Despite experiencing a “renaissance” a few years ago due to the COVID-19 pandemic keeping everyone indoors and on screens, a return to normality has dealt online poker a poor hand – with player acquisition in decline. 

Consumers have become increasingly reliant on instant gratification and quick-fire game rounds. As such, the online poker scene faces a plethora of issues from reduced player retention to alienating the older generation with new ideas and innovations. 

Engaging audiences with strategies to ensure that poker stays high-profile and engaging for all players, the ‘Back to basics – does poker really need re-inventing’ panel gathered poker experts on the second day of the CasinoBeats Summit. 

Moderated by SBC Media Project Director, Martyn Elliot, the panel explored why online poker is struggling to compete with other online casino verticals, as well as several other entertainment alternatives. 

“The market has become saturated with so many things to compete over players,” said Amit Berkovich, VP Head of Poker at 888, detailing that online poker is facing competition against “recreational games” on top of thriving entertainment and social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram and Netflix.

Referring to the title of the panel, Berkovich suggested that online poker doesn’t need re-inventing, “it needs innovation”. He stated: “The game itself, the structure is good. It’s been around for ages and people enjoy it but I do think the industry needs some shakeup.”

Bringing the experience of a professional poker player was Peter Jesko, Strategic Consultant at Casino Guru, who referred to an existing discussion of whether online poker is dead by stating that it’s still alive, but is offering less opportunities for players to make consistent cash. 

Jesko also referred to the uniqueness of poker as an encouraging factor for the game’s survival, suggesting there are little to no other games that combine gambling and skill-based gameplay as well as poker does.  

The panel then moved onto the presence of live poker tournaments that stem from the online scene. Telly Bartolo, Marketing and Event Manager at Casino Malta, explained that these tournaments offer much more than just a gameplay experience. 

He commented: “Poker players moving from online to live tournaments are looking to travel, they’re looking to meet people form different nationalities and mingle around. It’s not all about the actual game, but it becomes about all the other things in the full experience.”

As 888 runs its own live tournaments, Berkovich noted that these events often end up in a loss for the company, but become extremely worthwhile in other areas than revenue. 

“It used to be an acquisition tool,” he said. “I think it’s less so, it’s now more of a branding tool and a tool to create content. We don’t make money off of live events, we invest money into them. 

“It’s very powerful to come to a location like London, Madrid or Barcelona and have a live presence. It gives us the opportunity to meet the poker community and get feedback, while creating really high quality content that’s very important.” 

Evenbet’s Business Development Executive, Ivan Shumilov, also joined the panel, referring to live tournaments as the “pinnacle for players” due to offering “something bigger, more visible” with participation in “huge events”. 

As the conversation turned to online poker’s flaws when retaining players, Shumilov pointed out that slots and other online casino products are far more simple, with less buttons, instructions, outcomes and education needed. 

While agreeing that poker player retention is “definitely an issue,” Berkovich outlined a desire to make player education more gamified, providing players with engaging “crutches” rather than lengthy educational processes that can often be viewed as “patronising”. 

Bartolo agreed that over-the-top education and “too many rules” could even have the potential to “kill the game,” adding to the format’s difficulty to provide quicker, simpler experiences that the younger generation of players demand.

The post CasinoBeats Summit: an outcry for online poker innovation appeared first on CasinoBeats.

The poker software firm produced a comprehensive report revealing unique insights on how operators and their suppliers assess the existing challenges and future trends of the market.  

Dmitry Starostenkov, the company’s Chief Executive Officer, shares details of five key insights with CasinoBeats from the report that could inform changes within the industry throughout 2024 and beyond. 

Social media marketing is the backbone of building brand awareness

With most countries imposing strict regulations on advertising gambling activities through traditional channels, social media marketing has become a prominent tool for igaming firms seeking to build brand awareness and foster community engagement. 

Nearly half of respondents emphasising social media marketing as a top trend also highlighted the importance of promoting their brand through their CEO’s personality, personifying the company and constructing SMM content strategies around this central focus.

The key strengths of marketing on social media such as its highly-targeted reach, real-time communication, data analytics, virality and adaptability to trends make it the perfect vehicle for navigating regulatory barriers and connecting with the target gaming demographic worldwide. 

Rapid expansion brings growing pains

A major trend that emerged in our research is rapid business expansion into new overseas markets and territories, aligned with the strategic focus of interviewed igaming companies. However, while tapping into new markets provides valuable opportunities, the report highlights it also poses multifaceted challenges in establishing local offices, recruiting and building teams abroad, product localisation and, crucially, instituting processes to align such growth with the company’s culture. 

