Data key in a post-COVID industry

Moderated by GLMS President Ludovico Calvi, a panel titled ‘Lottery: the technology challenge’ on day two of SBC’s CasinoBeats Malta Digital Summit, saw industry professionals come together to discuss the post-covid landscape of the betting world. 

Opening up the discussion, Jari Vahanen, Partner, the Finnish Gambling Consultants, discussed his experience in the nordic region stating: “Our situation in the Nordics is different to the rest of europe. In Finland we have 50% of our business coming through digital channels, most through mobile. It helped us during COVID times of course as we could continue our business. 

“If I think about Spain for example where the lottery had to stop because digital was so small so for us it helped. If I think about mobile and social media, it’s two different issues.”

Joining Vahanen on the TVBET-sponsored panel was Mehdi Slimani, Head of Digital Transformation at MDJS who provided a Moroccan perspective on the industry’s digital shift: “During a digital transformation everyone becomes a consumer. It helps to identify the improvement areas and how to meet this expectation. The communication on social media is an important leverage to make our product known and adopted by the majority.  

“In Morocco we believe there is a dynamic that we want to be part of. The penetration rate of the mobile phone is over 100% and it’s something we see as an opportunity to create some environments where players can meet and exchange views – we can already see that on our social media pages.  

“It’s something we want to use and a tool that we want to use to keep growing and to keep attracting both consumers and sales. 

“The only way for you to address your customer in a way that suits him as an individual is that you have to have a better understanding of his behaviours and interests. Data is the key. You can go with surveys but it’s not 100% accurate so data can tell you more.”

Slimani’s thoughts on the use of data were echoed by the Head of Digital at Lottomatica Gianfranco Allocca who added: “I think we have to consider digital context not only gaming context. You have to consider other sectors. Like my netflix is different from yours. I have three kids so netflix offers me cartoons whereas to colleagues it shows other films. Why? Because it works on data so it can offer the right content to the right person. We have worked a lot on that.

“Thanks to data and customer information we are able to offer specific tickets to specific customers. It’s important because to the customer it’s caring as everyone knows we are working to offer specific entertainment experiences tailored for individuals. 

“The message is for sure that data and customer knowledge is critical. Data and technology creates retention. This is one of the big challenges especially for the lottery as there are lots of customers but their frequency and retention is low so data and analytics are fundamental. 

Allocca, Slimani and Vahanen were joined on the panel by TVBET CMO Dmitriy Paliants who concluded: “The lottery operators need to implement their best practices to stay competitive in this market. The lottery market is conservative so operators need to offer a new type of product that players haven’t seen before such as fast lottery games that allows players to play every three minutes or so. 

“Betting is entertainment so we need to offer players products that make them happy. If we check player analytics, lottery players don’t spend much time on websites. Live games can help retain players. Classic lotteries and casino games are not competing with each other, they have become part of something bigger. 

“We are facing a tough period. Governments need cash to sustain economy recovery and the gaming sector is also under constant evaluation. What we are trying to do is push lotteries but I think that lottery games are the perfect games because they are for the mass market. 

“Lotteries is a safer market in terms of spending and frequency so for the digital channel what I can say is that there are rules where the customer can decide how much he can spend per week/month etc and set limits.”

CasinoBeats Malta Digital, delivered in association with Gaming Malta, takes place from 30 June to 2 July 2020 and features 40 virtual exhibitors, numerous networking opportunities, 130 leading speakers, and countless business opportunities for 3,000 senior decision-makers from operators, suppliers, affiliates and other industry stakeholders.

Alongside the exhibition, networking and conference, all delegates also gain access to the full range of entertainment on offer, including free-play slots, daily competitions and a selection of prizes such as iPads and cash.

Find full details of CasinoBeats Malta Digital, including information about how to register and the discounts available on company group passes, at the event’s official website: https://sbcevents.com/casinobeats-malta-digital/