out that this sector had been in a similarly fragmented state, and that coming
together has massively improved matters for all concerned. The idea seemed to
resonate with the panel and the audience.
Internet gambling groups needed to become more sensitive to their international
surroundings in addition to their focus on growth. In most world regions the arrival
of offshore gaming firms had brought benefits such as financial streams, taxes
and employment, but had also created problems like inflated property prices.
Ayre pointed to his Bodog Foundation and was supported by Christiansen in saying
that companies in the maturing industry needed also to develop more social
consciousness.
Echoing several presentations on enhancing the gambling environment with more
general entertainment, there was agreement that this was a trend going forward,
and Train remarked that European TV was keen to collaborate with Internet gambling
companies for betting content, but everyone was constrained from moving purposely
by the slow reactions of governments.
Discussing obstacles to the business, Train made a memorable comment as one of
the pioneers of Internet gambling: "I have seen it all, and I have no more
fears. The attempted bans, the proposals to cut off our financial channels, monopolistic
government policies, competition - we are still in business, and that will continue
to be the case."
The huge potential of the business was accepted, but what about the threats?
The panel defined some of these:
* The US legality situation. The downside attendant on a ban being successful
was obvious, but if the industry in the States was regulated there would also
be more intense competition as very big, well known and well funded US companies
came into the industry.
* Being an entrepreneurial, fast growing but young industry there was a lack of
depth and strength in available management talent and that was being increasingly
addressed by bringing in top people from other industries.
* Consolidation would continue and would generally be a good thing, creating fewer
but more powerful and well run companies with more acceptable transparency and
uniform business reportage.
* Regulation and more industry cohesion to present the positive was needed to
better protect the player and increase social acceptance.
* Most licensing jurisdictions need to become more conscientious in overseeing
the conduct of companies under their authority.
* Better marketing to grow the customer base of the industry and keep driving
growth.
* Stock volatility, which needed to be addressed by educating outside financial
analysts and setting uniform metrics and good track records as more companies
go public.
* Monopolistic and hypocritical practices by governments and states. There was
an opinion that the future would see a positive and more consistent cross border
situation evolve in the European Community, and there was general respect for
the practical manner in which the British government was approaching the reform
of gambling law and its regulation.
One particularly strong message voiced by Michele Oster and supported by the panel
was that trust was of paramount importance for the player, the public and the
investor when it came to the online gambling industry. The best people to create
that were the companies currently involved in the business through honest and
professional conduct and respect for the customer, if necessary enforced by regulation.
On that positive note the session ended and delegates moved to the Expo Hall
for the last opportunity to test drive new products.
Online-Casinos.com & InfoPowa visited RealTime Gaming, which as usual
impressed with a very functional and informative exhibition that even included
back and neck massages for stressed delegates suffering from too much *networking*!
Manager Brad Romano, who moved to RTG from the Bodog organisation some
time ago walked us through developments in the five months since the ICE show
in London, and clearly the developers have been busy! RTG has moved away from
its old accommodation in Carpenter Drive, Atlanta to new premises more suitable
for increasing levels of staff and activity. The company has formed strategic
alliances with edgy young companies like Game Marketing and Dynamite
Games to get the best creative input possible and Brad showcased Version
6.0 of their turnkey system, which has been in test and is being rolled out
to licensees for full operations this week. In addition to admin improvements
there are some vibrant new reel games, namely:
Golden Glove (an exciting baseball themed 5 reel 209 liner) which promises lots
of action and excitement.
Hill Billies
Honey To The Bee
Mermaid Queen
Realm of Riches
Outta This World (an extraterrestrial offering with plenty of features)
Watch out, too for Vegas 3 Card Rummy, which has elements of both Caribbean Stud
and 3 Card Poker plus bonus bets. Another new game targeted on the Asian market
is 7 Stud Poker with outstanding graphics. RTG will be releasing at least another
two new games this year, probably around August, and 7 new games will be added
to the Flash suite, too.
Not far away on the Chartwell Technology stand commercial director Aideen
Shortt introduced us to some very crisply executed soft games that have been
developed since January. These included a Multi-reel branded Bonus Hi/Lo which
looks like a crowd-pleaser, An amusing offering branded Card Sharks and a cutting
edge version of an old bar game called Spoof which has bonus rounds and looks
like a lot of fun whilst being something different.
Most of the 3 reelers in the Chartwell suite have been upgraded to 5 reel, and
business is reported to be brisk.
World Gaming was present and focusing mainly on their recently acquired
Sportbetting site which boasts a casino, racebook and poker, the latter powered
by Boss Media.
Their 3 Card Poker game released earlier this year is proving to be a winner with
the players, and the current casino games suite is to be released in Flash as
well, we were told by marketing director Paul Botelho and director of product
development Adam Cortiula. In-play wagering is developing well the executives
teased with a promise that in September or October there would be some major
announcements...which they declined to even hint at!
GIGSE is always a good place to find the new and unique, and this year
we found something special at a software company with English and Spanish connections
called Gextech.
"Fantastic League" has been developed over 3 years and has an
exciting range of possible applications in the betting and entertainment industry
- in fact the UK's Sky Vegas Live on SkyBets TV has already woken up to the potential
and has a deal.
Displayed on a large plasma screen, the quality and shading of the graphics in
this game were undiminished and even enhanced - one can almost feel the ambience
of a large soccer stadium.
So what's the game about? Using very advanced techniques the company has developed
a way to present a complete football experience, replete with red and yellow
carding, stadia on demand, different team strips and precision dynamic action.
It really has to be seen to be believed.
Powered by a thoroughly tested and developed Random Number Generator, the software
delivers many different versions of a football game where the outcome is unknown
- the betting possibilities and excitement inherent in that are obvious.
The game really has a "big" and very immersive feel to it, and league
tables and other statistical information can be brought up on screen. Being careful
with copyright in these litigious branding days, the game can produce player and
strip likenesses to suit a variety of nations and audiences.
Marc Chapman, who is the Gextech commercial director is confident
this unique product will fly, and pointed out some of the unique features, like
building up the stadium audience with SMS messages, its global appeal as "the
beautfiful game" and its multi platform capability - iTV, mobile or Internet
using videostreaming to websites.
The company already has a penalty shoot-out vignette available on cell phone as
a minigame that is fun and entertainment in the true sense of the word.
Final closing event this evening will be the velcro racing by industry personalities
designed to raise funds for problem gambling, and once again the industry
has shown it has a heart with over $150 000 raised before the action even starts!
