Roundtable: what technology will be the next gamechanger for iGaming?

Participants:

Tereza Melicharkova, Head of Marketing at Swintt

Araminta Hannah, Director at Comparasino

Allan Stone, Chief Executive Officer at Intelitics

In your opinion, what technology has had the greatest impact on iGaming in 2024? 

Tereza Melicharkova: I think from a game design perspective the increased focus on mobile technology has definitely had the biggest impact. We know these days a huge proportion of play comes from mobile devices, so we’re seeing more games being developed with this in mind. In practical terms, this means creating titles that are optimised for use on a vertical display and include more features that incorporate touch-screen functionality or otherwise enhance the mobile experience. From a marketing perspective, the biggest change has been an increased collaboration with streamers as this provides a more direct route for studios like Swintt to get closer to the players themselves.

Araminta Hannah: Anything that allows for deeper personalisation. It’s great to see some online casino brands now rolling the sort of personalisation that players have enjoyed at other entertainment options for quite some time. I’m talking about things like personalised bonus offers and game recommendations based on the player’s previous behaviour. It’s something that Comparasino has looked to leverage too by developing a proprietary recommendation engine for players, which matches players with brands that – based on their preferences – we believe they will enjoy.

Allan Stone: There is a growing opportunity for operators to create a core betting experience around micro betting, player props and same game parlays. Historically, most operators use those products as something of an ‘add on’ to drive engagement and acquisition. But by embracing these products, you can cater much more to the newer generation of bettor who prefers quicker content and technology-led experiences. It’s not like these technologies didn’t exist, but I do think that this has been a big thing for operators in 2024.

As mobile gaming continues to grow, what innovations are necessary to enhance mobile user experiences and ensure seamless integration across multiple devices?

Tereza Melicharkova: The main challenge to keep in mind is that there are a huge number of mobile devices on the market and that makes it very difficult for studios to deliver games that are compatible with the various screen resolutions. With this in mind, you need to have technology that can scale easily and automatically to reduce your workload and developers also need to picture how end users will ultimately experience their product. This latter point is something we’re very aware of through our acquisition of Elysium Studios – and you can see the end results in games like Law of Gilgamesh, which incorporate swipe functionality to provide a more engaging mobile experience.

Araminta Hannah: Mobile is all about streamlining the UX. Mobile players expect ease and speed, so it’s vital for operators, suppliers and even affiliates to remove friction and deliver a seamless experience. We always think of innovation as being game-changing and revolutionary, but it can be something as simple as deploying open banking to facilitate instant mobile deposits and withdrawals, or in our case, notifying players when a new online casino launches rather than then having to spend time scrolling through Google search results.

Allan Stone: Brands need to understand that they need to be building a product that’s cross-platform. We’ve always viewed gambling as being a core desktop product, and then introduced tablet or mobile at a later point. But if you can understand how to build products in a cross-platform way from the get-go, then you will enhance that mobile experience.  Personalisation is also key. There is no such thing as a ‘too rich’ user experience that is available on mobile – operators need to stop taking a cookie cutter approach and, instead, tailor experiences to individual players.

How can the iGaming industry stay ahead of regulatory changes and ensure compliance while still fostering innovation and growth?

Tereza Melicharkova: The #1 thing is ensuring that there’s an open dialogue between regulators, game developers and operators. Although there are more and more regulated markets opening up each year, at the moment they don’t really communicate together, and I personally think it would be a big help if there was one platform where updates could be shared to help compliance teams stay ahead of the game. We’re not quite there as an industry yet but having something like a global compliance conference would also be a great idea as it would provide that forum for discussion while also ensuring that people don’t have to travel as much to learn the ins and outs of individual markets.

Araminta Hannah: By understanding the rules in place and then pushing boundaries within them. Innovation shouldn’t be curtailed by regulation. Instead, operators, suppliers and affiliates should see it as the foundation from which they can develop new experiences, enhance existing customer journeys and continue to execute whatever it is they do to the highest standard. Innovation can just be about finding a new way of doing something better than it has been done before and, in my experience, regulation very rarely prohibits this.

Allan Stone: Many brands use responsible gambling and compliance as a crutch to justify not innovating. But the more intelligent operators can be in terms of where they place their ads, the less they will be viewed as being problem gambling adjacent. From a compliance perspective, the measures in place are designed to protect the player. Instead of viewing those requirements as an annoyance, the operators who embraced them have used it to their advantage and created ‘pattern interrupts’ which helps foster a more positive user sentiment, which means less regulatory oversight.