The rewards of geographic growth have to be carefully balanced with the difficulties of fuelling and managing such exponential expansion. As an industry focused on taking advantage of emerging opportunities, igaming incumbents need to adopt strategies to expand sustainably.

Europe leading the AI charge in igaming

One eye-opening insight was the extent of the gap in enthusiasm for artificial intelligence integration among European respondents versus their Asian counterparts – with 87% of respondents in Europe identifying it as a trend versus only 13% in Asia. 

This indicates Europe likely is leading AI progress and adoption in the igaming industry. With the global AI market valuation exceeding $136bn and industry leaders acutely aware of its potential, Europe appears to be ahead of the curve and driving innovation in leveraging AI to enhance customer experiences, operations and analytics.

Meanwhile, the lower emphasis in Asia potentially highlights an opportunity for strategic marketing of AI solutions and evangelising its benefits to players in the region playing catch-up.

Turbulent regulations rock the core of the industry

The report resoundingly highlighted regulation as the number one pressing challenge facing the industry, with 31% of companies citing it as their biggest issue. Regulations profoundly impact these operators’ viability and operations in both established and emerging markets.

Specific regulatory tremors highlighted in 2023 include Brazil’s long-awaited sports betting and igaming legislation, India’s controversial 28% gaming tax prompting legal action, 50% of Germany’s online gambling still occurring offshore, reforms initiated in Curaçao and the UK Gambling Commission’s ongoing drive for stricter customer protections.

Navigating this regulatory turbulence requires igaming firms to monitor key developments, assess risks and balance opportunities versus compliance and restrictions. Agility and informed strategies are crucial to thriving amidst the instability.

The competition for talent rages on

The findings signal that recruitment stands out as a pressing trend, with 17% of surveyed CEOs citing it as a top three challenge – three times more than the overall respondent average.

With the industry experiencing rapid expansion, fierce competition and demanding growth goals, there is an intense war for talent underway to attract qualified candidates across functions like technology, operations and content creation.

Additionally, 11% of B2B company respondents highlighted recruitment as a challenge, underlining its significance regardless of a company’s business model. Attracting talent globally requires strategic HR marketing to showcase company culture, strong career opportunities and leveraging locations like Europe that are viewed as hubs of industry innovation.

As the report summarises, the igaming sector’s own growth contributes to recruitment struggles as more players compete for experts that can fuel continued expansion. In this high-stakes arms race for talent, recruitment marketing and branding will be differentiators.

The post EvenBet Gaming: taking the temperature of “dynamic” igaming industry appeared first on CasinoBeats.

At the heart of the evolution is gamification and providing new features to bolster engagement, whilst various respondents also underlined the importance of the user experience. 

Further focusing on the changing role of technology within the igaming space, EvenBet’s report highlighted that Asian operators place an increased focus on technology in comparison to European counterparts. 

The second key trend highlighted by the report was an elevated focus on marketing, which is also being touted as key for operators as brand awareness takes centre stage. 

There are also differences in the approach between European operators and and Asian operators in the marketing approach, as European operators have sought to enhance the way they tap into AI to bolster their marketing growth. 

When it comes to marketing, the report also underlined that vital nature of engaging content in terms of bolstering brand engagement. 

Central to the report is highlighting the potential role for crash games – specifically as adult internet engagement dwindles in terms of time limit. 

The report stated: “The typical attention span of an adult internet user is 8.25 seconds. In the current online landscape individuals often struggle to keep focus for extended durations. Crash Games are fast-paced games, their popularity reflects the worldwide trend of speeding up things. However, all respondents identified Crash Games as a trend exclusively in the European iGaming expos.”

There was also significant growth within the gamification as the market reached the global market is currently valued at $10 billion, is projected to exceed $116 billion by 2032, experiencing a 28 per cent CAGR (Compound annual growth rate) during the forecast period.

Furthermore, 7 per cent recognised the significance of gamification, exclusively reported by respondents based in Europe or active in European markets. 

Magnifying the most pressing issues, a total of 29 per cent of companies had a similar opinion that commercial decisions are heavily influenced by regulatory frameworks. 

In less regulated markets, lack of clarity poses a significant challenge, as ambiguous or absent regulations can lead to uncertainties in compliance, legal frameworks and market entry strategies.

The post EvenBet: new technology to take centre stage for igaming operators  appeared first on CasinoBeats.

The collaboration between the two will witness players utilising EvenBet’s platform gain access to Amigo Gaming’s catalogue of igaming titles. 

