Moderated by Vixio’s head of global research Andrew Gellatly, a panel titled ‘Lottery in Society – Post-Corona positioning’ saw three lottery industry executives join day three of SBC’s Digital Summit to discuss the impact of COVID-19 and the complications surrounding the impending return to normal operations. 

Providing a somewhat positive view on the virus and the changes it has brought, Marko Stokuca, deputy director of the gaming and game development division at Hrvastska Lutrija, commented: “We in Croatia could say that corona gave us some answers especially regarding the potential of sports and games. 

“Online casino is the main online game in Croatia so we’ve focused on that and tried to maximise online channels and awareness. With lottery games we had a promotion for new registered players who got a welcome bonus for Euro Jackpot resulting in us registering seven times more new players than before. 

“We also decided to push esports as much as possible but we found out that the potential of esports in our market is not good so we can conclude that at the moment in the Croatian market esports is not the substitute for the real thing.” 

Danske Spil’s sportsbook director Jens Nielsen offered a contrasting view of the genre, providing the panel with a Danish update that centred on significantly expanded esports usership. 

“Before COVID-19 esports was already a popular and growing sport in our sportsbook,” he said.  “Every year since we launched in 2014 it has at least doubled in turnover and during the last few weeks it has grown tremendously. Esports has become more and more popular and since COVID it has been stronger and become more popular. 

“Proportionally esports constitutes for much more activity than normal and measuring it we can see its growth in the last few months. We are of course running less sales but we have seen more people are trying it out.”

Nielsen was also able to share his differing experiences, when compared to his fellow panelists, regarding Danske Spil’s operations during COVID due to a majority of shops remaining open. He continued: “Contrary to other countries most of our shops are open because they are located within essential services such as supermarkets. With this being said activity is quite low because normal sports are missing. 

“Of course our shops follow normal rules and recommendations that we see in society now, we have touch screens and we have done everything we can to sanitise and ensure materials are close to the screen for customer use. Clients are now also able to place their bet using a mobile phone as to not use touch screens and we’ve seen a growth in this niche. 

“Society has been shut down and we’re in a phase of slowly reopening which I’m sure is much more complicated. Relating to sports betting most of our shops have been open, however the whole foundation of our business is at a very low level. We look forward to reopening fully, we’ll see when that happens but I’m sure we’ll be ready.” 

Providing a similar positive outlook regarding life post-COVID, Thanos Rigas, trading director at OPAP, spoke hopefully regarding the future and shared some of his industry expectations following the eradication of the virus: “This is a new reality. It is a new world out there because of COVID but we have taken the necessary measures to plan and make sure that customers feel welcome again in our shops. 

“Social distancing is fact, it is there. There are specific amounts of people allowed per square metre for example and we are adjusting to that. It is something new but I don’t think it will change our OPAP shops. I think it will continue to be something very social but what is going to be the new reality remains to be seen. We have planned well but real life will show us the way.

“We’re still going to be offering table-tennis, it’s not something new. In 2004/2005 it was the highest turnover sport per minute. We know this and will keep offering it but we’re going to see a lot more coming from all providers. 

“I expect habits to change. I expect more digital and more contactless transactions. There will be a new society but when it comes down to sports, social games like poker, I think we will see growth. 

“We are in front of an unprecedented situation, but we’re in this together and i’m sure that we can forge a better future in the times to come. I’m fairly confident that despite the hard times we will face, the future will be brighter.”

The SBC Digital Summit runs from 27 April to 1 May 2020 and features seven conference tracks, a virtual exhibition and virtual networking lounges, attracting an estimated 10,000 delegates logging in from around the world.

There is still time to register for the event, with company discounts available: https://sbcevents.com/sbc-digital-summit/tickets/.

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Discussing their professional experiences through the ongoing health situation, four industry specialists took part in a panel titled ‘Marketing Slots in the new Environment’ that was moderated by Square in the Air director James Bennett.

Opening up the panel Ross Parkhill, managing director at Rizk Casino, said: “In terms of casino it’s definitely a good period at the moment. We have experienced solid KPI across the board and more active players. It’s a true indicator that people are seeking other forms of entertainment. We’ve seen a pick up and it is welcomed even though we are in unfortunate times. 

