Live video on demand

"The revolution will not be televised" Gil Scott-Heron warned us in 1970. Everything else will be.

Facebook Live had 3.5 billion viewers - two years ago. Live stream broadcaster Twitch set a new record for hours watched in October 2020, reaching 1.6 billion, representing a 99% YoY growth from October 2019. Live streaming viewership across major platforms viewership increased from 3.89 billion hours in Q3 2019 to 7.46 billion hours in Q3 2020.

And the stats on the interaction with these live streams are shockingly high, like 101,362 "engagements" on average, and 165% more comments than on-demand videos. People like live online video, one upside from COVID-19 and worldwide lockdowns. So what are the implications for online gaming? Of course, you have live dealers. It started with Adam Anhang's live dealer for Stanley Ho in Macau 20 years ago, essential for the Asian market since "Lady Luck doesn't live in a PC". More recently, industry leader Evolution, with their live dealers, has seen their total operating revenue jump for the three months to 30 September 2020 to € 140.2m ($166.3m), up 48% from € 94.7m in the third quarter of 2019.

And you have live streaming of sports events, such as the FA Cup that has UK regulators in a sweat over deals that allow Bet365, William Hill, Coral, Ladbrokes, Unibet and Paddy Power to show the games online till 2024.This space will continue to boom as live betting on sports has replaced ante-betting over the past few years. You have, or could have and should have, live online horse racing, certainly a boon to Asian operators, providing virtually around the clock racing to watch and bet on.

In these days of COVID, you have operators setting up cameras in their land-based casinos, offering proxy betting, where "Betty" sits in for the player, following their hit or twist instructions. Players then bet on the outcome of that seated player, replete with recent hand history and historical RTP. There are even cameras on non-RNG-based slots where you can control your bet against mechanical one-armed bandits results, with an infinite number of players possible, each following their own strategies, playing along. If Lady Luck doesn't live in a PC, which has motivated the whole live dealer niche, this too could apply to increasing the appeal of slots. How we handle features with a variable choice remains to be seen.

Beyond the product itself, firms like Bambuser.com bring the live sales component into the mix. "Tune into our live webcast from 7 - 7:30pm for free spins and other promos for live viewers." And customer support? There's nothing like face-to-face support to get through that deposit process, rife with up-sell and cross-sell opportunities.

There is no aspect of our player interactions that can't be supplemented or improved by real-time video interaction. With the rise of 5G (the health worries are a myth,we're told by experts) for latency-free video communications, this will only become more prevalent in the online gaming industry.

Of course, people will still play their favourite RNG slots games. But that will be supported by live video pit bosses, suggesting this game has been particularly loose tonight, or this jackpot is now at $X million, or we have this new game with similar volatility and RTP but way better paylines than your current favourite. You don't even have to tip after their suggestion pays off, but just wait for the ability to do just that!

Sorry, Gil, the revolution will be televised. It's just our definition of what is televised has changed. It is our revolution.

"That was probably where my interest in the casino industry really started, because there had not really been casinos in Sweden prior to that," Jaldung, now 53, tells Gambling Insider. "I wrote a paper on this and when I returned to the police force, the Commissioner appointed me to be the contact person to the country's casino company (Casino Cosmopol) and the gaming board. In 2002, I left the police and was appointed head of security and surveillance at one of the casinos in 2001. I held that position for about three years, during which we started to build the casino, staffed it and opened it. I was then promoted to general manager at the Gothenburg casino and worked in operations there for about three years, as well. In 2008, I was promoted to Casino Cosmopol CEO. So for 12 years now I've been the CEO. Up until last year, we had four casinos; unfortunately, the pandemic forced us to close one of them permanently and we have three temporarily closed that we hope to re-open soon."

When discussing his early influences, it's of note that Jaldung's father was not alone. Being married to an American, Jaldung's late father-in-law was a huge casino fan. Together, they visited US casinos annually and, although he himself was never much of a player, Jaldung fondly remembers the exciting environment. He found himself further inspired down the casino path a few years later, when working in law enforcement. He particularly recalls raiding illegal casinos in Sweden, once even physically carrying out a "really crappy" roulette table that substituted diamonds with improvised bolts.

"When you open a casino, it's especially critical, because everyone wants to test you," he remarks. "It was the same for us. We had a lot of foreign players and experienced casino people who come to test you. It's an interesting time the first few weeks, with inexperienced staff. You're still breaking in all the equipment so you're vulnerable. I remember working 24 hours a day for weeks at the beginning. Of course we had incidents. We had some cheating, some fraud. But you gain experience dealing with such threats. We also had great trainers, in our case from Holland Casino, with around 100 people who helped us with both security and gaming; we got so much knowhow from Holland Casino when we set up Casino Cosmopol in Sweden.

"They helped us keep things in order so we wouldn't take too big of a hit as we learned the industry. There had never been casinos in Sweden so we had to train all the dealers, all the cash-desk operators, everybody. There are certainly a lot of risks running a land-based casino. But if you look back that was 20 years ago, and what we have now you can't even compare, with all the systems and professionalism we offer today, and of course all the security and safety we have in place."

The incidents Jaldung describes conjure up images of the typical Hollywood scenario: thieves or conmen visiting a casino with only one goal in mind- to swindle the house. Ocean's Eleven and Casino immediately come to mind and, when we bring these classic movies into conversation, Jaldung raises broader points about the industry. While he isn't sure a film based on Sweden's casino market would be a thrilling hit, he is naturally an admirer of the all-star casted Ocean's Eleven, and the 1995 Joe Pesci, Robert De Niro and Sharon Stone blockbuster Casino.

One thing Jaldung laments, however, is how - despite their age - these movies still influence the way stakeholders see casinos today. "They think that's how it is in casinos," Jaldung explains. "It's a long time since organised crime was visibly involved in Las Vegas operations. In many casinos, there's been a shady start in this industry, there's no doubt about that. But today, it's corporate business and is highly regulated when it comes to responsible gambling, anti-money laundering, and all kinds of fraud. It's a different world. But some people watch these movies and think that's how it is, and that's not true."

For Jaldung, dispelling these myths is a personal mission - especially in his role as chairman of the European Casino Association (ECA), one he took on in 2015. Much of his everyday work involves laying out the facts of the modern-era industry. He says: "There's no lack of risks when it comes to starting a casino. We've been robbed, we've had fires, we've had floods. But ultimately everybody was safe. I think these risks go back to the fact casinos are open 24/7 and attract a lot of people. Inside the casino, we have to ensure people are safe. In fact, I would say actually being inside the casino nowadays is one of the safest places in the city."