Marga Fernández, Business Development Manager, explained: “The pillar of Amigo Gaming’s growth has always been the relationship with solid platforms. That is why it is an objective to collaborate with a quality platform such as EvenBet. 

“We are confident that the EvenBet integrated operators will obtain positive results with our games.”

Adding to the thoughts of Fernández, Manuel Jiménez, Sales Manager of EventBet Gaming in LatAm, stated: “We are happy to incorporate Amigo Gaming content into our B2B Online Poker User Interface. This offer will contribute to the retention of players in our clients’ operations.”

This latest partnership continues Amigo Gaming’s global expansion charge, an aim for the company since its inception in 2019. 

Looking at this year alone, the firm has inked agreements with an array of companies, including BlueOcean Gaming and BetConstruct. Furthermore, it made market debuts in Republika Srpska and Montenegro.

The post Amigo hopes for ‘positive results’ following EvenBet integration appeared first on CasinoBeats.

We spoke to Bar Konson, Head of Sales at NuxGame, Thomas Aigner, Head of Business Development at Ibex.ai and EvenBet’s Chief Executive Officer Dmitry Starostenkov about the changing face of retention, CRM and what makes a promotional campaign a success. 

CasinoBeats: How do you maintain a loyal user base with more competition than ever in the market?

Thomas Aigner: There are many components to developing a loyal user base for example content, affiliate channels, marketing and retention strategy and a gamified user experience among others, are all things that operators need to think of when putting together the right strategy for their brands.  These key parts of building a loyal user base should be tied to whichever market that an operator is targeting.

Assuming a good acquisition strategy is in place, the big differentiator is to offer the player a fully personalized experience. This means showing them content on the site that they are seeking, as well as getting the right messages and offers to the player – using the correct channel and at the perfect time.

There is great potential for growth through maintaining and increasing a loyal user base using personalisation. Operators want to be able to offer something different to their players but get stuck in manual legacy processes that result in producing more of the same but are not fundamentally changing the way retention works or what results to expect.

The only way to really stand out from the crowd is to use better AI algorithms and to really look at each individual player and their behaviour. The industry needs to stop creating more and more segments and target groups as this is not personalization and becomes unscalable very quickly.

“In an increasingly challenging and competitive market, content truly reigns supreme”

Bar Konson, Head of Sales at NuxGame

Bar Konson: The igaming ecosystem continues to develop and grow at an impressive rate, and this has of course provided additional challenges and opportunities. A by-product of this growth has been the importance that operators have placed on their CRM practices in recent years, with them now more driven than ever before to keep players and gain more lifetime value from them to prevent them from using a competitor’s platform.

We aid our clients’ retention of customers by providing an unrivalled sportsbook platform and casino titles from over 40 leading providers, with regular updates to this growing portfolio. In an increasingly challenging and competitive market, content truly reigns supreme, with progressively informed players deciding where to deposit their funds based on the titles or verticals offered by a casino.

The frequent distribution of new and innovative games also encourages the development of a loyal user base through the association of these latest titles and tools with the respective operator.    

Dmitry Starostenkov: There are a number of time-honoured routes to retention available to operators, including jackpots and tournaments.

Jackpots draw players into both online and offline poker rooms and keep them seated longer. The room comes to life when a jackpot is paid and players agonise over near misses. Even though jackpots look like a retention marketing tool, they also serve as a source of acquisition. More winners create more word-of-mouth advertising that helps attract new players. 

Tournaments are a huge help as well. Friendly competition is the whole point of poker, and is one of the best ways to create a community of players and promote retention. But operators need to understand and appreciate the different kinds of tournaments. Freerolls tournaments, for example, are ideal for welcoming new players as they don’t have a buy-in.

This allows them to explore the environment and become comfortable with their surroundings. They can learn who plays in the room and how well they are likely to do there. It is typical for a site to offer about a week of first deposit freerolls.

CasinoBeats: Has this increased competition changed how operators manage their CRM processes? 

DS: It has certainly hammered home how important a solid CRM offering is. Of course, the high-cost factor can lead some operators to question whether they should opt for an advanced CRM system.

“I think that we’re only at the starting point of seeing significant changes”

Thomas Aigner, Head of Business Development at Ibex.ai

Especially with the amount of time and resources that the igaming industry now needs to invest in staying up to date with changing regulation and trends, deploying a new CRM system is often pushed down the pecking order of product upgrades.

But by educating themselves on the best practices of player acquisition and retention, operators will find they have more time to concentrate on what they are good at – delivering exciting entertainment to their customer base.

