“The game’s afoot!” as Sherlock Holmes would say. Gaming is expanding and evolving at speed. Customer expectations are sky-high. Now is the time to capitalise on last year’s enforced digital acceleration by adopting a cloud infrastructure strategy. In this article, I’ll explain why (and how).
With the return of live sporting events with in-person supporters, the real money gaming (RMG) sector could be forgiven for taking a breather. Finally, things are getting back to normal! But we all know things will never be the same again – and that’s fine. Better than fine, in view of the tremendous growth opportunities now coming into play.
Covid is only part of the picture. It’s getting easier for companies to operate internationally, as regulatory environments start to align. Rising smartphone ownership around the world is creating millions more potential consumers. Customers everywhere have developed a voracious and varied appetite for online entertainment, inspired by – but surely outlasting – pandemic lockdowns.
So real money gaming is on the brink of a new era. The industry as a whole is expected to grow by 11% this year, and online gambling is driving that growth. Online already accounted for 52.3% of the overall UK market in April to September 2020, and it’s still gathering momentum.
Wooing the post-Covid customer
A recent Fjord Trends report from Accenture suggests that the pandemic has disrupted consumers’ rituals and purchasing patterns for good, in gaming as in other areas of life. RMG companies will have to work at re-establishing emotional ties that have been weakened.
At the same time, Covid has created unparalleled opportunities for operators which succeed in revitalising customer relationships and nurturing new ones at home and abroad.
Consumers are seeking personalised experiences with tons of interesting data to sift and thrilling, real-time notifications to act on. Gamification, ease of use and community interactions are all essential ingredients for enticing customers and instilling loyalty amid fierce competition.
Five reasons to back the cloud
Innovation will be the key to growth and leadership for RMG companies. Market intelligence firm VIXIO estimates the iGaming market could be worth a staggering $8.4 billion by 2025. Unlocking that potential will involve adopting new technologies, and modern infrastructure in particular.
That means the cloud. Its exceptional scalability, speed and reliability make the cloud the perfect platform for online gaming:
- It enables RMG operators to give customers the high quality, immersive and personalised experiences they desire. For example, the ability to watch live sport through an app with real-time stats and in-play betting.
- It allows you to bring new services on stream more quickly, helping your company stay ahead of fast-moving trends.
- Its extreme flexibility means you can predict and manage peaks in traffic for major events like the Grand National or the FIFA World Cup.
- Its technologies speed up fraud detection and enhance data security, protecting you and your customers.
- It makes expanding into new markets simpler and more cost-effective because you can adapt one successful blueprint for different regulatory environments.
Make the first move
Migrating to the cloud is a big task, but it needn’t be a struggle. Find a technology partner you can trust, with experience at running large-scale gaming systems on AWS globally – a partner which understands your business context as well as having expertise in cloud technologies. Begin with an assessment of your current infrastructure, then move step by step through a proven process to decide which technologies are most appropriate for your business. Then deliver, together.
Take the next step
To learn more about how cloud can help you gain a competitive advantage, you can read our real money gaming whitepaper here.
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