The pace of digitisation in the real money gaming (RMG) industry is accelerating globally, with a huge rise in the popularity of online gambling since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic last year. The UK Gambling Commission reports that online gambling is now the largest combined segment of the market by gross gambling yield (GGY) at £3.1 billion.
In parallel to this boom in online betting, the regulatory environment is also evolving. We’re on the verge of a new era for the industry. Market forces and advances in technology have combined to create a golden opportunity for RMG companies that are primed and ready to take advantage of the evolving regulatory situation.
The regulatory sands are shifting
Alongside the acceleration of digital transformation, the regulatory environment for real money gaming has changed significantly in recent years. In Europe, there is a complex patchwork of regulatory frameworks. In the US, the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) was revoked in 2013, enabling states to legalise sports betting and online gambling. Laws differ within regions, but regulators are beginning to provide more clarity around online sports betting and gambling in terms of replica data versus data stacks needing to be on-premise. This opens up exciting new opportunities for RMG operators to expand internationally.
Look to the cloud
To take a leadership position, innovation will be vital. There’s no going back to how things were pre-pandemic. RMG operators which have already invested in cloud as part of their growth strategy are now looking to maximise their investment to expand their offer into new territories at speed. That’s because the cloud enables a blueprint of what works in one country to be taken into new regulatory environments more easily and cost-effectively. And being able to implement proven and repeatable deployment patterns, tailored to accommodate local regulatory frameworks, will provide a clear competitive advantage going forward.
There are five steps to take:
- Start by reviewing your platform against your business objectives and growth strategy.
- Understand your application architecture and your options within the regulations.
- Automate by migrating to infrastructure-as-code and introducing continuous deployment.
- Optimise by upgrading elements of the cloud solutions so that shared services and economies of scale can be achieved, consider the opportunity offered by cloud-native services such as serverless computing.
- Evaluate the results and put processes in place to make your business model more effective in every territory you’re going to be operating in.
Partner for success
For RMG operators which are ready to expand, you don’t need to go it alone. As you build your partner ecosystem, it’s important to consider both technology, credibility and domain experience when you’re deciding who to collaborate with. Choose partners which not only understand your business and your sector but also share your internal culture and business ideals. Think about the right fit in terms of project delivery ethos, ability to pivot quickly, consistency of delivery, and ability to meet hard deadlines while ensuring no drop in existing service levels. After all, the start of the Premier League waits for nobody! A team with experience in other, aligned sectors is also valuable. Have your partners got experience of delivering in the health, banking or financial services sectors as well as for RMG businesses?
The future is bright
Going forward there will be further consolidation in the market, with more mergers and acquisitions as companies look to create investment capacity to push into growing markets in the US and Asia. In India, for example, the potential for RMG around the Indian Premier League (IPL) is huge. Cloud will play an important part, as companies look to deliver a reliable service with periods of sustained ‘load’ and multiple opportunities for many different odds.
Take the next step
Are you ready to take advantage of this golden opportunity to expand? To learn more about how cloud can help you gain a competitive advantage, you can read our real money gaming whitepaper here.
Want to know more?
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