** UPDATE: for a complete video recording of the panel, please Click Here.

In addition to showing off with photos of the lifestyle of the online gambling filthy rich and notoriously famous, I actually found time at the Dublin conference to … well, work. At the time of our panel, as you would imagine, the room was packed with dozens of iGaming executives, eager for the highly anticipated debate to begin. Flattered as I was, it took me few minutes to get through them and then I realized I was in the wrong room :)

Quick reminder — the panel was structured in a viewpoint model, meaning a topic was to be debated by experts dealing in different practices of our highly moral industry. The panel participants were:

• Keith O’Loughlin, CEO, Boylesports, Providing the B2C/Operator perspective
• Richard Hogg, CMO, Betting Promotion, Providing the external supplier perspective
• Staffan Lindgren, Executive Director, NYX Interactive, Providing the B2B/Platform Provider perspective
• Shahar Attias, Founder & CEO, Hybrid Interaction Ltd., Providing the CRM & Retention perspective (and looking damn good while doing so)

The content discussed turned out to be an overly complex description of yet another Regulated Markets debate. Regardless of the topic, the speakers just went back to this point and provided educated answers to fit this new landscape – and the audience roared with delight (or snored? Couldn’t really say because of the intense lighting).

Nothing wrong with talking about regulated markets – it’s logical that people talk about what they perceive as important TO THEM at a specific moment. I was hoping to cover additional topics as well, but don’t get me wrong. It really was a good and healthy symposium, and if you missed it you should probably stick your head in an oven and get it over with to diminish your humiliation (uh, Thomas, remember that you’ll need to actually turn the oven ON before inserting your noggin).

Is there that much to talk about when it comes to regulated markets? Of course:

• Because of regulation, the landscape will become more and more competitive. Consolidations will make it nearly impossible for the small to mid-sized operators to effectively work in regular markets. When you add taxation into the equation, you understand why everyone is looking to cuddle in a niche market (whether it’s an economic/geographic market, a product, or a defined group of fans)
• “During the Gold Rush, the only ones making lots of money were those selling tools,” so in theory, gaming software manufacturers should peak in such an environment. But the requirements imposed by the legislative bodies make it harder and harder to remain an authorized vendor, which limits sales of these tools.
• Mobile is now no longer an illusion, at least as far as Sports Betting goes. Any offering not optimized for mobile has no place in the modern world, especially in regulated markets, considering the fierce competition and decreased profit margins.
• No money will be made in a regulated U.S. market within its first 2-4 years.
• The industry will probably witness a certain disruption in the near future (it needs one!) because in terms of products and marketing procedures, we’ve see too much “more of the same” in the recent years.
• Answering our own reader, JJ WOODS, who asked “regarding the regulation Topic , i certainly think you should include ireland!”, Keith from BoyleSports said that he personally believes that the upcoming decree is not good enough for the Irish market; this is quite unsatisfactory, considering the never-ending thirst the Irish people have towards betting in particular. Since the country has one of the more advanced infrastructures in the world and already is a major technological hub (with Yahoo!, Google and many others having huge centers in Dublin), not having sophisticated regulations to fit the market and its needs is a sheer disappointment for all parties involved.
• Affiliates lose their advantage as a primary acquisition tool within regulated markets (due to the diversity of legalized marketing channels). As such the customers’ mix is now mainly composed of many one-timers with low NGR. Therefore, maximizing the existing Players Lifetime Value becomes a huge objective for any reasonable B2C operator.

Certainly after reading this short review, you now feel like a more complete human being. CRM people hardly ever travel to conferences, so this is why this blog was created to begin with, answering a question you have no doubt asked yourself during many (MANY) dateless nights – who you gonna call?

** UPDATE: for a complete video recording of the panel, please Click Here.