To this end, EvenBet Gaming has produced a comprehensive guide to marketing poker that is freely available on our website. 

BK: The landscape of CRM has dramatically evolved, with the once standardised practice consisting of general emails promoting the latest campaigns being a thing of the past.

Nowadays, CRM has changed to become a multi-vertical business with operators needing to manage segments, view turnover rate, campaign performances and use the statistics gathered to decide the correct channels to use to contact customers.

These channels now consist of additional email sending, SMS, push notifications, personalized pop-us and call-centre integration, serving as a testament to the evolution that this part of the industry has undertaken. 

We have integrated innovative CRM solutions through our latest partnership with Smartico to provide our clients with the innovative solutions that are required by the changing landscape of CRM within the market. Smartico gamifies the retention process for players, encouraging the return of customers so that partners can focus on enacting their growth strategy, as opposed to retention.

TA: I think that we’re only at the starting point of seeing significant changes to how operators manage their CRM processes thanks to the availability of AI.

So far we’ve seen more of the same and a linear optimisation of processes and features offered by suppliers with partial support of AI but the basic process and how CRM teams are working have not changed.

This increased competition should drive operators to look into each individual player and make completely personalised decisions for them and this will inevitably change how teams are working and how CRM is managed.

iGaming Innovation is to form one key aspect of this year’s SBC Summit Barcelona 2022, which takes place at Fira Barcelona Montjuïc on 20-22 September.

This will see 6,000 delegates enjoy a 12-track conference covering all aspects of the international sports betting and online casino industries, an exhibition with 200 companies showcasing their latest innovations, and a programme of spectacular evening networking events. 

Visit the SBC Summit Barcelona website to book your all access or discounted group pass.

The post The changing landscape of retention: CasinoBeats roundtable appeared first on CasinoBeats.

We spoke to Bar Konson, Head of Sales at NuxGame, Thomas Aigner, Head of Business Development at Ibex.ai and EvenBet’s Chief Executive Officer Dmitry Starostenkov about the changing face of retention, CRM and what makes a promotional campaign a success. 

CasinoBeats: What are some of the key elements for creating an engaging and proactive campaign? 

BK: Reaching the correct audience at the right time with a suitable campaign is key, and operators do this through segmentation processes, where creating localised campaigns for players that share the same interests leads to promising results in return, and quickly.

For example, if you have a player within a segment built around American Football and send them a free bet on the Superbowl prior to the event commencing, the campaign will deliver strong results. Additionally, within the casino vertical, offering free spins for a particular provider to slot enthusiasts will equally provide positive engagement. 

TA: We are now at a point where we can stop thinking about campaigns and the performance of campaigns and start thinking more about single actions that are best for each individual player.

By definition, a campaign is designed for a specific group of players in order to keep them engaged but by using AI to show the right content and messages at the right time and channel we can fully personalise the experience to each individual player and not retain them with a campaign that is only good for the average player.

At this granularity, we can analyse what is best for each individual player taking into account what has worked in the past and what can be optimized to help develop new strategies and creative ideas. We want each player to be engaged in a safe and fun environment whilst developing new actions to retain them.

“It’s also essential that players feel rewarded for their loyalty”

Dmitry Starostenkov, EvenBet Chief Executive Officer

DS: Effective acquisition and retention of customers are vital ingredients in any igaming business, but poker’s innate social element makes these all-important factors significantly different to implement than in most other games. Operators looking to diversify their offering with poker need to cater their marketing strategy to match the game’s unique nature. 

Tournaments are a prime example of this. Poker was built for these kinds of events and people will join a site just to get involved. But there are different tournaments for all kinds of players.

It’s also essential that players feel rewarded for their loyalty. The longer they remain on a site and the more games they play should result in going up in levels. This allows the operator to reward players of higher levels with greater incentives. For example, give them a bonus when they reach a higher level or give them a higher percentage of rakeback. 

This allows the operators to easily introduce further incentives including VIP tournaments for elite players, set up cash tables for players of particular levels or organise tournaments and tables by the currency the players prefer to use. 

CB: These campaigns can lead to bonus abuse by customers, which has become a growing problem within the industry, how do you combat this?

TA: Ibex analysis the expected CLV for each player under a large number of different scenarios. Using deep learning algorithms, Ibex sends an offer to a player only if sending that offer will change the player’s behaviour, and if that change in behaviour more than covers the cost of the offer.

If Ibex sees that a player is only depositing when receiving bonuses and has gameplay/withdrawal patterns that make bonuses unprofitable, it will decrease the bonuses sent to that player or stop bonusing them altogether. This negates the possibility of bonus abuse or the possibility of unprofitable customers.

