SBC Digital North America: The future of the slot industry needs a "subtle balance"
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Over the last 12 months, relations between North America and igaming have developed, more states have opened the border to online games, and regulated markets have emerged.
However, as the number of regulated markets grows, the question arises that slot innovation has been suspended in the United States due to the formation of regulated markets.
As part of a panel titled’From game floors to mobile slots – take advantage of omni-channel opportunities‘, On the sponsored track Gun sportsUS experts, who are delving into slot innovation in the United States, questioned whether new omni-channel players were emerging at a time when land players were forced to adopt online games.
Oliver Bartlett, BetMGM Game DirectorHe emphasized that now is the time for “quality over quantity”. He states: “For the past three years, if you visit the slot provider’s website, you’ll find Irish games, Egyptian games, and space games. I think we need to move away from it.
“The new market is very quick and judgmental, and if you don’t interact with the players, they won’t play with you.”
In addition to the points of Bartlez Kresimir Spajic, Former SVP and MD, Online games and sports betting at Hard Rock InternationalArgued that innovation in the US market for slots is limited by regulatory and market entry costs.
He explained: “One of the important things here is integration. This is what we’ve already seen in Evolution. But the important thing is that innovation has very creative and great ideas, not from the giants. I think it comes from a small person.
“We need to be able to put those entities in the United States. Currently we don’t have them because the market is too small and the barriers are too high to enter and we are missing out on this. “
Apart from the content Robert Mims, Sugar House Casino Pit ManagerEmphasized in his eyes that innovation comes from partnerships. Providing examples of recently released ads in the NBA and Fast & Furious movie series, Mims said those partnerships would not have merged five years ago.
“We are a very important part of our marketing, it generally only affects casinos and hotels,” said Mims. “We then need to expand. Find partners with the same theme and message, including entertainment and games, and see how those promotions work.”
At Mims point, panel moderator Dan phillips, CEO of NEL Advisory, It’s reminiscent of the Playtech era of getting licenses from Marvel and DC Comics. He was doing very well, but with a premium because the brand owner wanted a “big change.”
He argued that operators used it to “swallow” changes, but were always considering cross-selling their customer base with cheaper products. Asking Mims a question, Philps asked about the balance between branded IP content operators and studios.
Mims replied: “I think it should be 10 percent (commission) because we can both make money. If you make it a higher percentage, you will distort payments too high. , And you will demand high demand for the product. To make money in-house or online, many people need to play the product. It doesn’t work.
“If you have a standard price you want to buy, it’s reciprocal for both. It’s 10%, and if you fully realize it, you can see it work.”
Returning the conversation to content, Spajic emphasized that it was a “long game,” but in reality there are “various types of customers” in the United States. Spajic pointed out that the innovations in the current slots are “all game features” and “engagement.”
“If we talk about innovation and a young audience, we have to talk about two things,” he continued. “How they are involved in the game … This touch and feel involvement. The second part is how much skill they have in the game.
“From our experience, today’s customers don’t need much skill. If they have too much skill, they lose interest. They are there to win.
“The delicate balance between winning opportunities, some skill set, and how we interact with the game is the future of the industry. We also need to look outside the industry. When you ask your customers, they What they know will give you an answer.
“The biggest innovation came not from the customer, but from the creative people in the industry who took the idea out and adapted it to the customer.”
Asked by Philips about how to balance innovation and customer satisfaction, Chris Boni, vice president, IGT Digital Game Products, Said it was a “difficult challenge,” but still turned to companies like YouTube for inspiration.
He states: “One of the things that can move the industry forward is to continue to reduce the cost of creating, iterating, and distributing content.
“Looking at other industries like YouTube, there’s an ecosystem of content creators that have raised the bar for quality and monetization through community involvement. More if we can trend those things. You can create content. The faster iterates, the faster you get feedback and the more automation you can use to support the process. The better the industry, the better the quality of your product. I think you can get it. “
Insisting on how the industry can move forward with Boni’s suggestions, Bartlett insists on an era of orderly and static web pages for all the games players like, and “our work and obligations” is new Declared to present attractive content to non-players. I don’t know what they are looking for.
“Sure, if you want to play Cleopatra the rest of the day, you can find it. But content presentations are the only way to measure success.
“I would like to address my concerns about innovation in the United States. There are two factors that the industry needs to address. Inevitable market integration, now that people can be seen as a concern Although we have acquired everyone, the barriers for these small content providers to enter the US market are also very high at this time.
“I’m not sure if the US industry is encouraging its entry and content production. Putting those young, hungry companies under them fires on everyone. I like to do it and it will benefit the industry as a whole. ”
SBC Digital North America: The future of the slot industry needs a “subtle balance”
