"One of the major problems we have had in this market is that too much of hype was created too soon."
This candid admission comes from Marcel Puyck, CEO, Cellectivity when recently queried about the progress made by European mobile gambling market in terms of size, trends and key advancements.
Puyck, who will be speaking at Bullet Business' 5th Mobile Gambling Summit taking place this coming November in London, acknowledges that the hype has created a feeling of disappointment in it as it just hasn't lived up to the mega-growth scenarios that were being referred to in the past.
"Most insiders in the industry were aware of that of course but it nevertheless caused a problem for people not intimately familiar with the challenges faced by the industry. I am pleased to say though that finally the market is changing and that growth rates are improving a lot," Puyck told Bulletbusiness.com's Ritesh Gupta in an interview.
Elaborating further, in the context of his company, he said, "Sportsbetting is showing very solid growth for us with Bet2Go as users get more used to the idea of placing a bet on the mobile and can see the benefit. In addition, we have added bookmakers to the service in recent months, most recently Skybet, and that is having a positive effect as well. On the casino side, we have launched with PartyCasino, and recently with ITV Casino as well as 888 Casino. These mega-brands have a very positive impact on consumer perception of the market and it conveys a lot of trust. We are seeing some very good numbers coming through those channels."
Puyck also spoke about the industry issues including the potential impact of relaxation of the US ban on online gambling, mobile operators, his company's operations and much more. Excerpts from the interview:
Bulletbusiness.com: How do you think you are in a better position to cater to the needs of mobile gambling market even as there are a number of hurdles be it related to handsets, mobile operators, technology and legal issues among the others?
Marcel Puyck: We have been in this market since 2001 and have learned our lessons the hard way. For companies like Cellectivity the technical challenges are becoming less important as we know how to deal with them. Mobile is very different to online and it pays for companies who want to launch mobile services to deal with experts in the technology and the market.
We have spent many years developing our relationships with the mobile operators for example and are now a trusted partner for many. This means that we can work with them in a responsible manner to launch new services and generate good revenues for all the parties involved.
Bulletbusiness.com: Even as relaxation of the US ban on online gaming may be slight, the likes of Italy and France have recently moved to open the gambling sector to private competition, following the lead of Britain. How do you assess these developments from your company's perspective?
Marcel Puyck: It is creating quite a buzz in the market and of course it is an opportunity for us. We are talking to several parties in those markets with a view of launching services when the legislation is updated and I expect it to be a growing part of our revenues. The realisation that it is better to regulate rather than ban provides a massive boost to the industry.
Bulletbusiness.com: How do you think mobile operators' approach towards mobile gaming on the whole is changing? And what kind of repercussions it can have on mobile gambling?
Marcel Puyck: Mobile operators, at least in the UK, are now moving forward with the offering of mobile gambling services. What we are seeing is the delivery of responsible services, promoted responsibly, for the enjoyment of their customer base. It is important that the mobile operators act in this way because they form such a crucial part of the market and it can only add to the general credibility of the sector.
Customers will therefore be encouraged to see branded services being offered by their mobile operator, which can only be good news for the customer and the market.
Bulletbusiness.com: Various stakeholders in the industry say mobile operators want to be in the business, but they usually don't understand or don't really take the time to truly understand our business model, needs, and support requirements. How do you see your relationship with operators going ahead?
Marcel Puyck: We are in a strong relationship with many operators and it is true that more and more of them want to be involved in the business because it is a potentially lucrative one. It is not an easy business to understand and therefore it makes sense to work with trusted partners in this sector. We are one of those and it does require a huge amount of trust because it is one of the very few services that mobile operators offer in which they do not take a role in the billing or supply. We provide all the technical integration, host the pages, and pay revenues to the mobile operators. I can see this relationship only strengthening over time.
Bulletbusiness.com: An expert pointed out that mobile gambling is unregulated. For instance, it is clearly not allowed to promote Mobile Gaming in Germany, however, what happens when German user gets UK sim card? What's your viewpoint regarding such issues?
Marcel Puyck: Mobile gambling is certainly not unregulated in the UK! There are always ways in which people can get around these issues but we take every precaution to stop people from countries where gambling is not allowed from playing.
Being able to download a game because you have bought a UK sim is only the first step in being able to gamble and there are other hurdles to take. I think in fact that the mobile allows much stronger controls than online. It is for example quite easy to hide your IP address online, so that a German or American user for example can play, so the opportunities are there. I think that a person will have to go to quite great lengths to play a mobile game in a country that we block, so the casino will be able to argue they have done everything possible to stop illegal play.
Bulletbusiness.com: Where do you think this sector is headed? What would you recommend for a healthy growth in the industry?
Marcel Puyck: My expectation is that the market for mobile gambling and betting will be huge. There is a real move towards this market and every generation of phone users will be more comfortable transacting on their phones. At the same time, all the remaining barriers, such as the technology or data charges are disappearing as well.
I think that a healthy industry requires innovation and constant improvement of the offering. The industry will need to play to the strengths of the mobile device, and not get carried away worrying about the limitations compared to the online offering, to draw in a bigger audience. This is definitely a market ready to take off.
