US predictions for 2020 – including more M&A and the impact of Apple's upcoming iOS guidelines

Dominic Mansour, CEO of Bragg Gaming

M&A – The M&A activity has been relentless in 2019 with the Flutter-Stars deal dominating the headlines more recently. I’d expect this year to be followed by another one of consolidation but it’s difficult to forecast the next mega deal (could it be DraftKings?) With the US growth and ongoing regulation in Latam, it will drive more consolidation as key players continue to look for scale and margins against increasing taxation and compliance costs, balanced by the certainty regulatory frameworks provide investors.

Responsible gaming – A new year and I expect more developments in the area of responsible gaming. As more US states are looking to legalize gambling, we anticipate an increased focus on player protection from regulators and lawmakers, as has been the case in Europe. They are likely to look at already established markets such as the UK which is currently looking to improve its responsible gaming frameworks. As part of this, a proposal has been floated to introduce a £2 stake limit on online casino which we believe would drive a proportion of players offshore, and therefore have the opposite of the desired effect. No matter the jurisdiction, it is important that the industry can drive a collective sensible structure that protects the vulnerable while allowing everyone else to enjoy and play within their means.

Not in 2020 – Despite what many argue as they look at the potential of new technology, I believe that the rise of the connectivity through smartwatches is not going to drive much, if any impact into gaming next year. Although global sales soared to around 100 million units in 2018, their functionality is appealing more to the fit and energetic, but not really going to do much for a gaming experience in that sense – outside of at best, a single sports bet. Crypto’s anonymity may sound appealing and will certainly assist growth in the greyer markets, but I just can’t see it breaking through into mainstream regulated gambling for the one big reason of anonymity, especially while the increase of regulation is focused on the opposite. I do see virtual reality really starting to ramp up in the gaming sector, but not in the gambling one – yet. Perhaps in a year this could be starting to hit the radar as penetration of those devices really starts to pick up.

Phil Parry, CEO, Iforium

Get ready for online casino – Unsurprisingly most of the conversation about the US market post-PASPA has been sports betting focused, but I predict plenty of headlines coming the way of online casino. We’re already seeing New Jersey hitting record-breaking revenue for online slots, and thanks to the advent of legalized sports betting, we’re going to see a whole new demographic getting in on the regulated online casino action. We’ve already seen it happen in Europe with the World Cup proving to be a fantastic gateway to the fun of slots, and I expect to see the same come time for March Madness and the Super Bowl plus other major sporting events as time goes on.

iOS – a storm is brewing – For me, this one’s the elephant in the room. The US market is heavily dependent on iOS traffic, and come Apple’s guidelines kicking into action in March 2020, it’s going to be a case of sink or swim for gaming developers. The major issue for suppliers here is that that they have invested significantly in cross-platform frameworks, particularly web technologies, which is going to make it even more of a challenge. Any major shifts in development technology will require another round of regulatory approval, which could set them back by months. As the industry’s leading aggregator, we already have a bridging solution ready for our partners, but regardless of how prepared the industry may be, I expect plenty of shock waves to be felt for those who aren’t ready in time.

More European expertise on its way – Post PASPA and there are many Europeans already working in the regulated betting and gaming environment but their numbers are about to swell even more in 2020 and beyond. There’s an armada of European operators gearing up to land on New Jersey’s shores and, as the next wave come to market, I expect to see plenty of benefits and collaboration with their US counterparts. Not only will increased competition allow for greater diversity, but I also expect to see plenty more B2B demand emerging, which is of course fantastic for us.