“We haven’t changed much. we’ve tried to keep things in check and we haven’t tried to increase promotions. It is very much business as usual so nothing has really changed on our end, but we are trying to make sure we’re sensible with our campaigns and ensure there is no link to lockdown or anything irresponsible. 

“We have more players but it is no time to be spamming players. It’s already an active market, we have nice campaigns aimed at our players with what they want, we just need to make sure what we’re doing is good and make sure it’s valuable to players and well received. 

“I’m a big believer that players come to play games. Our main driver is entertainment through the game. We can add parts to make it more interesting but they come for games. Using that as a part to attract players is what we do. I don’t think bonuses will go away but there is a financial incentive at the moment not to do bonuses. Things are getting tighter in the industry so it is a good time to start moving away from them. 

“There hasn’t been anything groundbreaking during lockdown. We’ve seen a good increase widespread, a lot of countries are locked down and our key markets are seeing the same measures in place. Across the board we’ve seen more activity and sign ups. Everyone is seeking out entertainment so it’s not too surprising and for us it’s quite global spread.” 

Parkhill was joined on the panel by Endorphina CEO Jan Urbanec who provided a suppliers perspective on the current trends. Urbanec echoed the Rizk Casino MD’s thoughts on an upward user growth: “From the point of view of a supplier we have a macrodata-style outlook. 

“We’ve seen a growth of GGR and number of spins – mainly spins because players have more time to play. Customers who are focussed on casino have also produced a small stable jump up, however, customers that were on sportsbooks prior to the lockdown measures have grown most with us, a jump of around 50-70%, but I would say its short term in this case. 

“Regarding marketing I would say everyone feels that sportsbook players will move by themselves and there is no need to push them, this is wise. Players are sensitive to obvious campaigns, so we decided to market more towards reliability, we don’t want to boast about our products, it doesn’t show good spirit, so we are confident that our marketing giving players confidence in us. 

“We’ve also seen that players tend to move towards classic games instead of new releases. Our classic hits have gone up and we have decided to push marketing this way. We’ve advertised that despite aspects of life being cancelled games are still here, not a push but more of a reminder to players. 

“For us there’s been a general increase across all of our games  From our point of view though, we as an industry need to be careful not to be interpreted as something that is abusing the situation, but with this being said we shouldn’t be afraid to keep our product live. I believe in the future we should remain stable in how we market our message.” 

Joining Parkhill and Urbanec on the Green Jade Games-sponsored panel was William Hill International brand director Neill Simpson and CasinoGrounds CEO Tobias Svensen.

The SBC Digital Summit runs from 27 April to 1 May 2020 and features seven conference tracks, a virtual exhibition and virtual networking lounges, attracting an estimated 10,000 delegates logging in from around the world.

There is still time to register for the event, with company discounts available: https://sbcevents.com/sbc-digital-summit/tickets/.

The post SBC Digital Summit: Lockdown brings growth but nothing groundbreaking appeared first on CasinoBeats.

“It’s just good business to be fully compliant” Marcos Oliveira, chief affiliate officer of Clever Advertising Group, asserts following a proclamation that “I don’t believe short-term solutions are solutions”.

With a multitude of topics up for discussions during the 40 minute “Brand Control – Working with Affiliates,” Oliveira was ably aided by Eitan Gorodetsky, director of acquisition of Betsson Group and Ivan Liashenko, chief marketing officer at Parimatch. David Clifton, director at Clifton Davies Consultancy, took the moderating reigns.

One key and timely topic of discussion kicked things off, with Clifton stressing “now more than ever with heightened problem gambling fears during the coronavirus pandemic great care must obviously be taken by gambling operators and their affiliates to ensure that gambling advertising is conducted in a socially responsible manner”.

This is turn segued into a series of recent developments detailed to tee up the panel, with the first pan-European advertising code unveiled by the EGBA and the Betting and Gaming Council announcing the suspension all gaming advertising on TV and radio for its members.

With Spain, Sweden, Belgium, Latvia and Portugal all identified as jurisdictions where similar actions have, or could potentially ensue, Gorodetsky, working across more than 20 online brands at Betsson, addressed specific countries targeted and, in terms of affiliates, where problems are run into: “We have a very wide network, we work in over 15 jurisdictions. I would say our main kind of operation is the Nordics, Europe, Southern Europe and LatAm and we also have a very successful operation in the Baltics. 

