For some, the idea of land-based operators successfully scaling to build a profitable omni-channel business model gives rise to scepticism. The barriers to entry are considered too high, given the differing technical requirements of online and the expectations of customers. For European land-based operators preparing to build back from the pandemic, disproving those theories is important and Switzerland’s Grand Casino Luzern provides them with an excellent dissenting view.

Operators looking to build market share in multiple regions and jurisdictions must overcome a number of challenges. Variations in national gambling regulations require agility on everything from payment processes to advertising, whilst even the most established brands must integrate locally in new markets to build trust and a thorough understanding of customer preferences. Turning the opportunity of a new market into a scalable business model is an area where Parimatch have outstanding experience. In this interview, we speak to the CEO of their international business about the opportunities he sees in emerging markets and the challenge of balancing local consumer demands with the weight of a global gaming brand.

For all operators, but particularly the market leaders, there is an increasing need to invest time and resource into building a brand based on responsible gambling practices, not just to meet the demands of regulation but as a core differentiator in a congested market. In that context, Kindred’s recent, high-profile decision to publish the percentage of revenue generated from at-risk gamblers is an important milestone.

As operators work to field a innovative and exciting products that can differentiate them from the competition, compliance leaders have an important role to play; both in speeding up route to market for new products and in shaping company brand and ethos. In this session, we ask the General Counsel at Lotto24 how operators can leverage their compliance team to help positively drive product development and offset the challenge posed by the grey market.

In response to a number of pressing issues including Responsible Gambling, player protection and customer retention, operators are working to deliver a more individualised, player-centric approach. In that context, loyalty programmes – which by definition focus on delivering an exclusive experience for a select group of customers – have an important role to play. In addition to retaining core players in a competitive market, these high profile programmes can be excellent platforms on which to build a responsible company brand that puts the player first. In this session, ICE Connect speaks to 10Bet about the future of their loyalty programme and its role in supporting a player experience which is individualised, compliant and sustainable.

For forward-leaning operators, compliance is not just an obligation, but an opportunity to improve business efficiency, accelerate route to market and offer improved value to the customer. Delivering those benefits in practice requires a proactive approach to generating internal buy-in right across the business. In this joint interview, Betway Group discuss how a board-down compliance culture – integrated with marketing and commercial operations – can be used to generate increased value for customers and drive down an operator’s reputational risk.

During 2020 and even now, gambling habits changed for long-term customers and for new customers who picked up gambling during Covid-19 lockdowns and isolation periods. Most of these people enjoyed their experiences and continue to do so, but there are those who responded differently to their new habits, which may have led to increased vulnerability, especially considering what we all experienced in 2020.
In this session ICE Connect is joined by BKM Evolve and YGAM, who will discuss these topics as well highlighting the benefits of self-regulation; acting pre-emptively to improve reputation and lowering the chance of negative issues arising.

As audiences of ICE Connect are aware, almost all European countries have now introduced some form of regulation for online gambling, but national regulations vary significantly, particularly in respect to player protection. In this discussion, we are sitting down with

ICE Connect sits down with the European Gaming and Betting Association’s President, Maarten Haijer, and will look at what is needed to ensure that Europe’s online gamblers can experience a consistent and high level of player protection wherever they play.

In this session, ICE Connect will discuss the nature of iGaming advertising in regulated & non-regulated markets, specifically discussing Europe. Buying into unfamiliar markets and navigating regulations is often tricky, but it can be solved with effective media planning.

ICE Connect sits down with Clear Media Group to offer a helping hand to those that want to expand their reach and improve their brand.

For those responsible for delivering the future gaming experience, there are perhaps two words that best summarise the road ahead: differentiation and personalisation. In a European gaming market that is subject to increasing levels of regulation, intense competition and considerable consolidation, operators are obliged to maximally differentiate their products and to offer a unique user experience. One way to do that is to employ next-generation technologies to deliver an immersive, personalised player journey. In this session, we speak to the COO of Entain Group about their exciting partnership with Verizon Media and the role of immersive tech in realising the potential of e-sports.

The core objective of the ICE Connect programme is to challenge accepted norms. Just one of those is that operators cannot necessarily differentiate on product in a saturated online market – and instead must rely on brand or bonuses to stand out against the competition. In mature markets, that is a challenging logic given the possibility that future regulatory reviews will significantly curtail bonus schemes in mature European markets. This interview will provide a perspective from a new online operator as they work to deliver a unique player experience.

As the industry emerges into a post-pandemic norm, customers will continue to look for exciting online games and fast access to payments. But this is also the age of crypto-currency and as such, online casinos continue to assess how they can use their technology to create innovative products, build new payment infrastructures, and remain focused on loyalty and security while taking advantage of the boom of cryptocurrencies.

Today, we will be speaking with Boris Kiknadze, CEO of Nexus Group Enterprises, who manage the digital currency casino brand FortuneJack, an online casino that holds a position in the Bitcoin gaming industry.

