Omni-channel was once again the buzzword of choice at ICE earlier this year, and we are finally beginning to see the approach have a material impact on both operators and suppliers. It’s also presenting new opportunities for providers which can display the requisite agility to use online technology to drive land-based operations.
There are a lot of synergies between in-venue and online and it is now imperative that operators extend and connect their offer across the channels, capitalising on the emerging technological advances. While many of the giants of the supplier industry talk a good game, we have found that they are not always the best placed to offer a flexible omni-channel solution. Age and scale tend to be the major burdens for these legacy platforms, which were not designed to cope with an omni-channel market. For small operators in emerging jurisdictions, these platforms cannot offer a personalised experience which is specifically tailored to their needs.
New generation
Mediatech Solutions is part of a new generation of platform providers doing things differently. We were founded as recently as 2009, so our platforms have been built with omni-channel in mind and we aren’t weighed down by legacy software.
These new platform providers are changing the way the industry interacts with its customers. We see a fast-approaching future where land-based operators will shift focus from managing locations to managing customers. This opens up many possibilities in terms of increasing product offering and CRM capabilities.
New opportunities are emerging quickly as we are seeing the twin drivers of technological advance and regulatory progress in new markets across the world. In our home market of Spain, improved regulation in recent months has extended the product offer for online casino, and as a result growth is strong.
It’s a similar story across Europe, where countries including Italy, Sweden and the Netherlands are making moves towards extended or new legislation. But the platform providers who will succeed going forward will need to look beyond Europe too. We’ve recently returned from a very informative trip to Peru, and LatAM is emerging as a core region for us.
Meanwhile we also have offices in Kuala Lumpur, allowing us to meet operators on the ground in Asia.
New markets, new opportunities
Many of these markets already have established land-based gaming offers, but are only now opening up to regulated online gaming. As a result, operators will be looking for platform providers which can offer tailored, local solutions and best-in-breed customer service. These operators are no longer accepting out-of-the-box platforms which have been built with only the major European markets in mind.
We are striving to build a suite of products and services that gives an operator control and an ability to compete with the best. Our recent agreement with land-based casino supplier R. Franco, which has taken a controlling stake in Mediatech, gives us the investment and scale we need to expand our global footprint. And of course, R. Franco’s unparalleled heritage in the land-based sector opens up new and exciting possibilities in the omni-channel sphere.
There is a sense that some of the legacy platforms which have dominated this industry for many years have lost sight of the most important part of gaming – the customer. Fortunately, younger firms like us are moving to plug the gap, and as regulated online gaming opens up around the world, it will be these firms best-placed to take omni-channel global.
