Bringing the omni-channel revolution to Asia

 Omni-channel’s transition from industry buzzword to transformative strategy has been swift, but will it have the same impact in Asia?
Anyone who was in London in February for ICE may have noticed that the usual divide between the online and land-based suppliers displaying at the exhibition appeared to have diminished.
While the business of selling slots to casinos and online operators remains distinct, the two have been brought closer together in recent years by a new strategic approach which stresses the importance of offering consistency in product, payment and marketing  - both in-venue and online.
Omni-channel has been a favorite term on the industry conference circuit for some time now, but it appears to finally be having a tangible impact on the strategy and results of many of gaming’s biggest firms.
“Omni-channel is at the core of providing casino and gaming content wherever players are and at any time, giving instant and reliable access to the latest games,” Max Lindenberg, head of product marketing at Novomatic, told AGB.
“As the next generation of casino player emerges … operators can quickly extend their reach and cater to this rising demographic by providing omni-channel solutions that position player-favourite content across land-based, online, mobile and social platforms ,” he added.
Tom Light, VP of business development & commercials at SBTech, said omni-channel is now so important operators have been placed in an adapt or die scenario.
"We look at the world from an omni-channel point for view, it is an important part of our business,” Light told AGB.
“Essentially, although there are standalone online operations, there is no room for ‘standalone retail’ anymore, and all are converted into omni-channel. If any retail sports company would tell you otherwise they would very soon be out of business,” he added.
Perhaps the most notable manifestation of the trend was GTECH’s $6.4bn takeover of IGT last year, which brought together giants of the land-based and online supplier industries.
At the time Marco Sala, CEO of the newly-merged entity, said it was “uniquely positioned” to deliver exciting gaming experiences “through every channel, including lotteries, gaming machines, social, mobile, and interactive.”
Meanwhile omni-channel was also cited by Betfair CEO Breon Corcoran as a key consideration ahead of the firm’s recent merger with Paddy Power, as a way of adding a land-based presence to Betfair’s already strong online product.
Omni-channel products have become commonplace in core European markets, particularly the UK. Among the most popular is Coral Connect from operator Gala Coral via Playtech, a card linked to a player’s online account which can be used to place bets in the bookmaker’s retail outlets. The solution allows users to place a bet online and pick up their winnings in a shop, while also enabling the operator to link a player's retail and online activity.
And the Rank Group, which operates the Mecca Bingo and Grosvenor Casino brands which include both an online and retail presence in the UK, has moved to bring consistency in slot branding and game formats across all channels, while also pioneering schemes to encourage retail customers to sign-up an online account while in venue.
But if omni-channel is now seen a key revenue driver in Europe and the US, it is yet to have the same impact in Asia.
The primary problem for Asia-based operators looking to extend their omni-channel reach has been a lack of markets where both online and land-based forms are fully regulated.
“Omni-channel has been slower to take hold in Asia principally due to regulation, as online gambling remains illegal in multiple jurisdictions throughout the region,” said Lindenberg.
As a result, many of the omni-channel offers have remained illicit; in 2014 Galaxy Entertainment Group warned of unlicensed online operators creating bogus, Galaxy-branded websites trying to leverage the casino’s land-based reputation.
With more markets in the region beginning to explore the possibility of opening up to online regulation, a further problem remains - the lack of local land-based operators with online expertise. In Europe many of the major land-based operators can draw upon more than a decade of online experience, placing them in a strong position to connect the two offers.
Asia does have the advantage of being able to look towards a range of suppliers which have honed omni-channel expertise elsewhere, and in those markets which do permit both land-based and online offers there has been some rapid progress.
The Philippines is one Asian market where the full scale of the omni-channel opportunity is beginning to emerge. Playtech, a firm which has placed its Playtech ONE omni-channel solution at the centre of its strategy, said in February that Philippines-licensed operations were its fastest growing jurisdiction for the 2015 financial year.
Philippines-licensed revenues rose 49 percent year-on-year to 199.6 million euros and accounted for more than a third of total gaming revenue.
The firm also said last August that it was installing a central system to cover all electronic bingo slot machines in 68 bingo clubs in the Philippines, a move which would see around 5,000 machines installed nationwide.
Meanwhile AGB understands that an omni-channel push by the Hong Kong Jockey Club, designed to curtail the use of unlicensed offshore operators, has seen the online and mobile share of total football revenues grow to around 65 percent.
And last year the HKJC moved to bolster its omni-channel offer with the launch of a new dedicated mobile platform.
Light at SBTech said that should the regulatory situation improve, Asia has massive omni-channel potential.
“This all comes down to regulation, like anything else – Asia is always the one with the most potential, infinite opportunities but most amount of regulatory barriers,” Light said.
“The opportunity is bigger than anywhere else due to the in-shop deposit/withdraw concept, which is extremely crucial in a credit card-averse market,” he added.
Lindenberg at Novomatic agrees that there is big potential for omni-channel in Asia. “There are significant opportunities in Asia to access more players by delivering content across multiple channels,” he said.
He points to Novomatic’s live casino subsidiary Extreme Live Gaming, which has its roots in Asia, and has seen an uptake in its Extreme Reel Roulette product among Asian operators as Beijing’s anti-corruption drive has put the squeeze on Macau’s VIP tables.
As early as 2013, a PWC report into Asian gaming acknowledged that “most casinos are leaving money on the table” by not rolling out more extensive omni-channel products.
Lindenberg said Asian punters are now far more demanding when it comes to using technology they are familiar with for leisure and entertainment activities.
“Players are accustomed to using multiple devices for day-to-day activities and a huge increase in mobile usage over recent years means operators must offer a single gaming experience that can be accessed on all devices,” he said.
But while players are waiting for products and brands which can channel an agnostic approach, it will still require a major regulatory breakthrough across the region before the impact of omni-channel on Asian gaming is truly felt.