Covid speeds online push, highlights need for diversity

[caption id="attachment_103657" align="alignleft" width="143"] By: Tony Ure, head of eGaming, Digital Isle of Man*[/caption]

Covid-19 and its associated lockdowns have helped to establish eGaming as a key form of entertainment and social interaction, but has been a wake-up call for operators who have been forced to diversify following the shift online. 

Alongside these distinct challenges, businesses must also continue to deal with regulatory changes, including AML as the threat of money laundering increases.

A distinct challenge to Asian eGaming

The Asian eGaming sector has been presented with a number of challenges as a result of the pandemic and subsequent lockdowns. Large, land-based casinos contribute a significant portion of revenue and with the pandemic forcing these to close, the revenue disappeared immediately. 

This caused a rush to move operations online and highlighted the need to provide a permanent and diversified offering which could make up for the losses. 

For many, the experience of being at a casino and sitting at a table is unrivalled and the online experience simply cannot match this. Adding the diminishing revenue from VIP experiences, there is increasing pressure on operators and businesses to establish themselves elsewhere and expand their offering. 

One area that operators may be able to diversify their offering into has come about due to the impact of the pandemic on sporting events. People are now increasingly embracing online gaming, esports and virtual online RNG games and there has been exponential growth in these sectors, presenting an opportunity for operators to take advantage of such a shift.

Due to the impact of the pandemic on land-based developments, operators are beginning to transfer their model to different markets and regions which are recovering at different rates. For instance, there have been numerous instances of businesses in the Asian region moving their operations to different countries such as Dubai, Myanmar and India, where the sector has been impacted less by the pandemic. There can be no denying that all operators are evaluating the markets of individual countries at the moment, in an attempt to future proof their operations and prevent a further blow to revenues.

"Businesses and operators that can best welcome and entertain this younger generation in the current period will be the most successful moving forwards"