According to gambling news, the industry is developing by leaps and bounds, sometimes having a snowball effect – with its evolution, regulations across jurisdictions are covered with more and more requirements.
Danijela Slisko, an iGaming Consultant, has explained what operators should focus on to succeed in the present-day realities of the gambling industry.
Danijela, in your opinion, what are the biggest regulatory challenges in the global gambling arena? What shifts can be observed in the last several years?
I believe that the biggest challenge is to provide a secure and safe gambling environment for the player while at the same time providing fun and entertaining products, which makes it still attractive for the players to stay in the regulatory environment.
It is in our all interests to provide a responsible product, but this is only successful if the player accepts it. In the past years, we have seen various scenarios with good regulatory intentions and bad ones.
Do stricter regulations prevent operators from securing themselves with consumer loyalty?
I think it is the opposite – stricter regulations can support consumer loyalty as in any region, trustworthiness is key for a positive brand image, which helps retain the player long term.
While in the past we gained more from one player in a shorter time frame, we now have the landscape where players stay longer with an operator but spend less. In a nutshell, the lifetime value of the player is the same.
How can operators find a balance between regulations, customer needs, and remaining profitable under rather harsh conditions of the industry?
We tend to focus too much on what has been restricted, while we actually should shift our focus on possibilities and game rules, which are still allowed. It depends again on the jurisdiction as Germany, for example, will definitely be a challenge to obtain a profitable business with a 5.3% tax on turnover.
What markets have the most operator-friendly environment? How did they achieve this?
Denmark stands out with 90% channelisation, and this should be a key measure of success for any regulation. When we compare the successful regulations to unsuccessful ones, we can clearly see that any limitation on play has caused the exact opposite. Players want to be supported through having the option to set limits but also be reminded. However, any forced limits, for example, in the game itself are rather working against that and force the player to leave the jurisdiction.
What are the major directions for operators to develop in the land-based and online casino verticals to succeed in 2022?
Consumer experience – once and for all. At the end of the day, operators mostly offer the same games, same payment methods and apply the same rules. But if a player can’t reach customer service, his KYC (know your customer) process takes a lot of back and forth, or he is not able to deposit, the operators have lost the customers’ trust and loyalty. Especially, in the last years, where tighter AML regulations and new regulated markets have challenged the operational departments of operators.
Many land-based operators started considering iGaming as a new market to enter. How to cover one more sector retaining the brand image?
It is important to build a knowledgeable team, which understands the online business by heart – only with good people, it is possible to succeed. From my experience, land-based and the online business at its core are similar, however, how to reach the customer and keep him loyal differs a lot.
We have seen many land-based operators succeeding online as they are at an advantage with an already present brand in the market.
What aspects are the most important for growing a brand in the highly competitive gaming industry?
I believe operators need to identify their USPs (unique selling propositions), know their brand values, build a strategy and firmly drive this strategy forward. A strategy should include a regulatory idea, a responsible gaming position and a strong marketing strategy, which fits the brand.
The USP doesn’t necessarily have to be product-related but could be a very strong marketing message, amazing UX or simply a very good customer experience from deposit to withdrawal.
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