Poll: What will be the biggest growth driver for 2018?
The next 12 months are likely to see major movements in M&A, market liberalisation, technology and product innovation
With 2018 industry predictions flooding the EGR mailbox, the debate over the biggest growth drivers for the next 12 months has raised some interesting suggestions.
The most popular remark by industry professionals has been M&A, and with a GVC-Ladbrokes Coral deal on the horizon this is almost a certainty.
It will be interesting to see how some of the smaller operators develop in 2018 as LeoVegas completes the integration of its acquisition with Royal Panda and could well look for more deals.
Elsewhere, with The Stars Group and Mr Green hiring former Hills and PPB M&A execs this year, there is potential for even further industry consolidation.
The opening up of more major markets could also have a huge impact on the industry, and Sweden will start accepting license applications as of July 2018 to prepare for regulation in January 2019.
Focus has also been on movements in Africa and Latin America as certain markets become regulated and both operators and suppliers initiate more deals in these jurisdictions.
Finally, both product innovation and wider technology movements will likely be rife in the next 12 months, with 2018 predicted as the year operators will widely adopt blockchain and crypto technologies.
Lottoland was the first major operator to do so, announcing the launch of its “world-first” bitcoin lotto jackpot today.
A number of industry professionals and EGR poll voters have agreed that product innovation in sports betting is a must, as the vertical has become somewhat stagnant and mobile technology has not been fully utilised.
What that in mind, this week we ask what will be the biggest driver of growth for 2018?
Have your say below:
Poll: What will be the biggest growth driver in egaming for 2018? Context: https://t.co/STs27dd32x
— EGR Global (@EGRIntel) December 18, 2017