DS: As with any form of gaming, sign-up bonuses can attract bonus-hunters along with the longstanding customers the operator hopes to draw. However, poker has the capacity for a wide range of bonuses aimed at encouraging player loyalty. There are ideal bonuses for different situations that make bonus abuse more difficult. 

Customers that continuously spend time on your site need to be communicated with and shown they are valued. A strong retention tool to reward such loyalty is the reload bonus. Best reserved for high rollers and VIPS, it encourages players to redeposit, with the site matching the deposit. This is best rewarded when the customer has played a set number of hands.   

“the best activities are always those where the user feels that he is considered as a valuable person”

Thomas Aigner, Head of Business Development at Ibex.ai

A first deposit bonus, in which the operator matches the player’s first deposit, has become a vital tool for remaining competitive with so many affiliates on the market and also inspires loyalty. Most sites will match 100 per cent of the player’s deposit up until a certain amount, but some have found value in going as high as 200-300 per cent. Understanding which bonuses to offer and who to offer them to is a vital skill. 

BK: Anecdotally, we don’t send non-depositing players a multitude of bonuses anyway. Trends show that if a player hasn’t made a deposit after receiving a no deposit bonus, there is a 98 per cent chance the customer will not make a return in the future. However, we have developed a risk management team that scans for fair bonus wagering rules and acts accordingly, with this synergy providing our clients with effective bonus campaigns.        

CB: Outside of promotional activities how else can operators engage their audiences to increase retention?

DS: Casual engaging mechanics are more important now more than ever to online poker and casino games. For example, missions and quests with different levels and objectives. By creating the right kind of quest with rewards, an operator can make a player try different game formats, explore poker room options, engaging them more. In our platform, we have a completely customisable tool to setup these missions allowing our operators to make numerous missions and track their efficiency through CRM.

The social nature of poker also means that word of mouth is one of the vertical’s most powerful marketing tools. A referral programme can go a long way to enhancing this. Ideal for retaining customers and attracting new ones, this bonus is awarded to players that bring new customers to the site and should be paid out after the newcomer has played a certain number of hands.

For more experienced players, guaranteed prize tournaments can be enticing. The operator puts up the prize money and knowing this amount from the start makes the tournament very attractive for customers. However, this can tempt professional players, meaning the buy-ins could equate to less than the guaranteed prize money. It’s important to choose the right tool for the customer you are dealing with.

BK: Operators are increasingly having to develop their casinos with a focus on entertainment to increase the lifetime value of players and overall engagement metrics. This is made possible through consistent additions of products and verticals that they offer through NuxGame’s expansive platform.

Within the context of CRM, communication between an operator and its customers shouldn’t be limited just to whenever there is a campaign to promote. Regular updates around an operator’s growing portfolio, upcoming sporting events, increasing jackpots and so much more provides additional opportunities to welcome back customers outside of promotional activities.    

TA: I think content was always stated to be king and has been within the live casino environment anecdotally speaking I’ve seen how great content can drive growth and retention. Additionally, gamification can also be an option if you can trigger the intrinsic motivation of game-play where you can compete with others in a social environment to be at the top of a leader board and get recognised for doing so. 

Nevertheless, I think the best activities are always those where the user feels that he is considered as a valuable person and can be part of a community which can only be achieved if we’re able to really personalise experiences and not create more campaigns and activities for an average group of people. 

iGaming Innovation is to form one key aspect of this year’s SBC Summit Barcelona 2022, which takes place at Fira Barcelona Montjuïc on 20-22 September.

This will see 6,000 delegates enjoy a 12-track conference covering all aspects of the international sports betting and online casino industries, an exhibition with 200 companies showcasing their latest innovations, and a programme of spectacular evening networking events. 

Visit the SBC Summit Barcelona website to book your all access or discounted group pass.

The post Engaging audiences to increase retention: roundtable part two appeared first on CasinoBeats.

With day’s one keynote coming via Molly Bloom, renowned for building and operating the largest and most notorious private poker game in the world, we have tasked a select pair to detail the possibilities of innovation and what we could see change within the game on a digital basis.

“The short answer is yes, without a doubt,” begins Martin Stalros, Relax Gaming COO, upon examination if it’s indeed still possible to innovate within the space.

“There is ample room for innovation in the poker space and we’re bound to see a lot of it in the coming years. 

“Innovation in poker has always been a key ingredient for its success. Realistically, in order to remain current and retain the mass audience’s interest, innovation has been a requirement rather than a luxury. 

