Gaming's Uncertain Future

Gaming's Uncertain Future

Gaming companies have switched their focus from the huge US market to concentrate more on Europe and Asia; speculation is mounting regarding mergers between 888 and PartyGaming and /or Ladbrokes; London casinos are becoming important strategic assets for foreign gaming companies; new legislation in Britain next year will clear the way for super casinos and an influx of online gaming businesses and Ryanair have formed a gaming partnership with an internet bingo group… When W. Edwards Deming wrote "It is not necessary to change. Survival is not mandatory" sometime between 1900 and 1993, he definitely was not referencing the gaming and gambling industry's reaction to major upheavals.

The arrest of iGaming executives by The Department of Justice in the US had thrust the legality of gaming and gambling into the spotlight and put many a company on its back foot. Generations of gamers in the lucrative North American market were immediately off limits. But this did not sound the death knell for gaming and gambling "In a rapidly changing environment [for the gambling industry] it is more and more of an importance to generate games-content precisely fitted to the target group addressed," comments Eberhard Duerrschmid, CEO of Greentube, a leading developer and provider of gaming solutions for the internet, mobile devices and iTV. Eberhard is just one of over 70 speakers taking part at an on- and offline gambling summit in London on 6th – 7th December, Bullet Business Europe ‘06. "A whole generation of gamers is out there and just waiting to be collected and sorted into the value-chains of entertainment setups that are prepared to specifically adopt to their needs" continues Eberhard.

Following the money and building a community around your gaming brand to ensure a major slice of the action may seem a simple enough challenge. Rising up to it is a whole new ball game. And especially when partnerships are springing up in the most unlikely of places. Take Bingo for example, which is no longer an exclusive pursuit of the blue-rinse brigade. Ryanair passengers are now able to play bingo on the Ryanair website as part of their partnership deal with Jackpotjoy.com. After scrapping last year's plans to introduce portable entertainment units, the move is seen as an attempt to add another new revenue stream as Ryanair seeks to boost cash flow from areas other than ticket sales. The second phase in mid-2007 will reportedly see the airline offering online gambling on board planes.

Online Bingo has indeed experienced unprecedented growth in the last 18 months and this partnership between Ryanair and Jackpotjoy.com may be the beginning of a new turning point. CEOs of Bingo.com, Bingos.co.uk, ThinkBingo and Which Bingo are just some of the executives confirmed to speak at the Online Bingo conference co-located with Bullet Business Europe ‘06 summit which will address how to get traction for your Bingo brand.

Harrah's now owns nearly 83 per cent of the shares in UK-casino company London Clubs International, clear indication of how lucrative international casino groups believe Britain will become as the 2005 Gambling Act slowly unwinds many of the regulatory constraints that have tightly bound the industry over the past 40 years. Proof that European casinos are becoming important strategic asset for foreign gaming companies? It would definitely appear that way. Yet with this comes a note of caution.

2006 may have proved a difficult year for gaming and gambling with leading operators forced out of the lucrative US market, coupled with uncertainly about how changes to gambling laws will impact on the land-based casino and general gambling markets. But there is still a lot to play for in a market that continues to make great gains by confirming new sign-ups from outside the US, and continues to attract new customers from less traditional player markets.

The impact of the continuing US legislation may have left gaming down, but certainly not out. Surprising? Maybe not for a market that has grown into a multi-billion dollar global industry in the teeth of all the opposition authorities try to throw at it. And after all, according to Okakura Kakuzo, "The art of life lies in a constant readjustment to our surroundings."

Press release with thanks to Bullet Business www.bulletbusiness.com