“I think the situation is that we work very well with regulators, we are constantly in connection with regulators and our partners on the ground. The situation is tricky where regulation is moving faster.”

Acknowledging that the current climate brings a multitude of necessary updates, which can also bring technical difficulties, responsible gaming is identified as a constant area of focus for the firm.

“I don’t see a massive challenge currently in any of the jurisdictions,” it was added regarding compliance issues, “overall for the situation we have done very good”.

Primarily focused across Easterm Europe, with concerted efforts for expansion taking pace, Liashenko picks up the conversation by stressing that “we do not have here any strict rules like are applied in the UK and in other countries,” before speaking of necessary affiliate budget cuts that have taken place for the operator given the current climate.

Oliveira, whose Clever Advertising Group counts bet365, Sky Bet and PokerStars as clients, explains just where the firm it right and others get it wrong: “It’s not a question of doing right and doing wrong, it’s question of one side to know exactly the right regulation for each country and on the other side working very closely with your partners to be able to understand where the lines are and what you can do and what you can not.

“What we have been doing as a company for the last few years is to build a very strong compliance department to be able to anticipate and to be able to be compliant all the time.”

Adding: “Since the start of COVID-19 we have been working with our partners to restrict advertising as much as they want, to be able to give a responsible gaming approach to the advertisements.”

Oliveira continued by addressing the key to Clever Advertising Group success: “One thing I think we have done better than most of them is to anticipate the problems and not be able to try to change the rules.

“You cannot be aggressive, you have to be responsible, you have timelines, and if you do abide by the rules you will be able to work fine as an affiliate. 

“And once you do that, and you gain the trust of your operator, your relationship can just improve.”

The SBC Digital Summit, currently in its final day, features seven conference tracks, a virtual exhibition and networking lounges, attracting 10,000 delegates from around the world.

The post Marcos Oliveira – It’s just good business to be fully compliant appeared first on CasinoBeats.

Kicking off the track discussion, moderator and NEL Advisory CEO Dan Phillips thanked SBC for setting up the summit before introducing the panelists and laying out the points that would be hit throughout the discussion, such as how COVID is impacting the marketing activity within the industry.

Ian Sims, CEO, Rightlander, discussed the initial reaction to COVID-19 and discussed the difficulties and the conflicts caused regarding marketing and compliance: “With COVID there was a big rush initially when people started getting furloughed and we were in lockdown. We were told we don’t want people stuck at home being taken advantage of because they had time on their hands, so we started analysing content and found a few sites that were saying ‘you’re at home try gambling’. 

“I think it was more ill thought out rather than unethical. It was hurried without being thought of and most of the affiliates involved had taken down the messages quite quickly after being contacted. 

“There will always be a conflict between marketing and compliance. You will always get people who decide to push the boundary or not know what they have to do to be compliant. Affiliates in the past were not passionate about gambling but they knew they could make money from the industry. 

“Consequently you ended up with boring content that ranked them well. The challenge for the operator is to find an affiliate that knows what they’re on about and knows what triggers problem gambling and can work to help and educate them. The operator has to take a step back to do this properly and look at the affiliate and what content they are creating before partnering.”

Touching on the aspects of problem gambling and the damages irresponsible actions are causing the industry, RAIG chairman Clive Hawkswood added: “Most people are trying to act responsibly, unfortunately in gambling some are looking for the weakest links. We are judged by the outliers and worst examples and we’ve seen casinos marketed as ‘covid free casinos’ and when people are looking for stories, the mainstream media are looking for those irresponsible cases. 

“Whether we’re seen as being responsible or not is harder during the COVID situation as if we don’t get this right now then it is expected that very bad things will happen in the future of the industry.”

Continuing the discussion of irresponsible industry action, Mathew Symmonds, CEO at Web Analysis Solutions, commented on the current situation and offered a hopeful outcome for the future of the gambling sector post COVID.

“Whenever there is an opportunity to make a quick buck there are people there who will use any situation to their advantage. We use social media for branding but when the crisis hit we saw an affiliate use the term ‘stay home poker’ and there are certain terms which are not right and borderline,” he commented.

