On the latest episode of iGaming Daily, supported by Optimove, James Ross was joined by CasinoBeats’ Editor, Joe Streeter, and Senior Journalist, Danny Lee, to explore the latest news in the gaming industry.
In the first half of the show, they examined the latest statistics from the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) that revealed a 12% increase year-over-year in total gross gambling yield (GGR) in the first quarter of the 2024 financial year, as well as a 10% increase in slots GGR.
On the slots news, Danny said: “It’s hardly a surprising thing when you think about how much time and effort companies put into making their games engaging and keeping players entertained and making them want to come back for more.
“Particularly, big players in the slot space are constantly trying to innovate with the news games they’re bringing out, the new product launches and stuff to excite players and keep players coming back to operator platforms.”
Danny also suggested that successful cross-selling from sporting competitions during the summer, like the European Championships and Copa America, could have contributed to the increase in slots GGR.
Expanding on this point, Joe said: “We’re seeing more games that are designed to cross-sell as well and tap into a football audience. The Copa America in particular, we’ve got a lot of operators trying to have a huge influence in the Latin American market at the moment, particularly with the Brazilian market about to open.
“There were definitely quite a few different releases that were tailored to that Latin American football feel. Also, there were plenty of suppliers catering to European audiences as well with different games where you could pick whether you wanted to represent one of the big European footballing countries.”
The attention of the podcast was then turned to Southeast Asia, where Thailand is making waves with its ambitious plans to develop a regulated casino sector to boost tourism and economic growth.
On the developments, Joe said: “We’ve had a lot of back and forth in Thailand over the past few months. The bill has been touted and it has had large governmental backing. There’s not been too much objection and I think the country can see just how big it would be.
“It’s also attracted attention from operators. The Asian region in general is massive for gambling. There is real opportunity there and now we are firmly on the path to legislation. The bill has gone back for public feedback and they have until 18 August for this to be completed. So we’re dealing with the near future and there’s lots of optimism that the bill will be pushed and we will have the first Thai casino in 2029.”
He added that the addition of regulated casinos will “enrich the overall tourism attraction of Thailand”.
The progress in Thailand has spiked the interest of operators that already have a strong presence in the region. Chinese language Malaysian media outlet Sin Chew Daily reported that Genting’s Malaysia-facing brand is eyeing Thailand as a potential venture for the firm.
“Genting has a big presence in the region,” explained Joe. “It’s inevitably going to be a big allure for them to have their branding at the centre of this place where there’s so much footfall. It’s a global place for people to visit.
“The proposed law mandates 30-year casino licenses, which are renewable for an additional decade, so there’s a long-term opportunity for casinos that want to become synonymous in Thailand and want to have their brand placed in one of the biggest regions in the world for tourism.”
