Industry News

Betting economy can maintain growth through internal focus states Zendesk

Published

5 years ago

December 4, 2019

Betting economy can maintain growth through internal focus states Zendesk

Reading Time: 3 minutes

The online gaming sector’s success in recent years is often reported as a result of new technology, emerging markets and exciting content but customers’ experience is essential too and excellent service needs to happen from the inside out according to Zendesk.

As the leading customer service and engagement platform across hundreds of industries including iGaming, mobile, retail and hospitality, Zendesk is ideally positioned to analyse the growing impact customer service is having on revenue and brand loyalty within the online gaming sector in recent years. However, with more and more online gaming companies developing and releasing new slots each week Zendesk explains why customer retention isn’t all about keeping players happy and why sometimes it really is what’s on the inside that counts.

Sarah Manning, Human Resources Director, EMEA at Zendesk believes the improvement of employee experience even within sectors which aren’t face-to-face customer facing such as iGaming remains a vital part of overall expansion strategy. Manning explained: “Companies that excel at internal customer service strive to instill a culture of collaboration and cooperation, where everyone is on the same team working toward the same goals. That could mean a marketing manager promptly fulfilling a sales request, or an IT tech patiently resolving system issues for a member of the customer support staff. By having clear systems for employee engagement, you can unite the team around the common mission of delivering a market-leading customer experience.”

“When a company prioritizes internal customer service, its employees are happier and better equipped to provide the type of external customer service consumers expect,” they continued. “Happier employees are also more loyal and help boost the company’s bottom line.”

The essential components of effective employee engagement are not vastly different to the key attributes of what makes a new online slot successful or the basis of any kind of positive relationship. Manning highlights the need for three core essentials for internal customer service; a strong emphasis on communication; an ability to recognise greatness; and, putting the power in employees’ hands.

Communication is a core part of Zendesk’s business and in 2019 the company expanded its omnichannel presence with WhatsApp support integrations as well as developing its relationship with Slack. Manning believes connecting conversations between employees and management on any messaging channel – from websites and mobile apps to the world’s leading messaging apps like WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger – is the path to empowering from the inside out.

“Successful internal customer service requires employees who can effectively communicate,” they said. “When a manager in operations asks for information from finance, they should know who to approach and be comfortable doing it. Employees on the receiving end of the requests shouldn’t just be willing to work together—they should be eager to provide answers. One way to improve in office communications is to encourage alternatives to email. Replacing the passive, time-zapping form of communication with something more active, such as Slack, will encourage conversations, camaraderie, and the use of GIFs.”

Zendesk’s international team pride themselves on being ‘people people,’ and this focus on the individual as part of the whole forms the basis of their internal infrastructure. With online gaming companies ranging from two-person outfits to giant global powerhouses it can be difficult to give the correct credit to staff where it’s due, however Manning believes the key to effective recognition is matching the praise to the employee. “Happy employees lead to happy customers, and one way to keep members of any team in good spirits is to celebrate them when they do well,” she explained. “This could mean a year end bonus to the top salesperson or a end-of-the-week shoutout to the highest rated customer service rep. Letting employees know they’re doing well is a key part of letting know they’re appreciated.”

The final piece of the internal customer puzzle according to Manning is increasing opportunities for self-service making life easier for both the employee who needs information and the employee who has it. Providing a self-service portal via Zendesk’s powerful new product, Gather, can allow staff to look up company holidays or to troubleshoot common email issues hence allowing the HR and IT departments to use their time handling more significant challenges.

“Giving power to your employees isn’t just about convenience,” explained Manning. “When people are allowed to solve their own problems, they grow more comfortable with autonomy and more likely to come up with new, game changing ideas. Along with fostering creativity, the Harvard Business Review found that empowerment creates happy, high performing employees. Those are the type of internal customers you want serving the external ones.”

Industry News

Dutch Mental Health Care Calls for Total Ban on Online Gambling Advertising

Published

4 days ago

November 1, 2024

Niji Narayan

Reading Time: < 1 minute

The Dutch mental health service is calling for a total ban on online gambling advertisements in the Netherlands.

Although a ban on untargeted gambling advertisements and a ban on the use of role models has been in effect since 2023, a recent research by KRO-NCRV’s Pointer shows that (illegal) gambling companies and sports tipster platforms are still enticing young people via social media such as TikTok and Snapchat.