“We are hands off on a situation like this. We are mainly football and we don’t want to stray from that because it looks disingenuous because 80 per cent of our audience are return visitors so we are conscious about not changing our offering or our identity as a business.

“I don’t think things like poker will stick because you need a lot of time to play poker. I think poker has more of a chance of sticking than casinos or slots because it’s more of a skilled base and you don’t lose very quickly, it’s an attractive proposition at the moment but I can’t see poker maintaining its levels. I can’t see esports maintaining its levels either, but in reality I don’t think their numbers are too high because the number one most bet on thing for us has been both the Belarusian and Nicaraguan premier league, so still soccer.

“Affiliates will always bend the rules which is why the industry has had to continually regulate and apply stricter rules . I would prefer the industry to be more self regulating and for affiliates to have more structure and be more responsible themselves. Affiliates need to implement CSR themselves to go beyond the rules and say as a company they are going to go further.  Maybe that will come out of this crisis.” 

Joining Sims, Hawkswood and Symmonds on the day-5 panel was David da Silva, CEO, EasyOdds, who concluded: “We look at the COVID disruption as a lull. It will finish and sports will resume. I think things will revert back to how they were. We are using this as an opportunity to do some housekeeping.” 

The SBC Digital Summit ran from 27 April to 1 May 2020 and featured seven conference tracks, a virtual exhibition and virtual networking lounges which attracted an estimated 10,000 delegates logging in from around the world.

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Speaking at the Juicy Stakes sponsored Digital Marketing Day track, as part of the Affiliation during the time of COVID-19, on the final day of the SBC Digital Summit, Simm expressed his view that this period of lockdown is an ideal time for “reflection” and adaption as the market changes. He said: “The elephant in the room is there’s a huge marketing opportunity due to many countries being in lockdown to generate more revenues from gambling and gaming and we’ve seen two extremes from operators.

“Affiliate has been perceived, historically, as a blunt instrument and almost taken for granted. It generates income and it keeps working, especially in gambling and sports which have been revenue share.

Simms continued: “I think this has given us a great period of reflection to make sure we reposition affiliate as a strategic channel for the operators and work a lot closely with them to understand the business goals to make sure we can adapt and evolve as the market changes, to go from that blunt instrument to that strategic partner.

“To do that you need to have great communication and sometimes I feel like affiliates can be taken for granted as being seen as this strategic channel. My hope is that the key trend for affiliates is we get a seat at the table to really define the industry’s future, whatever vertical it is that we are operating in and get the opportunity to really set out to get the future vision to how affiliates are going to add significant value to the product and service they are willing to represent.

“There’s a huge opportunity for all of us to set out a future vision for the industry and make sure our position is clear and the value that we add accordingly.”

Jonathan Edelshaim, general manager at Natural Intelligence argued that post-COVID, operators will have to cut down on its affiliate channels. He explained: “Coming out of this, operators will have to work even harder on its social responsibilities and keeping certain things intact.

“It would mean the major company’s business will need to work with stricter codes and more requests will come our way. For the operators, it’ll be a must to cut down on its affiliate channels because they will need stricter controls and more visibility that any of their partners are doing because they will need to focus more on its social responsibilities, so this is an opportunity for us in terms of communication with operators and bookies who need to narrow down the list of active channels that they work with.

“It’s an opportunity but it comes with responsibility.”

Joining Simms and Edelshaim on the panel was Simon Pilkington, CEO of KaFe Rocks, Riccardo Pinto, CMO of Clever Advertising Group and moderator Lasha Machavarinai, founder and CEO of Setanta Sports Media.

The panel then went on to discuss branding and how important it is within the industry with Simms expressing his opinion on the subject: “One of the biggest observations I’ve had coming into this industry from retail, there is limited amounts of branding and I 100 per cent agree it’s important to build the brands and understand the demographic to give them a very enriched experience.

“Branding is not managing a website, from an SEO perspective, it’s about adding true value and thinning about the tone of voice and the visual identity. I think we will see a shift (post-COVID) around having more strong brands in the gaming industry.

“If you look at the current move from unregulated to regulated, that is almost amplifying those needs for brands to exist.”

