Gaming Eminence grabs Thomas Rosander, CEO at Real Luck Group to see his perspective on the impact technology has had within the gambling industry.
GE) Over the past 10 years we have seen the rise of everyday technology in not only making people's lives easier, but also the capturing of individual information or what some would call our “digital footprint”. How have you seen these changes affect the gambling industry?
TR) This mass adoption of new technology has presented a fantastic opportunity for gambling brands as the player and potential players are increasingly online, just a few taps away on their mobile devices. From a player perspective, it has never been easier to engage with gambling brands, thanks to more sophisticated devices and network speeds.
From a provider’s point of view, the “digital footprint” you mention has seen huge shifts in the way we engage with players, not least for marketing teams. We are able to know more about our players than ever before, meaning we’re able to offer a highly personalised experience - every player is like a VIP - thanks to sophisticated CRM capabilities. We are also able to optimise our acquisition efforts more than ever before, making use of algorithms to find the right players in the right places.
With that said, privacy and security have never been more important to players and we can see there has been a step change in the way big companies like Apple and Facebook are approaching this topic. It’s something that the gambling industry has to be keenly aware of as we continue to aim to offer what customers want while also respecting their wishes.
GE) With the advancements in technology, it is playing more of a role in the gambling industry. Do you feel operators are leaning more towards wanting to be considered a tech business and if so why?
TR) Yes I think this is the case for many operators and it’s perfectly understandable when you consider how important technology is to modern, online gambling operators. It used to be that being a gambling operator was primarily about marketing and customer service and, while these are clearly still very important pillars, they are now heavily reliant on technology, as are so many other parts of the business.
At Luckbox, we see ourselves as a tech company, as we have worked hard to develop an infrastructure designed to attract a new generation of players. This includes everything from how we use data and business intelligence, our highly agile tech stack, to coming up with new games that haven’t been done anywhere before. We believe that this tech, along with our team, is what give us the advantage and will help us engage with GenZ better than most.
GE) If you had to list the top 5 advancing technologies on the minds of leaders within the gambling industry, what would they be and why?
TR) I’m not sure I can break it down into five because I think it’s all covered by Web3.
Like most online industries, Web3 is high on the list of priorities for most gambling companies at this stage. It’s still early days and there’s a lot of figuring out to do but there’s clearly an appetite among the younger demographic for Web3-related tech.
Everything from payments to RNG games can, in theory, be supported by blockchain so this obviously is a huge opportunity for the gambling industry.
Aside from that, I would say the video game industry is becoming increasingly influential across societies and I believe the gambling industry needs to embrace this more than ever, with more than three billion people regularly playing video games. Certainly, Luckbox is welcoming the influence of video game culture and we see the importance of being somewhere gamers feel at home.
About our contributor
Thomas Rosander is CEO of Luckbox. He is an experienced igaming executive whose former positions include Chief Executive Officer of Dunder Casino, Chief Product Officer at Mr Green Online Casino (LSE: WMH), and Section Head Business Intelligence at bwin (LSE: ENT). Thomas was also Engagement Director and Business Intelligence Director at game developer Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: EA).