Industry News
How Gaming Industry Is Dealing with COVID-19 Pandemic
“There is nothing in the world that is not in this.”
Mahabharata, the Indian mythological epic
Well, the Hindu epic was certainly not referring to Corona. (In fact, it was referring to itself.)
If there is anything that merits such a claim at the moment, it has to be the COVID-19 virus. There is nothing indeed in the world right now that is not in the Corona-induced-fear-triggered crisis.
Its human toll is immeasurable and still growing. Businesses have been crippled. The betting and gambling industry is not immune to its effects either.
All the sports leagues in the world have been ground to a halt, suspending the entire spectrum of betting activities. Even the Olympics has been postponed. Many land-based casinos have been closed. Even those functioning are offering only limited access.
Multi-pronged Crisis
The economic impact on the gaming industry is going to be severe. Bill Miller, American Gaming Association President and CEO, has already called for government support. He listed the many sections of the gambling vertical that will be affected by the economic consequences of the COVID-19 outbreak in a statement:
“An estimated 616,000 casino gaming employees are prevented from working because of the important health and safety decisions made by state governments… The impact on our employees, their families, and communities is staggering, and the implications extend far beyond the casino floor. Leading technology companies that supply the industry, and the nearly 350,000 small business employees that rely on gaming for their livelihood, are also feeling the devastating blow of this unprecedented public health crisis.”
He predicted a grim economic situation if the government remains inactive in the near future:
“The federal government must act swiftly and comprehensively to get America’s hospitality employees, and the small businesses that support them, back to work…. In total, these mass closures will rob the U.S. economy of $43.5 billion in economic activity if American casinos remain closed for the next eight weeks.”
While he was talking about the US scenario, the situation is not much different in European and Asian countries. None of the industry experts would disagree with him on his following assessment of the industry:
“Gaming is an economic engine, employing millions of local residents, generating community investment through vital tax revenue, and supporting small businesses in communities…”
Bloom Amidst Gloom
It is not all one-way traffic of bad news either.
The e-sports sector has seemingly received a boost, with locked-down people flocking to e-sports and betting based on these games in the absence of traditional betting avenues.
Some of the gaming companies have found a sudden surge in traffic. Peter Ivanov, the head of trading at Bulgaria-based UltraPlay, says the customer interest towards its e-sports offerings is growing per day.
He says optimistically:
“We experienced a 30% increased turnover only in the first 5 days after the traditional sports shutdown. This is growing on a day-to-day basis as more people get involved. We expect this to get in 100’s% once all eSports leagues restart playing online.”
Ian Hills, general manager of Blexr, a Malta-based digital marketing and media company catering to the gaming sector, also reports similar trends:
“With the cancellation of much of the world’s sporting calendar we’ve naturally felt the effects in our sports revenues but results in our core competency of casino are holding fast, with our flagship brand recording several all-time highs over the last few weeks.”
How Industry People Are Coping
As there is a renewed buzz around e-gaming, online casinos and other internet-based activities, there cannot be a total shut down of the gaming industry.
Almost all companies have migrated to a work-from-home mode. Blexr’s Hills sums up how his company responded to the pandemic:
“We acted quickly and decisively in the face of growing anxiety about COVID-19, which is why we are entering our second week of being an entirely remote organisation. We wanted to adhere to government advice over social distancing and also we felt our collective responsibility to lessen the impact of the disease.”
Diana Rotaru, co-founder of Vegas Slots, says the best approach is to look for alternate products and support everyone around, especially the employees. She suggests:
“Regarding COVID-19, I understand that we are facing new and uncertain times. However I think people need to remain rational and try to think of the next steps and the best solution for their businesses , employees and the ones around us. It is also very important for companies to remain supportive and understanding with their employees and the people around them.”
It helped that online processes and operations can lend themselves to such quick and flexible transformation from office to home. In fact, the work-from-home option has been in vogue in several companies. Hills adds:
“Blexr has offered unlimited remote working as a flexible option for employees for over a year so we’ve got lots of battle-hardened experience at virtual meetings, VPN connections and maintaining the human interaction necessary for teams to work together.”