“This hunger for novelty has kept suppliers on their toes and ultimately resulted in the lively poker arena we know today.”

“Poker players represent some of the most intellectually advanced and skilful gaming consumers”

Ekaterina Giganova, EvenBet Gaming’s Head of PR and Events

In addition to pointing to various new game formats, Stalros cites an innovation in features, such as emoji-chats and promotional titles; novelty updates; and developments across integrity and compliance as crucial in ensuring that poker remains fun, engaging and, perhaps most importantly, on a level playing field.

Ekaterina Giganova, EvenBet’s Head of PR and Events, travels down a slightly different path despite agreeing with the headline sentiment previously expressed.

Here, it is expressed that the igaming sector as a whole can expect to witness “significantly more innovation” when it comes to engagement tools that draw inspiration from non-gambling ecosystems.

“A prime example of this is casual engaging mechanics, which are more important to the world of online poker than ever before,” it is explained.

“These include missions and quests with different levels and objectives, giving players something to aim for and achieve within the wider game.

“By creating an intuitive and dynamic quest with rewards, an operator can help a player to navigate the operator’s online space and try different game formats, explore poker room options, engaging them more.” 

Adding: “Poker players represent some of the most intellectually advanced and skilful gaming consumers. As a happy result, these players are always among the early adopters of fresh technologies since they understand their utility.” 

“There is much to come of the all-time classic”

Martin Stalros, Relax Gaming COO

With Relax Gaming striving “to challenge the status quo,” Stalros suggests that thanks to an array of “celebrated innovations” that have come to market, the question is not whether innovation will occur “but rather when and what will come next”.

He continued: “Going forward, the commitment to innovation continues as we have no plans of slowing down. Several exciting projects are in the pipeline as we continue on our path to driving the industry forward – both in terms of developing improved game formats and also usability improvements.

“Given the dedication that goes into building as well as playing online poker industry-wide, I do not doubt that the product will look entirely different in a few years. 

“What the major changes will be is somewhat harder to define, but a confident guess would suggest that suppliers will hone in on the hobby player and develop a more engaging space for them. There is much to come of the all-time classic, and I’m excited to see what the future holds for poker.”  

Picking up where she left off, Giganova maintains a path down the technological route by tackling current market trends, and virtual reality tools more specifically.

These, it is confidently asserted, could form a key foundation for any future developments due to them “becoming progressively more affordable,” something it is added “is happening quite quickly.”

“Right now, customers can get a personal VR set for just $300, and we expect that price to continue decreasing as the demand for such content grows,” she commented. 

“VR being expensive is now mostly a myth”

Ekaterina Giganova, EvenBet Gaming’s Head of PR and Events

“The screen is the most expensive part of the setup but with smartphone sales exploding over the past 10 years, there has been so much development into optimising this product that they are quite affordable to source now.

“In fact, investing in a VR set is now considerably less expensive than buying most smartphones or gaming consoles. VR being expensive is now mostly a myth.”

Furthermore, the evolution of payment technology and a continuing shift into the cryptocurrency space “is the next natural step for poker,” Giganova advises.

“Online poker players tend to be a discerning group of people and are largely familiar with cryptocurrencies, with many already using Bitcoin,” it concluded. 

“This emergent payment method delivers better reliability, not to mention far faster financial transactions, both with regard to deposits and withdrawals.

“In addition to that, we have seen more and more ideas for online poker projects based on decentralised technologies over the past year. 

“These include using tokens, creating NFT-based bots and using decentralised AI to enhance game mechanics. It’s only a matter of time before they gain traction and attract an audience that already trusts new technology as a result of the constant use of crypto and having a working understanding of blockchain.”

iGaming Innovation is to form one key aspect of this year’s SBC Summit Barcelona 2022, which takes place at Fira Barcelona Montjuïc on 20-22 September.

This will see 6,000 delegates enjoy a 12-track conference covering all aspects of the international sports betting and online casino industries, an exhibition with 200 companies showcasing their latest innovations, and a programme of spectacular evening networking events. 

Visit the SBC Summit Barcelona website to book your all access or discounted group pass.

The post The changing face of online poker: CB100 special appeared first on CasinoBeats.

So with that in mind, in the latest edition of CasinoBeats 100 Club we cast our eyes around the globe and asked our members to predict where the next big opportunity for igaming growth will come from. 

We asked: Where is the next big opportunity in growth for igaming? 

Eyes firmly fixed on the Latin American market, Vera Motto, business development executive at Habanero, noted that the region is “one of the fastest growing markets in igaming” – pinpointing that three operators within the continent are in the “global top ten” which Motto predicts is “only going to increase”.

