JUL AUG 2022

Editor's Letter

It's very easy to get lost in the buzz of a land-based casino.

During our visit to the Hippodrome Casino in Leicester Square, where we host the Global Gaming Awards London every year, it was bizarre to hear the entrance we walked through would have been frequented by elephants around a century ago. Formerly a circus – playing host to names like Charlie Chaplin, Harry Houdini and Anna Pavlova throughout the 20th century – the Hippodrome's rich history is reflected within its walls, even if it is constantly looking to the future and, as Executive Chairman Simon Thomas puts it, "striving for change."

Although we give you a very in-depth five-page feature on the Hippodrome on pages 24-30, the main theme of this issue explores land-based casinos more generally - their popularity, their longevity and their future prospects in an increasingly online world. Like I said, it's very easy to get lost in the buzz of a casino and, when you're there, amid flashing lights, five-star restaurants and table games aplenty, you can see exactly why casinos are inherent to gambling culture: and probably always will be.

Noël Leise, Director of Operations at Holland Casino, is another of our interviewees in this magazine, as he discusses the importance of poker (from a branding sense rather than a revenue POV). In the Netherlands, casino staffing is a pressing issue, which is something Paul Sculpher addressed for the UK market, too, in our March/April edition.

Sculpher is back in this issue, encouraging sustainability within the US market. It's a warning I think the industry needs to acknowledge but, if history is anything to go by, might well go unignored until any potential damage is done. Among our esteemed list of contributors joining Sculpher are Alex Czajkowski, who looks at things from the player's perspective, Ranjana Adhikari, who gives us a "half-time" update for Indian gaming regulation in 2022 and, making her debut, Caroline Ponseti, who articulates a persuasive argument that gaming commentators should use more mainstream language. Perhaps we can all, Gambling Insider included, take note.

Although we have plenty, plenty more in this issue (trust me), I will dedicate one final note to our review of Kambi's Festival of Sportsbook. It was a pleasure for Gambling Insider to partner with the sportsbook supplier during the online event – and there is much to be gleaned here for readers interested in which direction the sports betting market is heading in the coming years. From strength to strength we go.

In the Magazine

THE FULL STACK

Campeon Gaming Co-Founder & CEO Marinos Shiapanis speaks to the GI Huddle about the value of proprietary platforms, and adjusting for different markets

UNREGULATED? UNRELIABLE

California State Lottery’s Deputy Director of Public Affairs & Communications, Carolyn Becker, speaks to the GI Huddle about the dangers of buying lottery products from unregulated sources

THE GLOBAL GAMING AWARDS HEAD TO ASIA ON 22 AUGUST

Asia's inaugural Global Gaming Awards will be held virtually, recognising the most successful companies and individuals in the Asian gaming market

IMMOVABLE

Gambling Insider Editor Tim Poole visits the Hippodrome Casino, ahead of its 10th anniversary, to discuss the longevity and history of land-based casinos with Executive Chairman Simon Thomas.

MORE THAN GAMBLING

Gambling Insider Editor Tim Poole speaks to Holland Casino Director of Operations Noel Leise, about sustaining the appeal of casinos and how land-based operators can compete with a growing online market

SHIFTING BUYING PATTERNS

Todd Sims, SuzoHapp Vice President of Sales, Americas, explains how the gaming industry has changed over the years, picking out the latest trends and also highlighting the importance of in-person events

JURISDICTIONS: GIBRALTAR & ALDERNEY

Gambling Insider talks to Alderney eGambling CEO, Susan O’Leary and Andrew Lyman, Executive Director and Gambling Commissioner of Gibraltar, who clear up the grey area of pre-regulated, offshore jurisdictions

SUSTAINABILITY IN THE US

US sports betting keeps growing and growing... and growing. Regular Gambling Insider contributor Paul Sculpher speaks to industry experts about the dangers of unchecked expansion, and measures they might take to ensure it’s done responsibly

ABUSING THE SYSTEM

Greco’s Ozric Vondervelden and Philip O’Driscoll discuss the proliferation of bonus abusers, comparing this trend in the US and UK markets

REVIEW: KAMBI’S FESTIVAL OF SPORTSBOOK

The week-long event from the sports betting supplier, in partnership with Gambling Insider, delved further into the world of sports betting and its future

ABIOS: BETTING FOR THE NEXT GENERATION

Speaking at Kambi’s Festival of Sportsbook, Abios Founder and CEO Oskar Frцberg explains the major differences between esports and traditional sports, with the former comprising a younger, more digitally based audience

SPORTS BETTING INTEGRITY: FIVE CHALLENGES TO A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE

Speaking at Kambi’s Festival of Sportbook, three sports betting integrity experts offer insight into the latest issues within this key aspect of the vertical

GAMING IN INDIA: HALF-TIME 2022

Ranjana Adhikari, Partner at IndusLaw, and Shashi Shekhar Misra, Associate at IndusLaw, discuss the Good, the Bad & the Ugly for Gaming in India – halfway through 2022

What does the future look like for lottery - both retail and online?

We spoke with Will Whitehead, Commercial Director, mkodo; Julin Shaw, Senior Director of Brand Marketing and Business Development, NeoPollard Interactive; and Wayne Pickup, Chief Executive of Camelot North America

FROM THE PLAYERS’ SIDE

Veteran iGaming marketeer Alex Czajkowski takes a look at things from the opposite side of the fence, in a bid to encourage sustainability among casino brands

SELLING MORE THAN A PRODUCT

CEO & Founder of Softswiss Ivan Montik speaks to Gambling Insider about the importance of placing people at the heart of a business, amid ever-changing and volatile markets

THE IMPORTANCE OF STREAMERS

Industry leaders from Armadillo Studios – EveryMatrix, Relax Gaming, Evoplay & Gaming Arts discuss the increasing importance of influencers/streamers in the gaming industry

The challenges of personalisation

BtoBet COO Dima Reiderman speaks to Gambling Insider about the complexities of personalising sportsbook offerings for the user, and how best to advance a player’s online experience

Rewarding the underdogs

Karl Zammit, Head of Trading at PandaScore, discusses the constantly shifting landscapes within esports betting

Cutting the jargon

The gaming industry has become mainstream in the US. Caroline Ponseti, Senior Director at The Herald Group, says we need to start talking like it

Merging the transatlantic divide

XLMedia’s VP of Europe, Richard Gale, discusses some of the lessons US markets, and its operators and affiliates, can learn from Europe as they start to mature

FINAL WORD

Gambling Insider looks at the future of iGaming with BGaming Executive Director Marina Ostrovtsova