Inside Asian Gaming

INSIDE ASIAN GAMING | November 2013 36 FEATURES that does not come out of Europe or was not acquired by an operator themselves is Bally,” said John Connelly, vice president, business development, Bally Technologies. “Golden Nugget is a very strong brand, a good operator and the ownership at Landry’s has an aggressive, forward-thinking team.” Mr Connelly noted that in the early- going, online initiatives in the US tend to be structured along three different lines; operators that own their own wagering site; operators that contract with a technology provider for a very small percentage of revenue in return for necessary upfront investment; and operators who deploy their own capital. “They have a supplier; they maintain the majority of the profit and they have the capital to launch an online casino,” said Mr Connelly. “Bally/Golden Nugget is an example of that. I think it’s the model that most in the US will gravitate toward.” Bally sees its ability as the property’s casino systems provider to take the existing player database, be it Golden Nugget or Landry’s, and integrate it into their online platform as a dramatic advantage. “In the online space, one of the greatest costs you have is player acquisition and player retention,” said Mr Connelly. “When you have a database of proven players to whom you have access, youwant tobe able toutilize that in the online world. We will have the ability and infrastructure to take Golden Nugget’s existing database and save, in our opinion, millions of dollars in player acquisition and retention costs by integrating that into the online platform.” Integrating the Bally iGaming platform with Golden Nugget’s traditional casino on the floor will result in the creation of “a unique offering” to the players who come to the Golden Nugget online site, compared with what they’re able to obtain at the other Atlantic City sites,” said Mr Connelly. “We will be able to pull their players down into the casino and have the ability to create new loyalties with their existing database of players as they migrate to the Nugget’s handheld and online sites,” he said. On the content side, Mr Connelly sees America evolving along different lines from Europe, given its starting point with brick-and-mortar operators. “We have signed content agreements with many US operators and in some cases in an exclusive fashion,” he said. “So we’ll be able to supply Golden Nugget content that some of the competitors will not have access to in New Jersey. The products you find on the casino floor are the exact same products people will want to see online. People will demand mirroring of the floor; they will require the same math and the same IP to be present in the online casino. Bally believes the online casinos and traditional casinos should be linked. Even though many people were questioning that, the licenses going forward in the US and Europe will continue to go to traditional operators as they become more educated to the potential revenue, the strategic significance and the similarities between the online world and the traditional world.” International Game Technology (IGT) The US is the core market for IGT’s DoubleDown social gaming product, which generated a surprising $61.4 million in revenue via the sale of play-for-fun credits for the quarter ended 30th June. DoubleDown is also the platform being used to launch online gaming in Delaware, the “…The licenses going forward in the U.S. and Europe will continue to go to traditional operators as they become more educated to the potential revenue, the strategic significance and the similarities between the online world and the traditional world.” John Connelly, VP, business development, Bally Technologies Bally Technologies offers an online gaming solution that can be accessed through most consumer electronic devices.