How Technology Companies Reacted
The technology service providers, though largely invisible to the public eye, are the rock around which the gaming industry is built. How are they doing?
Igor Markovic, a director board member at NSoft, a technology provider to betting industry based in Bosnia and Herzegovina, says his company has announced an unprecedented rescue package to the partners:
“In order to mitigate this demanding period, we have come up with a rescue package that will help our partners at this very moment and consequently, after all this is over, increase their business operation results. NSoft is ready to provide full support to its partners offering its virtual and draw-based games portfolio completely free of charge from 1 April to 1 June. Having no setup fees, no minimum monthly fees and no monthly revenue share invoices for two months will certainly help our partners to overcome these difficult months.”
Rarely do you find such remarkably generous gestures in the betting and gambling industry, where words like cut-throat and competition are more frequently used than the words like chivalry.
Be sure of that: Corona – another C-word – is bringing in some previously unheard-of positive changes too.
What’s in Store in Future?
The situation at present is such that the future can only be bright. There is no other way. But how bright it is going to be? And for whom it will shine the brightest?
There is a widely held view that e-sports and online casinos will thrive. Rotaru clearly subscribes to that view. She says:
“While live betting and live dealers are affected, there are alternative products that are unaffected by the existing situation, mainly e-sports like Call of Duty, DOTA and online Casinos games like table games and slots.”
Tim Grice, the Chief Executive Officer of Connective3, a UK-based digital marketing agency in the gaming sector, acknowledges the increased traffic towards the igaming platforms:
“We have seen an increased amount of traffic and conversions across igaming (casino/poker/bingo) as well as certain financial products and services … but there is no doubt some serious pain across multiple sectors.”
However, he expects the business to bounce back across all sectors and predicts a growth wave once the crisis is over.
“The best piece of advice I can give is to … have enough in the bank to see your business through 6 months of no revenue … and the funds to invest when the world wakes up. We’re anticipating a huge wave of growth when normality returns and as a business, we want to be in position to take full advantage.”
While COVID-19 is still wrecking its havoc, industry leaders are already planning ahead. They are clearly betting on the crisis to end – sooner rather than later.
Perhaps the real battle of epic, Mahabharata proportions will start in the gaming industry when the Corona outbreak is subsumed. Now is the time to prepare for the battle –mostly from home though.
Industry News
Nadine Dereza Returns to Chair the ICE World Gaming Forum
Award-winning former Financial Times journalist and business broadcaster Nadine Dereza has been confirmed to chair January’s World Gaming Forum, the three-day learning, networking and knowledge sharing exchange which replaces ICE VOX.
In a career that’s seen her interview global politicians including the late Kofi Annan, Condoleezza Rice, Ban Ki-moon, Anders Fogh Rasmussen and Gerhard Schröder, Nadine will once again be applying her journalist skill set to Clarion Gaming’s sector-leading World Regulatory Briefing, Casino & Leaders Conference (formerly the ICC), and the Esports & Games Conference (formerly the Esports Betting Conference), having previously presented the final edition of ICE VOX in London.
The ICE World Gaming Forum will run Monday 20th – Wednesday 22nd January 2025 alongside the ICE and iGB Affiliate exhibitions which will be hosted for the first time at the Fira Gran Via Barcelona, one of Europe’s biggest and best-appointed venues and home to prestigious Tier 1 events including Smart City Expo, IOT World Congress, Mobile World Congress, IBTM World and Integrated Systems Europe.
Clarion Gaming’s Senior Conference Producer Damien Ashton-Wellman said: “We are delighted to have Nadine back on the team for delivering the first edition of the World Gaming Forum. Nadine was central to the success of the 2024 ICE conferences which featured over 1,210 senior decision makers from 79 countries, including 621 operator C-Level, 87 global CEOs, 72 national and regional regulatory bodies, and 7 government ministers. Her unique blend of financial, political, and technology sector experience, and her broadcast ready presentation skills really delivered an elevated experience for the show.”
