Can you explain the make-up of Japan Solutions?
Japan Solutions is an alliance we set up last year, partnering Japanese specialists together. Essentially, Japan Solutions is an alliance of marketers (Windstorm Media Communications), payment solutions (Tiger Pay) and gaming solution providers (Tiger Games). This partnership creates a bespoke business perfectly suited the Japanese market. The alliance is open and growing. It’s a way of behaving in a market with unique conditions, and acts as a model that European companies should adopt when trying to break into the Japanese market.
This is because the Japanese consumer is unique; they base their judgement of a product on how well it is branded, as well as how original and innovative a brand can be. So creating a unique market entry is something European operators and suppliers looking to enter Japan must do. Large Japanese corporations have been using their unique method for years, which is different from the rest of the world, and customers respond to it. Therefore, it's essential to understand the unique structure of its market when making an entrance. Japan Solutions offers an example to European companies of how to do this.
Could you tell us more about Japan Solutions' approach to the Japanese market?
There isn’t just one method, one structure and one approach; it's more integrated. At Windstorm, we still need to do the right kind of marketing, but this partnership gives us a strong frontend to increase the user’s experience. This is where the concept of the alliance comes in. Even if you market your brand correctly, send a message, and place it in the right places, the whole effort will be worthless if the services aren't up to customers' expectations. The selection of Payment solutions and Game solutions is crucial, and brand's must choose from vast available choices. The payment solution must back up the branding that’s been put in place, because it’s important to establish trust. So we at Windstorm Media have Tiger Pay on board as part of our payment alliance. It has comprehensive services, including full customer service to Japanese markets. Customer service is fully manned by native speakers who are experienced in their role. This is important when your payment service operates in a grey market, such as Japan. You want to hear your native tongue to give you reassurance that your money is safe. We've asked Tiger Games to join the force because of their collective selection of games and understanding of the Japanese market. They have a great team of researchers constantly checking the market for the next big thing.
Windstorm's responsibility is to correctly promote online casino brands using all media. Especially mass media through TV and radio, which form just one aspect of our fully comprehensive service, but is essential when one is trying to make a considerable dent in the market. With each alliance providing what each is expected to provide, the synergy becomes greater. Japan solutions is an attempt to provide the best collective solutions for anyone seeking to make a difference in the Japanese market.
How does this differ from typical activity and partnership models in Japan’s gaming market?
What I’m really proud and passionate about is: I don’t think there has ever been an alliance for the Japanese market like this before. Most operators try to enter the Japanese market and work with local affiliates.
So there is competition for the services of affiliates. Payment solutions, operators and marketers are typically all competing with each other. These companies did not think to look outside their own sector, instead staying within their own 360-degree sphere of influence. No one has really looked outside and tried to create a synergy between payments, marketing and gaming.
This is what we’re all about. Companies come to all the great conventions but only see things sideways, focusing on the competitors around them. Japan Solutions can, therefore, provide something different to what is typically found in the industry. We can offer greater assurances that customers will see the on boarding process through, as there is a relationship between the stages in which a player goes through to onboard. This way the customer experience is all connected.
What are the legal considerations companies looking to enter Japan should consider? Japan is a compliance-based grey market, so how should potential entrants approach the market legally?
It’s important that European firms and companies from markets outside Japan get the necessary help from a compliance standpoint when entering. This is because Japan is one of the biggest gaming markets; it is just that no one reports how much they make because it is unregulated.
So it will be hard for operators and suppliers entering this large and complicated space, as they may step on the toes of, say, a bigger operator and not know it. Therefore, it’s important they have some market training and assistance when entering Japan.
I think the tendency from some is to ignore the issue of legality in Japan, or at least they try to let it remain ambiguous. From what I have gathered, Japan has a huge potential to become one of the biggest markets in the world. We're talking about combining England and the rest of Europe, maybe even more. That's how big the Japanese market is or will be in the near future. With the close of the Chinese market during the Covid-19 pandemic – and the crackdown on junkets and updated gaming laws in Macau – every operator there is now looking to move into the Japanese market.
