Throughout each generation, a boom has caused a domino effect and opened the door to a vast range of possibilities that didn’t otherwise exist. Many of these seismic changes revolutionize the world in which we live. There was the Industrial Revolution, the discovery of oil, the manufacturing of planes and cars, the discovery of electricity and the most recent example is the tech boom. The iGaming industry might not have been as massive as the Industrial Revolution, but it is an industry that has gone from the unknown fringes of the gambling industry to a multibillion-dollar, global enterprise in just over 20 years.
While so much has fueled this growth, we’ll focus today on how vital market adoption has been. An industry cannot grow without its customers or knowing how to attract customers without adapting to how consumer tastes change.
Product knowledge is vital, and market adoption is imperative for those looking to bring their service to millions of potential new customers. Educating possible customers about the convenience and potential of a new product is often the most significant driving force in a successful new start-up business. While it is by no means the only thing that has led to the colossal success of the iGaming sector today, Ida Moen Olsen sat down to detail just how vital a component it has been in fueling the astonishing global success of iGaming since the beginning of this century.Â
Ida, it’s so exciting for us to be able to sit down with somebody in the industry with such extensive expertise and discuss the incredible, expansive world of the iGaming industry.
Thank you for inviting me to talk with you today about such an exciting topic. I’m looking forward to chatting about the importance of market adoption in the iGaming industry. For me, what is so exciting is that the industry doesn’t stop moving. It is a true 24/7 industry, and it has shown many industries the blueprint of successful business growth and how to market themselves in a society that is perennially attached to their mobile devices.
Our first question today is how important is market adoption in the iGaming industry?
I’d like to approach this question from a broader spectrum. Market adoption isn’t a new element of business that the iGaming industry has created. However, it’s implemented exceptionally well and has acted as a solid foundation for multiple companies within the sector to flourish. There was a significant element of indirect market adoption, and it was so sharp and expansive that it caught many people off guard in the iGaming industry.
What I mean by indirect market adoption is that the iGaming industry rose to prominence because of the internet and the rise of smartphones. Usually, with new technology, market adoption involves teaching people how to use a device and then providing them with the knowledge to trust themselves to utilize it. However, with iGaming, we were building a new platform for gambling on devices that people use daily. There was no need to teach people how to use smartphones or the internet because they were permeating society to such an extent that all the leg work for that particular market area was already complete.
Once the iGaming industry rolled into town and gave people a new avenue and window to place their casino bets, it became an avalanche of new, exciting inventions.
How did iGaming use market adoption to fuel growth?
It was more how the smartphone industry helped develop devices that could facilitate a more convenient way to gamble. Casino gaming has always been widespread. It’s just bridging the gap and finding a way to bring the market and the games to people directly. Many online casino gamers who now fuel the profit in the iGaming industry don’t like going to physical casinos. It takes time and costs money, and they may not be there for the social aspect. Land-based casinos can become loud and social, and if you’re looking to unwind after working all week, sometimes you just want some solitude, and it’s challenging to find that on a Friday or Saturday night in a casino.
The smartphone’s market adoption and the internet’s widespread use helped organically grow the iGaming industry to colossal proportions. The internet built the road, and the iGaming industry built the car to move down that road. Usually, if you’re using a similar analogy, market adoption involves the same company building the road and the car and then bringing people on board. However, the technology sector was already doing this job en masse, so it was a simple case of the iGaming industry delivering a product that worked.
As the profits started to rocket, this just fueled more growth. The biggest names in the sector began taking on more significant projects, enticing some of the top talents from the video game world into the casino sector because that was where the money was coming in. All of this resulted in a better end product. As more and more of us became equipped to use our phones and debit cards online, these mini adoptions resulted in explosive growth in digital casinos.
All iGaming needed to do was read where the market was heading and design exciting games according to consumer taste, which they executed perfectly. It continues to look ahead instead of looking behind, which is what all businesses should be doing, regardless of size. By implementing the latest methods and technology into their business models, iGaming companies stay one step ahead and dominate their land-based competition.
So, it was more about overall adoption than iGaming?
No, iGaming still had a lot to do, but much of the work was already done because of the tech boom. Don’t get me wrong; there are a lot of companies that were unable to make the switch online. Although it might seem second nature in today’s world, where almost every business exclusively operates on the internet, 20 years ago, much more skepticism was still involved.
Once the iGaming and online casino industry understood that online was a much more profitable and lucrative avenue, they quickly focused on developing the best products exclusively for this channel. The internet allowed small, local businesses to suddenly advertise their services to a broad range of customers worldwide. The casino industry was the same. Within a few years, they went from highly localized businesses to being able to broadcast their services to almost every country in the world where gambling was legal and with a lower overhead cost.
The only thing they needed to ensure was the development of the games. Identifying where the market was heading was pivotal in turning the industry into the behemoth it is today. I’m not trying to simplify game designers’ incredible talents and abilities, but once the business model was readjusted and clearly showed that this was the way to go, the money followed. Then the incredibly talented game designers rolled in. This caused an avalanche of innovation and profit. The market inevitably follows suit once the foundation is solid and the business model is transparent and profitable with an exciting margin for growth.
What can other businesses learn from the iGaming industry?
It depends on your business, but identifying possible innovative growth points is essential. Shying away from a changing world will only harm your business in the long run. Look at Blockbuster. In the 1990s, that was a vast multibillion-dollar business, but they refused to change their model, shunned digital streaming and have since disappeared. Companies such as Netflix started with the same model as Blockbuster, but they pivoted to digital streaming, and they’re now one of the most profitable multimedia companies on the planet.
Nowadays, every business uses the internet to connect to their customers in some capacity. If you’re selling goods, shipping goods or just providing a service like the casino industry, it is complicated not to have a business model that works if you’re not online. This is a prerequisite to starting a successful business in many ways. Identifying new areas where you can gain an edge on the competition is incredibly important. iGaming has done this by using the internet to close the gap on land-based casinos, but in 2023, it is a different ball game.
The technology is still there, and new technology in the iGaming sector is making waves. The iGaming industry is a great model because it continually strives to siphon off areas of the market and present fresh ideas to online gamers. Whether using cryptocurrency, AI or VR headsets, there’s still a great deal of innovation in iGaming, and the most prominent names, designers and companies refuse to stand still.
Standing still in this industry will quickly send you to the back of the line. So, for other businesses, striving to stay ahead of the competition by picking up on new trends and new potential avenues for growth is probably the most effective bit of knowledge to implement in growing your business.Â
Also Read: How the iGaming Industry Uses Prize Networks to Boost Sales
