Egaming industry predictions for 2019 – including blockchain regulation and the rise of agile

Matthew Stafford, CEO, BlockChain Innovations Corp

More regulators will embrace blockchain: Malta and the Isle of Man have already expanded the scale and scope of their regulatory frameworks to include blockchain technologies and products. This has been great at proving the technology can meet the same compliance standards as traditional platforms.

I believe that other regulators will follow suit in 2019, issuing licences to suppliers and blockchain-powered operators for the very first time. This in turn will see more operators embrace the technology and help drive it towards mainstream usage.

One big-name operator will launch a blockchain powered product: I believe that one of these operators will be a big-name brand. While they may not migrate their entire platform to the blockchain, they are likely to integrate certain blockchain products and tools into their existing technologies.

2019 will also see the first ‘born on the blockchain’ operator enter the fold. This operator will use the blockchain as the foundation of its platform and proposition, and in doing so will unlock the significant upsides offered to deliver a truly superior player experience.

Integrity fees and taxes will hold back US growth: Legal sports betting continues to go from strength to strength in the USA and particularly in New Jersey where wagers and revenues are growing at an impressive rate.

The concern, however, is that states on the cusp of legalising sports betting are setting integrity fees and taxes that are simply too high for operators to run a sustainable business – this applies to online casino and poker, too.

If states tax operators too heavily then they will simply opt out of that particular market – with potentially 50 states to choose from, avoiding those with prohibitive fees and taxes won’t cause operators too many headaches.

States considering sports betting and online gambling legislation should look to New Jersey as the blueprint/benchmark. The state has created a healthy and competitive industry, and is taxing operators and suppliers sensibly and proportionately.

Alexia Smilovic, director of compliance and regulated market, Relax Gaming

Sweden is clearly the first compliance deadline of 2019, with the re-regulation of the market coming into effect on 1st January. In the current context we see uncertainties as well as high volumes of operations, meaning this jurisdiction is likely to remain a focus well into the year. As a key European market, the Swedish re-regulation has significant ramifications and affects a large portion of the ecosystem, such as altering the landscape, prospects and local player behaviour. As the regulation cycle has just begun, and continues to mature, I expect to see Sweden retaining focus over the coming two to three years.

I expect the changes to raise company profiles but create incremental challenges that will require constant assessment and redress. The industry must respond collaboratively to raise the bar while keeping players and responsible gambling at the heart of any initiatives.

The Swedish Consumer Ombudsman’s announcement to mount a legal challenge against a newly licensed operator for an allegedly moderate advertisement breach, confirms the authorities’ supervision will be far from theoretical.

The Swiss regulation is also set to come into effect on 1st January 2019 and developments there have drawn attention. Although offering partial liberalisation because of the land-based entity partnering condition, the market is of high interest and offers consolidation opportunities for some European operators.

New regions are opening slowly

Many stakeholders will have a keen eye on developments in Latin America as the door of opportunity swings further open across the continent. Columbia is developing at a steady pace, while Brazil took the historical decision to regulate online sports betting after more than 70 years of total ban, possibly paving the way for other verticals to regulate later on. Such initiatives are inspirational for other countries on the continent, and hopefully jurisdictions indicating a long-held aspiration to regulate may follow.

The rise of agile

Speed to market and attention to local trends is one of the centrally defining factors to a brand’s success in any technological industry, and online gaming is certainly no different. Given the increasing pace of regulatory changes and continuous fragmentation of global operations, the speed, flexibility and cooperation between all parties will be crucial to success.

New breed suppliers, such as Relax Gaming, are increasingly challenging established, legacy providers by acting on the need to reconcile swift strategy, rapid implementation, as well as regulatory and technical decision making with an attractive alternative that isn’t limited by size or technical debt. Platform and product differentiation through new features, a responsible approach and open dialogue with partners at all levels is coming to the fore, and agile industry suppliers are set to make their presence felt.