Bringing in new technology could be the biggest challenge the Asian online gambling industry is facing today, according to ComTrade Gaming Director of interactive Steven Valentine.
Bringing in new technology could be the biggest challenge the Asian online gambling industry is facing today.
Steven Valentine, director of interactive for ComTrade Gaming, said streamlining businesses presents the most opportunity for disruption in the Asian market, whose operators rely heavily on manual processes.
“I think a lot of disruptions are going to come from people streamlining their businesses,” Valentine told CalvinAyre.com. “I think people will bring technology in to streamline that business and give a lot better player experience to seamlessly allow integration with different suppliers, and better CRM, better loyalty and better bonusing.”
However, gambling businesses in Asia are used to their old ways, and that could pose a challenge when the need for new technology arises.
“The biggest challenge for innovating really (is) just the fact that people are so used to the way they do business,” Valentine said. “It’s always difficult for people to change what they do now and to embrace new technology which allows them to streamline that business to give better player experiences.”
Gaming officials in Asia have started rolling the dice on plans that will innovate the industry. During the iGaming Asia held in Macau last March, Geaspar Byrne of AGTech told CalvinAyre.com one of the provinces in China initiated testing mobile options for their online sports lottery, with other provinces soon to follow.
Mobile gambling is giving physical casinos across Asia a run for their money, although some countries are facing tough challenges. In the Philippines, for example, payments is a problem due to infrastructure limitations in the country, DFNN’s Ricky Banaag said. “It’s a work in progress, but we’re making good progress,” he said.