She continued: “The region holds so much promise for emerging suppliers and operators who are not only looking for new territories to expand into, but are actively looking for relatively untouched territories to establish a zone of authority in.

“Some markets in the region are well developed, such as Colombia and Mexico, which have become shining examples of the strength of modern regulated markets. ColJuegos reported that the Colombian market is doubling year-on-year, which is extremely impressive, and gives hope to up-and-coming markets like Argentina and Panama.

“We’ve seen the growth that regulation has brought to Colombia, and we expect to see the same for these markets. I think Argentina will exert itself as a leading market in the coming years and challenge Colombia for size, thanks to its higher GDP and strong casino culture.”

“With favourable regulations in the horizon and expected revenue of around $2.6bn by 2025, there is so much potential for igaming brands…”

Vladimir Malakchi, CCO at Evoplay

Another vote for the LatAm market came from Vladimir Malakchi, CCO at Evoplay, who stated that the region “currently possesses an unsaturated entertainment market of over half a billion socially and economically stable people” – 469 million of which Malakchi noted are “regular internet users”.

“In contrast to the well-established European markets, Latin America looks very advantageous for up-and-coming suppliers and casino operators who are not only looking for new territories to expand into but are actively searching for untouched territories to establish a zone of influence as a pioneer,” explained the Evoplay CCO.

“With favourable regulations in the horizon and expected revenue of around $2.6bn by 2025 (provided by VIXIO GamblingCompliance), there is so much potential for igaming brands to establish and elevate their standings.”

Latin America was a hot focus for TVBET’s Business Development Manager Utku Sarper, who believes that this market is among the “growing stars” of the global gaming industry – noting that the African market also presents a host of new opportunities.

“From TVBET’s perspective, we can certainly mention Latin America and Africa as growing stars and big opportunity for Live Games products,” Sarper disclosed.

“Live games products incorporate a novel approach, and players from these jurisdictions are eager to discover/consume this kind of content. Obviously in the short term, hurdles within regulation and market specific glitches will occur, however with commitment, these will resolve.”

“Canada as another modern affluent economy creates another potential powerhouse next to the US…”

David Mann, chief commercial officer, Swintt.

Whilst Latin America was a popular answer among many of our members, it was not to everyone’s taste with Andreas Koeberl, BetGames CEO, believing the market “suffers” from being “overhyped”.

Instead, the CEO threw his support behind Canada, stating that the country is a “massive opportunity going forward.”

He noted: “With regulation gradually coming in and the massive value for players there, it might well be the most promising market outside the US if you get your content right. 

“When a market opens up and quickly turns into a tier-one territory, competition is fierce but as poker and lottery make up a significant share of the existing volume, this presents excellent future opportunity for us – especially considering that the potential size of Ontario’s market, which is the first province to be regulated, is projected to more than triple by 2025.”

Providing an argument for both LatAm and Canada, Swintt’s chief commercial officer, David Mann, stated that the Americas as a whole presents “unique opportunities” whilst combining Latin America into ‘one’ general market offers “huge potential”.

“We can all see the promising numbers in the regulated US markets already – but Canada as another modern affluent economy creates another potential powerhouse next to the US,” Mann shared. 

“Combining LatAm as ‘one’ general market gives huge potential as the player bases mature into the online gaming products from land-based though the individual markets will have their own niches and inevitably regulatory frameworks.

“Overall the US is a core focus for us at Swintt and we’re looking forward to growing stateside in upcoming months.”

“The States needed such an enormous boost as the full closure of brick-and-mortar casinos for the things to change in the online sector…”

Ekaterina Giganova, CMO at Evenbet.

This sentiment was reiterated by Allan Auning-Hansen, CEO of CEGO, who claimed that despite its “limited lifetime”, the US market has “proven to be powerful” and offers “huge potential”, alongside Canada.

“The challenge in the US market is currently the high CPA values and the licensing system,” CEGO’s CEO stated. “Thus we might see that some of the other mentioned markets could be more interesting. For CEGO it is important only to operate in regulated markets.”

SkillOnNet’s head of corporate, Maor Nutkevitch, also supported the US and Canada, noting the “positive regulatory movement” which, he believes, is “slowly opening up each market”.

Nutkevitch continued: “Taking into account the unique licensing regime adopted in the US where competition is limited in most states, early entrants will have the advantage to gain and substantiate long term market share.

“Nonetheless, the regulatory rollout of igaming in the various US states is slower than anticipated and it will be interesting to see how long it will take igaming to catch up with sports betting (if at all).”