He added: “We are confident that our new world class venue and host city partnership will provide a platform for further growth with the ICE World Gaming Forum delivering exclusive connections, in-depth content, and tailored networking events.”
Nadine Dereza said: “I’m delighted to have been invited back to help launch the World Gaming Forum in what is a favourite European city of mine. The gambling industry is a highly innovative sector for entrepreneurs, policy makers and campaigners alike. ICE reflects this dynamic on a global scale and I’m looking forward to hosting insightful debates, regulatory updates and plenty of knowledge sharing. I’ve described ICE as being the ‘Davos of Gaming’ because it’s the largest gathering of leaders from across the global gaming ecosystem. Having previously hosted the IBTM Leadership Summit for several consecutive years and many international shows in Barcelona, the welcome and event services offered by the city and Fira venue are among the best I’ve worked with, and those attending ICE in January will see that experience too”
The World Gaming Forum will be situated at the heart of the Fira Gran Via Barcelona and feature an exclusive club-style VIP lounge for delegates and speakers, a dedicated networking garden, and provide access to a range of concierge services, including early access to the show each day.
Industry News
BetConstruct Nominated at SiGMA Europe B2B Awards
BetConstruct has been nominated for two categories at the SiGMA Europe B2B Awards that is set to take place in Valletta, Malta on November 11.
BetConstruct’s full-fledged platform was nominated for the Best Platform Provider category, while the novel loyalty system The Last Battle received a nomination for the Unique Selling Point category.
“Our platform and The Last Battle are testaments to BetConstruct’s commitment to pushing the envelope in innovation, and we are excited to be nominated for both categories. The Last Battle in particular is unique, as it can be easily paired with our casino and sports betting products. It helps partners enhance player engagement on their platforms by putting players into different segments, each with their own unique and customisable rewards that are triggered when players earn points and level up,” the company said.
The Awards take place on the 11th of November during the SiGMA Europe 2024 event.
Industry News
Kindred Group Announces Third Quarter Revenue as Part of Tender Offer by La Française des Jeux
Kindred Group plc (Kindred) announced third quarter total revenue figures (unaudited) as part of FDJ’s public tender offer to acquire the entire outstanding share capital of Kindred.
During the third quarter of 2024, Kindred saw continued solid growth across its diversified market footprint with total revenue (B2C and B2B) reaching GBP 294.5 million. The Gross winnings revenue for the third quarter amounted to GBP 283.1 million and the share of Gross winnings revenue from locally regulated markets amounted to 83%.
Kindred’s estimated revenue and share of locally regulated revenue for the third quarter 2024 are in line with expectations and the Group remains on track towards its communicated full-year EBITDA guidance. Kindred will report final figures for the third quarter 2024 in its interim report on 25 October 2024.
-
Australia5 days ago
IAG’s Andrew W Scott Announced as Latest Conference Chair for 2025 Regulating the Game Conference in Sydney
-
Latest News6 days ago
Veikkaus, Finland’s National Lottery Operator, Selects Optimove, the #1 CRM Marketing Solution for the iLottery and iGaming sector, as its CRM Marketing Solution
-
Asia5 days ago
Esports Makes Historic Debut at Tamil Nadu Government’s Chief Minister’s Trophy Games 2024
-
Africa5 days ago
Amusnet Announces Partnership with Mojabet
-
Latest News5 days ago
GTA 6 Hype: A Look into Rockstar Games’ Ambitious Release
-
Australia6 days ago
Crown Fined $2 Million for Self-exclusion Breaches
-
Conferences in Europe6 days ago
Belatra Games unveils ‘Dragons and Mummy’ inspired booth design for SiGMA Europe 2024
-
Latest News5 days ago
Week 42/2024 slot games releases