Pinto and Edelshaim argued against Simm’s focus on branding believing value in the product was more important than creating a brand identity. Edelshaim commented: “The bottom line is about value. The value that we bring to the market for the company and the operator and generating value for ourselves that’s the true nature of what we are trying to do and what the big companies are trying to do.

“Investing in branding is great but you have to be there to add value to the industry.”

Whereas, Pinto added: “We just have to keep creating value for the operators. If the value is there then there is value to the user and there’s value for us. We’ve been doing this for many years, it’s why we are here (on the panel) and the operators are happy. Value for everyone.”

During the session the panel also discussed trends which are appearing in the market, how businesses are handling the current pandemic and the potential economic effects post-virus.

The SBC Digital Summit, currently in its final day, features seven conference tracks, a virtual exhibition and networking lounges, attracting 10,000 delegates from around the world.

The post SBC Digital Summit: It’s time for affiliates to get a seat at the table appeared first on CasinoBeats.

Kicking off the Juicy Stakes sponsored Digital Marketing Day track, Simms said: “There is a huge market opportunity available to all affiliates at the moment. Digital is continuing to disrupt value chains that have historically been very hierarchical and now they are collapsing. This gives affiliates a massive opportunity to be able to support new products and services as they come to market. 

“So I believe that the affiliate space has got relevance both now and in the future. Albeit, we are going to have to shift to embrace technology, data and intelligence a lot more in the future.”

Outlining the four key principles that need to be central to a company’s transformation, Simms also emphasised that companies must become more agile in the way they operate – something he believes has been apparent as a result of COVID-19.

He added: “We think very carefully about expanding our publishing activities. This means increasing our content, ensuring that we’re getting more user-generated content, that we get more rich media in place, that we offer more advice to consumers to advice that can be trusted. 

“We’re lucky in that we sit on a wealth of data like a number of other affiliates that can be used to drive performance: data, insights, behavioural understanding of the consumers that we’re engaging with. It should give us the armoury to match-make them with the right products and services.

“It’s important for us to move from cascading and throwing a load of sites on the market to then working on fewer, but higher quality sites. We’re thinking carefully about creating bold brands that have a clear identity, as well as a demographic that they’re looking to engage with – and a clear story for that demographic too. 

“I also believe, and COVID-19 is amplifying this – is that we have to be more agile. We have to be flexible in the operating model. Rather than a defined hierarchy that stays in place for a number of years, we need cross-functional teams that are working in an agile way. The developmental capabilities that we have seen in the past are now going to have to be shifted into how we run our business day-to-day.”

The SBC Digital Summit runs from 27 April to 1 May 2020 and features seven conference tracks, a virtual exhibition and virtual networking lounges, attracting an estimated 10,000 delegates logging in from around the world.

The post “Digital is disrupting hierarchical value chains” – Stuart Simms  appeared first on CasinoBeats.

This is specifically the case for the betting and gaming sectors, which has already shown an eagerness to embrace digital currency due to the speed and transparency it brings.

Rebecca Liggero, lead reporter of Ayre Media, posed the question of what operators can do in terms of communication when it comes to crypto, and how they can maximise its use as a method of currency for its players.

Speaking on the ‘Blockchain Payments as a Driver in Crisis’ panel during day four of the SBC Digital Summit, Lloyd Purser, COO of Funfair Technologies, emphasised his belief that although education is a major part of bringing new players to crypto, there are also many other factors involved.

He said: “Education is a major part of what we are trying to do but on top of that we also have to do significant improvements in our product, adding new features, adding new suppliers, there’s a marketing effort as well that has to go into it.

“It really is a bit of everything, there’s no magic silver bullet to move people onto the blockchain, we have to improve our product and on-boarding journey, we have built our own wallet, something we never would have done if we didn’t have to, but frankly we had to, in order to make the user experience good enough.”

“We have tried to make a simplified process out of what seems very complex and the wallet is a key part of that.”

Max Krupyshev, CEO of CryptoProcessing.com by CoinsPaid, argued against Purser’s case and revealed that he witnesses a lot of mistakes when new operators begin to integrate crypto payment methods.

“You try to keep the disruption low, which is against what Lloyd is saying. Creating blockchains in casinos is an amazing idea, it is disrupting the whole industry but the element of dedication is huge but you need to get the first step right,” he explained.