Ekaterina Giganova, CMO at Evenbet, added that, for her, the choice was “obvious”, as she backs the US market. 

She expressed: “For a long time, all forms of igaming were prohibited in the US, and before the COVID-19 pandemic, the legislation was barely moving forward. The states needed such an enormous boost as the full closure of brick-and-mortar casinos for the things to change in the online sector. 

“Now, the US igaming market is one of the fastest growing in the world, even with only a bunch of states that have introduced full regulation for sports betting, casino, and other online verticals. 

“I’m quite sure that when at least half of the states do that, we will see the new biggest igaming market globally, both in players’ number and revenue.”

Echoing Giganova, our final member Victor Pronk, commercial director at Incentive Games, stated that operators “cannot afford to ignore” the US market.

He concluded: “The opening of the US market is by far the biggest opportunity right now. We are seeing operators from around the world investing heavily to gain a market share and rightfully so.

“If we look at the top ten online regulated markets by estimated GGR, three US states make the global list. This includes Michigan in ninth place. This is staggering when you consider the state only opened its doors to regulated sports betting in January this year. 

“We should also take into account that the four biggest states – California, Florida, New York and Texas – have not gone online yet. Of course, there is no guarantee they will open up any time soon.

“Also, the cost of player acquisition is very high and the licensing process is different per state and sometimes limits the number of operators that can enter the fold. This makes the barrier to entry high.”

Launched to give a voice to the industry on a range of key issues, the CasinoBeats 100 Club tackles the tricky questions and shares members’ views across the CasinoBeats network. Have your say by joining the 100 Club.

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The NoLimitCoin platform offers web-based functionality with no rake, so players can keep their commission-free winnings.

The site caters for all stake sizes and is endorsed by brand ambassador and two-time WSOP champion, Johnny Chan.

Dmitry Starostenkov, EvenBet Gaming CEO, said: “NoLimitCoin’s zero-rake is true a game-changer for the poker scene.

“Several new crypto poker rooms, like PokerCoin, have been successfully launched this year using Evenbet functionality. However, our platform is constantly evolving technologically, with fresh cryptocurrency projects regularly added thanks to the fastest integration on the market.

“Poker’s popularity had been in decline for years, but EvenBet is providing it with the spike in excitement and value it needs.”

Starostenkov said the zero-rake proposition demonstrated EvenBet’s “determination to diversify both the product and platforms of the industry leaders across the globe, boosting engagement and retention for operators, while also maximising value for players”.

Evenbet has also integrated a block.io wallet – a fast and secure service to manage transactions. These developments follow launches including Mixed Games and Poker Rooms, which are helping unlock the Asian and Latin American markets.

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Via the development EvenBet partners will be able to target players in established igaming jurisdictions, such as Colombia, with further expansion soon to follow across Peru, Argentina and Brazil.

Featuring individual online poker projects alongside existing casino and sportsbook partners, eight standalone poker rooms and casino operators have aligned with the new network, with several more deployments scheduled for this month.

Dmitry Starostenkov, EvenBet Gaming CEO, explained: “This landmark launch puts the exclamation mark on a year of highlights for EvenBet. The new network seamlessly scales and fits with all types of project – for example, increasing revenue for existing casinos, while also providing sufficient liquidity for any new players on the market.

“It’s an exciting and ambitious mission, as we bid to become the number-one poker software supplier for South and Latin America, especially as regulation rolls out in countries like Peru, Argentina and Brazil. Our first operators are already up and running with their poker room, while the initial feedback that we’ve received at summits, such as SAGSE Buenos Aires, has been hugely encouraging.

“We’ve recently reached another milestone with over 80 clients’ projects now active worldwide across established and emerging markets, demonstrating a remarkable 400 per cent growth rate in just three years and optimising the vertical for a huge continent of loyal and enthusiastic poker players. It all underscores our determination to diversify both the product and platforms of industry leaders across the globe, boosting engagement and retention for operators as we go.

“When you base much of your business model around emerging markets, a key focus for us at EvenBet, flexibility and localisation remain the cornerstones. I firmly believe poker to be the most attractive and reliable game for driving improved dwell-time, comparing favourably with other casino, slots and table games through its inherent reliance on genuine skill, wit and knowledge. These unique attributes will also serve to attract the next generation of poker players.

“Poker is a proven cross-channel tool, enriched by EvenBet’s exciting multi-format gameplay, which is benefiting operators across the globe. With so much core technological evolution already behind us, we now look forward to growing in accordance with those advances.”

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