All the panelists taking part in the opening keynote panel of the International Casino Conference that opened ICE London 2022 agreed: The casino industry has to improve how it communicates its message to the public and politicians and how it tells its story.
Per Jaldung, chairman of the European Casino Association, opened the proceedings by saying the European casino industry had been through a “valley of tears” over the past two years caused by the pandemic and lockdowns, but was now emerging from it in a much stronger position, open to innovation and intent on addressing systemic issues, such as the lack of gender diversity throughout the industry.
Jan Jones Blackhurst, board member at Caesars Entertainment, said the industry continues to get bad coverage in the press and is regularly criticized by politicians “no matter how much we invest or develop communities.”
“In the U.S., the casino industry employs more people than the automotive industry and when COVID happened, all operators continued to pay their employees with full benefits, but no one tells this story,” she added.
Erwin van Laambart, CEO of Casinos Austria and Austrian Lotteries, said the pandemic had shown the resilience of the sector and although there was some frustration at the lockdowns and closures, there had also been lots of “entrepreneurship and creativity such as the whole digital transformation (of many land-based focused operators) that happened at great speed”.
He added that the industry should now focus on providing a great product and experience to consumers. “In Ancient Greece, people played on the steps to the temple. If we were on Mars, they would want to play. People want to play and we have to take care of the experience. As long as we do that, we’re at the start of a great new age.”
All the panelists agreed that online products have greatly benefited from the pandemic in terms of adoption rates and opening up audiences that might not have taken part in igaming or online betting.
Simon Thomas, CEO of the Hippodrome Casino in London, however also cautioned against wanting to push digitisation too far or always aiming to attract younger players to casinos.
“Digitisation can be dangerous,” said Thomas. “The idea that the industry should produce slot machines that kids want to play is very difficult.”
Thomas added that the industry should also make more of the fact that it has “some of the best nightclubs in the world and when the clubgoers are in their 40s and can afford casino play, they will come to casinos, because they’ve been to the place before and know they will get a quality experience”.
Thomas noted, “We do have a good story to tell, but everyone will say, ‘You would say that’. So we should harness customers, treat them with integrity, and give them a great experience. The lockdowns highlighted how we’re an integral part of the entertainment ecosystem.”
Jaldung was also clear in his view that European regulators should focus on enforcement and make the fight against illegal operators the priority of their regulatory policies.
“Illegal operators exploit players with so-called EU-licensed operations from within the European Union. There is no such thing as an EU license. Gambling is nationally regulated and the illegal market is pretty much out of control and there are no effective tools to prevent this smash-and-grab. This issue should be at the top of the agenda for regulators, it has to be done.”