“You have a big brand, you have a user base so just help them to use this as an option and then see if you want to get more users.

“Education, in general, is very important. I want this panel to explain to our listeners what to get right if they want to enable cryptocurrency.

“I see a lot of mistakes when the operators start working with cryptocurrency, they misunderstand the flows. The key point which created a bad impression from the start was accepting cryptocurrency. You have to make sure your players don’t wait, they have to make sure that when the money is sent the player gets the money within seconds.

“Then you have to make sure that the exchange rate is fair, when a player deposits €100 into his account he needs to receive said €100. It should then fit into the existing flow, you don’t have to change your cashier completely for the crypto. Finally follow the big players who have been using crypto for years, these are the people who have got it right.”

Tom Bloor, sales manager at Cryptopay, echoed Krupyshev’s point and was keen to highlight the importance of keeping it simple: “The more you know about your customers and what they like, the better. This is the main job of an operator, if you don’t know your customer well you can’t retain them and then you can’t grow.

“If you know what your customer behaviour is and you know if they prefer convenience or transparency this should inform how you plug in and accept how you are going to work with cryptocurrency.”

Isabelle Delisle, head of payments at Pinnacle, expressed her belief that the biggest challenge surrounding cryptocurrency is its perception: “To get something to go mainstream you have to get the buy-in of the big players and the perception has to be there but if you talk to a bank about crypto, the first thing they think of it you’re doing something dodgy.

“One of the things that we have to do is to start talking about this as a legitimate product and really educate the people who are responsible for making the regulations and financial decisions and speak to banks to make them understand the product better.”

SBC’s Digital Summit has attracted an estimated 10,000 delegates from around the world to discuss some of the industry’s biggest topics, such as how the esports betting sector or has reacted to COVID-19.  If you wish to join the event then register here. 

The event will run from 27 April to 1 May 2020 featuring a variety of industry expert panels, virtual networking lounges and a virtual exhibition. Whilst also offering an on-demand feature if you miss or want to rewatch the panel sessions.

The post Crypto education is key to successful future integration appeared first on CasinoBeats.

Speaking as part of the How lotteries are adapting to the outbreak panel, Kauhanen addressed the growing use of smartphones, and suggested that this could be a way for lottery operators to continue engaging with their customers during the global lockdown.

He said: “Mobile will be the glue between the online and offline sector. The key thing will be how well lottery companies manage their customer relations between the mobile device, whether the customer is playing online or offline. But the whole customer relationship has to be built on the mobile devices, because nowadays, everyone is carrying a smartphone.”

According to Kahaunen, while the use of smartphones is a viable option, operators must ensure that they prioritise their responsible gambling commitments to ensure player protection.

He continued: “One point I would like to make about the online development is that in terms of responsible gaming, the tools are much easier to develop on the online channel than it is for the offline sector. At least what we are doing at the moment is that we are creating limits for VLTs. It is a massive IT operation, but we are proud of the responsible gaming framework that we have in place for the online channel, and we have found that it is working very well.”

Joining Kahaunen, delegates also heard from Ludovico Calvi, President of Global Lottery Monitoring Systems; Arno de Jong, CMO at Nederlandse Loterij; and the panel moderator Harmen Brenninkmeijer, CEO of Quanta.

Harmen posed the question as to whether the current situation will force gaming operators to find a new balance, or whether it will be a return to business as usual. He added: “When I start following the news, read the blogs, and speak to a number of other people across the industry, and I’ve been thinking that the impact on gaming has been massive. 

“A number of governments have basically said you cannot take advantage of this situation during the COVID-19 lockdown, you can definitely not mention it – which is logical – are we going to restrict it? 

“Certain countries are going to restrict [gaming] more than ever, but are we going to see that gaming will come out of this lockdown less successful, as successful as it was and continuing on that path, or will gaming find a new balance?” 

Echoing Kahaunen’s sentiment that the industry will place more emphasis on social responsibility, Calvi reiterated that lottery operators have a ‘social duty’ to protect customers. He said: “I think that we’re going to see a new balance in gaming. Governments are more and more in need of revenues. We will continue the process of legalisation of gaming and sports betting in general. 