By using influencers and terms like “free money”, they try to attract a young audience and thus lower the threshold to start gambling. This concerns both legal online casinos and online casinos that do not have a license in the Netherlands. The Gaming Authority has started an investigation based on Pointer’s findings.

Pointer’s research shows that part of the gambling industry deliberately targets young people who are often susceptible to promises such as “fast money” and the influence of role models. Ruth Peetoom, chair of the Dutch mental health service, compares this approach to that of the tobacco industry, where similar marketing strategies were used to get young people to smoke.

Despite the existing advertising ban, gambling companies continue to explore the boundaries of the law, according to Peetoom. The Dutch mental health and addiction care associations in the Netherlands therefore push for a total ban on online gambling advertising and stricter rules for the duty of care of gambling providers.

With the call for a total ban, the Dutch mental health care sector hopes to prevent further normalisation of gambling behaviour among young people and to protect them from the temptation and consequences of online gambling.

Compliance Updates

UKGC: Market impact data on gambling behaviour – operator data to Oct 2024

Published

5 days ago

October 31, 2024

George Miller

UKGC: Market impact data on gambling behaviour - operator data to Oct 2024

Reading Time: 2 minutes

The Gambling Commission has published further data on the gambling industry in Great Britain.

This data, sourced from operators, reflects the period between March 2020 and September 2024, inclusive, and covers online and in-person gambling covering Licensed Betting Operators (LBOs) found on Britain’s high streets.

Comparison should not be made with the industry statistics dataset, as this dataset may include free bets and bonuses and does not include data from all operators.

This release compares Quarter 2 (Q2) of financial year 2024 to 2025, with Q2 of 2023 to 2024, looking at how the market has changed in comparative periods over a year.

The latest operator data shows:

online total Gross Gambling Yield (GGY) in Q2 (July to September) was £1.32 billion, an increase of 11 percent from Q2 the previous year. The overall number of total bets and/or spins increased 12 percent Year-on-Year (YoY), reaching a new peak for the third consecutive quarter of 25.2 billion, whilst the average monthly active accounts2 in the quarter increased 8 percent
real event betting GGY increased by 6 percent YoY to £453 million. The number of bets decreased 10 percent, while the average monthly active accounts in Q2 increased 9 percent
slots GGY increased 16 percent to £680 million YoY. The number of spins increased 13 percent to 23.3 billion while the average monthly active accounts in Q2 increased 16 percent to 4.4 million per month. Although this is a new peak for GGY in this dataset for the slots vertical, it should be noted that one operator has re-classified some of its products into the slot vertical this quarter, which has had an impact on the vertical data
the number of online slots sessions lasting longer than an hour increased by 9 percent YoY to 10 million. The average session length remained at 17 minutes. Approximately 6.1 percent of all sessions lasted more than one hour compared to 6.6 percent in Q2 the previous year. The number of spins per session has fallen from 147 to 142 YOY, whilst the GGY per session has fallen from £4.20 to £4.13 in the equivalent timeframe
LBO GGY decreased by 1 percent to £533 million in Q2 2024 to 2025, compared to the same quarter last year, while the number of total bets and spins decreased by 0.1 percent to 3.1 billion.

Industry News

Petra Maria Poola Joins Xace as Group Commercial Director

Published

5 days ago

October 31, 2024

Niji Narayan

Reading Time: < 1 minute

Xace has announced that Petra Maria Poola has joined the company as Group Commercial Director.

Petra brings a wealth of experience from the iGaming industry having formerly held roles at several iGaming companies such as Yolo, Relax Gaming and SiGMA. She will lead the commercial growth of Xace and its group companies, including crypto and iGaming focused xda.io, helping to drive strategic initiatives across banking, fintech and iGaming solutions.

In her new role, she will mainly oversee the growth of the group’s sales, marketing and account management functions, ensuring a cohesive strategy that supports Xace’s ambitious expansion plans.

“I am incredibly excited to start this new chapter with Xace, and work alongside such a talented team and management. Transitioning into the fintech space, while still connected to iGaming, presents an exciting opportunity for growth and learning. I’m looking forward to applying my expertise to help Xace and its group companies achieve new heights commercially, while gaining deeper insights into the fast-evolving world of fintech,” said Petra Maria Poola.

Reuben Abel, CEO of Xace, said: “Petra’s extensive background in the iGaming sector, combined with her commercial acumen, makes her a valuable addition to the Xace team. She will play a crucial role in expanding Xace’s market presence and enhancing its suite of services tailored to the specific needs of the iGaming and fintech industries.”