Poll: What area of investment will you prioritise in 2013?
Where will operators concentrate their resources over the course of the year?
2013 has begun with yet another flurry of acquisitions and ICE is almost upon us, so eGaming Review wants to find out where operators will be investing over the course of this year.
While Ladbrokes’ acquisition of Betdaq and Gamesys buying Virgin Games shows that there is still appetite for investment, many may feel that neither deal is as disruptive or intriguing as last January’s biggest acquisition, which saw IGT acquire DoubleDown Interactive for up to US$500m.
This deal was supposed to announce the arrival of social casino as a major force and a potentially lucrative new revenue stream for the gaming industry, however social casino market leader Zynga struggled badly in 2012, resulting in investor sentiment turning against the sector.
But DoubleDown continues to perform strongly, while Gamesys and 888 have launched real-money offerings on the Facebook platform, and Zynga is set to launch a suite of real-money products in the first half of 2013, after partnering with bwin.party. This increased crossover between real-money and social may encourage some companies to invest in the sector in 2013.
While it has been ‘the next big thing’ for several years now, mobile is becoming an increasingly vital distribution channel for operators, and companies are now beginning to fully explore the potential of the platform, with innovative products like Paddy Power’s Roller Casino hitting the market. In order to stop the likes of Paddys and Hills “ the two operators to have reported significant revenues from the channel “ operators may look to ramp up spend on mobile development.
While mobile and social remain areas of interest, regulated markets, previously a key topic at ICE, is becoming an increasingly difficult issue for operators. In Germany the liberal regime in Schleswig-Holstein clashes with the stricter legislation passed by the country’s 15 other Länder, and has led to an impasse which looks far from being resolved.
In Spain there have also been issues with poker liquidity prompting a number of licensees to look to have their licences rescinded. Yet with a number of new markets moving towards opening their doors to private operators in 2013, such as Holland and Sweden, a new wave of regulation could prompt operators to focus their efforts on establishing themselves in these territories.
What do you think? Will social and mobile continue to dominate, and will regulation return to being an opportunity rather than a hindrance? Or will operator spend be focused elsewhere? Have your say by voting in the poll on the right hand side of the page or visit the eGaming Review Linkedin group.