“What I think will change is the level of corporate social responsibility and the standards of compliance which we need to implement as responsible gaming organisations, sooner rather than later. 

“The warning by regulators has been to be careful, this is a pandemic, and do not take advantage. So try to put as many provisions in place as possible such as self exclusion, responsible gaming provisions, anti-money laundering provisions, match-fixing measures. 

“We need to raise the level of compliance because we owe it as a social duty to our players. We need to be transparent, we owe this to the public. And I think that the more we do this, the more that gaming will become acceptable. 

“I see this as an opportunity because if you raise the compliance, and lotteries are on the front line for innovation, this will make all the difference and gaming organisations will follow. It’s not a case of if we do this, it’s when.”

This idea was also highlighted by Arno de Jong, however he offered another perspective when it comes to supporting the charities and sports associations that part-own lotteries. 

He added: “I completely agree with Ludovico, and want to offer another perspective. Nederlandse Loterij is owned by the Dutch state, but also by Dutch sports and charities. These charities are really dependent on our money. 

“At the beginning of this crisis we were discussing whether we can really continue organising our draws and our marketing, or should we stop? Is it still acceptable to run our business if people are dying? We had a massive crisis in the first few weeks – in Italy and Spain, draws were stopped, for example.

“We realised that we can continue because if we stopped, sports already has damages of over €1b, all sports and federations are having issues. And what about the charities we support? They’ve had to stop their fundraising. But from the other side, governments, hospitals and patients are asking for funding from these charities for scientific research. So we explained to our customers and stakeholders that we would continue business to raise money for these charities.”

The SBC Digital Summit is a truly groundbreaking online event for the betting and gaming industry, offering up to 10,000 delegates a fully virtual and interactive conference, exhibition and networking experience. It takes place all this week, up to and including Friday May 1.

With global business communities in the grip of the COVID-19 crisis, the Summit was created as a platform for the industry to connect and share knowledge amid critical and unprecedented conditions.

The SBC Digital Summit runs from 27 April to 1 May 2020 and features seven conference tracks, a virtual exhibition and virtual networking lounges, attracting an estimated 10,000 delegates logging in from around the world.

There is still time to register for the event, with company discounts available: https://sbcevents.com/sbc-digital-summit/tickets/

The post Mobile lotteries will be the glue between online and offline sectors appeared first on CasinoBeats.

The pandemic has, however, given live casino operators and suppliers alike the opportunity to become more creative in their approaches to reaching audiences, with some choosing to bring the live casino set-up to the comfort of their own home, while others have put pen to paper and secured new, more international partnerships.

Speaking as part of the Live Casino in Lockdown panel on day two of the SBC Digital Summit, Karolina Pelc, owner of Basic Strategy, revealed that a number of Asian operators have put their foot on the gas in terms of integrating new supplier partnerships at a speed ‘never seen before’.

She said: “I’ve personally seen Asian operators integrating new suppliers at a speed that I have never seen before. Other suppliers have been securing additional table capacity at different locations in Europe following the closure of the Asian studios. 

“Some have been entering into new partnerships. But also in the portfolio of the partners that we work closely with, there’s a range of products that are not dependent on a human hosting that product.”

One of the suggestions made for operators to address the void left from games which require a human to deal with the cards is the integration of RNG games onto their platforms. 

According to Sam Brown, CCO of Hero Gaming, the implementation of RNG could offer a short term solution to the absence of live dealers: “We’ve always seen popularity in auto-roulettes, which are very well positioned to take that roulette liquidity. On the game shows, it’s difficult to say whether RNG can perhaps provide the experience that people are after. But from a roulette perspective, RNG could cover a lot of the experience there.

“In light of the situation, we onboarded a couple of suppliers, possibly more hastily than we would have done had the situation not been as it is. One of the new products we’ve tried is this real dealer hybrid, where you’re essentially playing an RNG, but it is being presented by a pre-recorded live video.”

Richard Atkinson, head of live casino at William Hill, revealed that the ‘work from home situation’ has been used to continue engaging with audiences, which Pelc explained had previously been considered to be ‘rather impossible.’

“It’s similar to the real dealer product where you use an RNG, but the dealer is working from home. They use the picture screen of the dealer, so that they can continue to do the commentary. So you’re still looking at your familiar tables from games such as baccarat, roulette.” 