Identifying who is a safe gambler and who is not can be a tricky issue, especially if operators are only able to get a snapshot of a customers’ actions, rather than following their entire customer journey. Moreover, some operators are unaware that their in-house gambling analytics tools suffer from unintended biases which affects accuracy. ICE Connect sits down with Mindway AI to discuss how they are able to solve these issues by providing new algorithms and data analysis that ensures that every aspect of every game is leads to sustainable gambling for all involved.

Demand for specialist technology skills is high, and gaming has to compete with a host of other industries when searching for candidates.

This is reflected in rising salaries, as evidenced by the 2020 edition of the iGB-Pentasia Salary Survey. This revealed that despite the disruption caused by the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, the employment market for tech specialists was more competitive than ever.

In this session, Pentasia’s Group Managing Director, Alistair Cleland, runs through the key findings of the Salary Survey. Alistair is also joined by Head of Technology Recruitment, Robert Gray, who offers the industry some advice on identifying and onboarding the best candidates available.

As Europe continues to move towards a brighter future, a challenge for land-based gaming is to re-establish business as usual alongside customer safety. But is possible to return to a time before Covid-19 and more importantly: do we want to?

Joining us today at ICE Connect is Per Jaldung, Chairman of the European Casino Associaton, who will discuss how the pandemic challenged assumptions about land-bassed gambling.

As igaming becomes increasingly popular, one way to ensure that operators remain ahead of the curve is to bring the benefits of digital to the casino floor. By doing so they hope to attract and engage with younger audiences, improve revenue and create long-term customers. But how can this be achieved?

ICE Connect speaks with Per Erwin van Lambaart, CEO of Holland Casino who gives their thoughts on the changing Dutch market and what Holland Casino is doing to embrace digital innovations.

Before 2020, the worldwide tourism and hotel industry was seeing an increasing trend towards sophisticated resorts, especially those with a casino element. With Europe reopening, this can only be good news for resort destinations. But what does the future look like for resort locations within Europe and can some of the answers lie in Monaco?

ICE Connect sits down with Pascal Camia from Monte-Carlo Société des Bains de Mer, who will discuss how to safeguard the resort business model and successfully invest in gaming and non-gaming revenue streams.

Commentators have written retail’s obituary on numerous occasions, but it remains a key part of the gambling ecosystem in Europe. It still faces multiple challenges, though. In Germany, the location of shops is being restricted by zoning laws. In Britain, it has faced a double hit from the FOBT stake cut and a trio of Covid-19 lockdowns. In Spain, new restrictions have been promised to limit the sector. And then there’s the ongoing migration of players online. However, a significant number of people remain optimistic about the channel’s future.

In this video, industry experts will discuss how to build the betting shop of the future, touching on developing omnichannel experiences, and how M&A will reshape the market.

Stowe Shoemaker chats with Ron Martin, Senior Vice President and Director of Research and Development at Panasonic Hollywood Labs. Ron Martin been responsible for creating experiences that take users on a ski trip, bring Mickey Mouse to life, and add new levels of interaction to attractions worldwide.

Having worked on attractions such as Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge and even taken Walt Disney World visitors inside an animated cartoon, he explains how this technology can be used for integrated resorts.

For those operators who depend on live sports betting, 2020 was a uniquely challenging year. The initial cessation of the majority of live sport across Europe saw a sharp decline in gambling activity prior to a resumption in the Summer. Re-acquiring and retaining customers who either stopped betting altogether or who were driven into other verticals is vital for the sector, particularly for smaller, non-diversified sportsbook operators who were unable to double down on other revenue channels in the meantime. We speak to one such operator about the challenges facing their sportsbook in 2021, particularly in a market where regulation already requires an innovative and agile business model.

The future of sports betting marketing may now lie in non-traditional methods, so how do we restore the marketing reach while still maintaining a socially responsible focus?

With brand and reputation now cornerstones of industry success, this session will focus on leveraging new marketing strategies to try and avoid strict impositions in the future.

In this session, Chief Executive Oskar Fröberg and Chief Technology Officer Anton Janér provide insights on how esports data differs from stats collected on traditional sports. They outline the ways data is collected and discuss how the business aims to solve the pain points that sportsbook operators deal with when expanding into esports.

While esports may offer bookmakers access to new customers and potentially lucrative revenue streams, it also plays an increasingly important role in the traditional sports ecosystem.

Over in North America’s NFL, The Philadelphia Eagles aim to leverage this opportunity, tapping into a broader range of fans across multiple markets.

In this session, Catherine Carlson, Senior Vice President of Revenue and Strategy, Philadelphia Eagles, joins Esports Entertainment CEO Grant Johnson to discuss how this role develops going forward.

Their use highlights growing investor confidence in the rapidly expanding sports betting and igaming sector.

Industry veterans and executives at Tekkorp Digital Acquisition Corp, Matt Davey and Robin Chhabra, explain why SPACs are fast replacing the traditional IPO as the preferred path to a stock market listing.