Gaming or gambling, call it what you will, and like it or loathe it, it’s now a major part of the online environment. Often tipped as one of the few online businesses likely to make serious money in the long term, in the last few years online gambling has changed beyond recognition. Where once gambling on the internet was seen as the preserve of small time gamers and gamblers, now most major portals have their own gambling channel, and the market is buoyant.
The online gambling market in the UK is due to undergo a period of deregulation in the next couple of years, thanks largely to the Budd report of July 2001, that considered the whole gamut of gambling laws in this country, but with an emphasis on the then emerging sphere of gambling online.
As the Budd Report recognised, the major factor affecting attitudes to gambling in the UK was the introduction of The National Lottery. Suddenly gambling on a regular basis was an every day activity carried out by large and diverse swathes of the UK population without having the negative impacts (rampant gambling addictions, running up huge debts etc) that were predicted by the gloom-mongers. This change in attitudes wasn’t about to make hundreds of thousands of people start going into betting shops, which can be intimidating, but it helped open people up to the idea of gambling from home, and online was the perfect method.
The UK market is buoyant for a number of reasons. Firstly, the UK has a more pro-online gambling legal environment than many European countries, enabling a lot of technology providers and gambling companies to promote their sites in this country, such as 888.com advertising on the tube or William Hill advertising across various UK portals.
Secondly, the population of the UK has always had a propensity to gamble. Just look at the venerable history of bookies at horse racing, or high street betting shops, or bingo halls up and down the country, let along the Lottery. Statistics always show that the UK has a higher per-capita gambling rate than most other European countries. The demand from punters is definitely there, so naturally players such as Gamesys are going to be there to fulfil it.
Lastly there is the increasing regulation of the US online gambling market, forcing software providers to look for alternative markets, with the UK being top of their target list. The squeeze in the US is not only legislative, but also moral through powerful anti-gambling lobbying and campaigning groups. There is even talk of new laws that will inhibit US credit card companies from allowing their cards to be used for the placing of gambling stakes, a move that would also impact on the UK providers, although new payment methods will be explored.
The increased competition won’t be all bad for the UK market. We’ll almost certainly see an improvement in the quality of the product, with better games and better designs backed by higher levels of technology. We’ll also see, however, more competitive pricing and an impact on margins, as more companies seek the same gamblers, forcing up the cost of acquisition. Inevitably some smaller players will fall by the wayside, and we can expect to see some mergers as a few strong brands start to dominate the marketplace.
There is still plenty of room for growth in the UK market, however. The increasing uptake of broadband allows for a better player experience, which encourages longer playing times and more interaction with gaming sites.
The market is already saturated with Casinos, so we can expect to see other areas of pay-for-play gaming to come to the fore, such as bingo, which is currently an under-developed area online. This also opens up online gambling to new markets, as silver surfers start to find games that they understand and relate to online. Online Instant Win Gaming sites such as Jackpotjoy.com often appeal to a female audience far more than full-on casino sites, which have a predominantly male player base, although the casinos will always attract those with deeper pockets.
We’ll also see an increasing move away from PC-based online gambling, and a change in playing habits as people pass the time by gambling via their mobile phones, PDAs and Interactive TV, technologies that are still in their relative infancy at the moment but that hold great potential for both provider and player.
If the major players in the online gambling market are to avoid an increase in government-led legislation and taxation, there will need to be some demonstrable self-regulation and social awareness. There is the very real danger of a US-style backlash against gambling generally, but against the easy-to-play online gambling opportunities in particular. It’s important that the UK market leaders institute a level of care for problem gamblers, taking a sensible approach to look after clients, making sure that players aren’t spending above their means and risking debt.
The UK is a great place to be working in online gambling at the moment, with deregulation just around the corner. UK land-based operators are some of the strongest players in the sector in Europe, and as they increasingly move business online they’re seeing great results. What they also bring with them is a very high standard of customer service.
The UK has some of the best interactive developers in the world, and in the last five years they have moved into the online gaming space, coming up with a lot of novel and innovative approaches to online gaming and gambling. Instead of being about casinos and sport brands, they have made the area much more entertainment focused, giving a fun experience, and sites such as jackpotjoy.com and bingo providers are perfectly placed to fill that space.
Whatever comes our way in terms of legislation and regulation, there is no doubt that online users accept gaming and gambling as a central part of life on the internet, regardless of whether they partake or not. Thus the marketplace can only get stronger, as more people discover that not only is online gambling fun, it can be very lucrative as well – whether player, provider or publisher