But like many sectors of the gaming industry, one of the challenges that also faces the live casino sector is the implementation of responsible gambling and player protection measures. 

With the world on lock down, and more people spending time at home, concerns across the industry have arisen regarding whether players could be considered at risk of developing ‘problematic behaviours’.

Pelc added: “With people being stuck at home, it’s important for both operators and suppliers to make sure that they really champion responsible gaming, and put a lot of effort into identifying problematic behaviours.”

Many have opted to follow the ten point pledge rolled out by the Betting and Gaming Council earlier this year, while Jeremy Taylor, MD of Genting Online, confirmed that they had turned up the dial on their measures.

He said: “This is an area which is of paramount importance anyway, and in terms of Genting specifically, it’s in the company’s DNA. We’ve dialled up a number of things already: we’ve put out banners in key commercial spots, which cover all relevant limits. 

“We’re emailing customers every fortnight during this period, as we feel that anything more than that would be too intrusive. We’ve also got a pop-up live, so for every first login of each month, there will be a pop up which points to the safer gambling advice available.”

The SBC Digital Summit runs from 27 April to 1 May 2020 and features seven conference tracks, a virtual exhibition and virtual networking lounges, attracting an estimated 10,000 delegates logging in from around the world.

There is still time to register for the event, with company discounts available: https://sbcevents.com/sbc-digital-summit/tickets/.

The post How live casino has <br> adapted to COVID-19 appeared first on CasinoBeats.

Speaking at SBC’s Digital Summit, Starostnikov and a panel of industry experts discussed how poker’s landscape has once again changed due to recent events which has severely reduced sports betting options.

Starostnikov stated: “I think that poker is acting as a lifesaver for sports betting operators right now along with casino content and virtual sports. What we are seeing now interestingly is a high demand from players to sports betting operators for online poker specifically.

“Even the operators which were not very keen on adding poker into their portfolio are all now contacting us to add poker. With existing clients we are also seeing big increases.”

“From 2010 to 2019, it’s (the poker industry) been difficult to survive,” added Ivonne Montealegre, founder and event director of the Malta Poker Festival.

She continued: “However, with this pandemic, live poker completely shut down and sports betting completely shut down, poker is thriving and it’s a new second wave as the money maker.”

The panellists did concede that the likelihood of poker continuing its meteoric rise amidst the coronavirus is highly unlikely. Nevertheless Pokerok’s COO Sergii Romanenko expressed that while the boom will not last forever, the online poker market has become more sustainable in the long-term.

Romanenko said: “I hope it will be the next poker boom however to be honest it’s hard to predict but generally I predict that poker will become healthy after quarentine. It will be hard to keep the pace of the last two months.

“I think that now all the power players that had never previously played online will understand the advantages of online poker.”  

Whilst online poker has risen in stock over previous weeks, live poker events and casinos have ultimately had to shut down in order to follow global virus guidelines. However, Montealegre felt that whilst initially the live industry will take a financial hit from the pandemic, even after restrictions are loosened, poker firms have learned to adapt and use the online market to their advantage.

The Malta Poker Festival founder said: “poker is interesting in that it has managed to mix a live part with the online part but the live part right now is dead. When the live market becomes reactivated it will take its share of the market again.

“But we will learn as an industry, Live poker will learn that some online (poker) needs to be deployed.”

The panelist also discussed a wide range of topics about the overall poker industry including how it is being consumed and Latin-America’s blossoming market. 

SBC Digital Summit’s ‘Poker to the rescue’ panel discussion was sponsored by Evenbet Gaming and moderated by Jonas Odman, the founder and CEO of Rising Sun Media.

The SBC event runs from 27 April to 1 May 2020 featuring a variety of industry expert panels, virtual networking lounges and a virtual exhibition. Whilst also offering an on-demand feature if you miss or want to rewatch the panel sessions.

The Digital Summit has attracted an estimated 10,000 delegates from around the world to discuss some of the industry’s biggest topics, Such as how the poker sector has reacted to COVID-19 pandemic. If you wish to join the event then register here.

The post Online poker a ‘lifesaver for sports betting operators’ – Evenbet Gaming appeared first on CasinoBeats.