by Renee Israel
The next decade and beyond will be successful for those online gambling
operators that show innovation and creativity.
This is the opinion of Manfred Bodner, the man who heads one of the most
prominent European gambling groups, Bwin.
Bodner was on hand to accept the title of Operator of the Year 2009 for his
company at the EGR Awards.
A unique EGR Live conference and exhibition coincided with the online awards
and Bodner was asked to predict the future of the gambling industry.
"The next 10 to 15 years in this industry will be about innovation," he said.
"The last ten years have been about big branding and being the industry's Red
Bull, but the next ten will be about being an Apple, and offering consumers
something new that revolutionizes the market."
"Media spending will not be the answer," he predicted.
Bodner also placed bets on the future of MMOG - multi player online games
which, he said have changed the very nature of gambling online.
"Live betting has transformed betting from being a transactional interaction
to being an entertainment transaction," he said. "MMOG offers us room to move
further in that direction because people spend longer online."
Several other top executives attended the EGR Live conference in London this
week, with several giving their opinion about the future of online gambling in
Europe.
Betfair MD, Mark Davies said at the event: "The UK shows a mainstream model
and I think Italy will also show other countries how to regulate sensibly.
Gambling has already become much more of a mainstream activity, and people
increasingly quote odds on sports events and even news because it shows the
likelihood of something happening."
