2020 has been a year of ‘change and challenge’ according to Interactive Gaming Group’s newly appointed CEO, Cristina Niculae, who claims that the last 12-months has made the industry ‘reinvent and reimagine’ existing experiences.
Speaking to SlotBeats at CasinoBeats’ recent Slots Festival, the CEO delved deeper into the hurdles the igaming industry faced in 2020 and what the sector can expect for the future, as it is predicted to increase by 20 per cent between 2020 and 2027.
“We’ve seen innovation coming up in slots with new reel mechanics, and slots that are capturing more diverse audiences,” Niculae noted.
“We’ve also seen a repeated closure of land based operations and also sometimes closures of online operations in markets that had a more drastic approach towards the pandemic.”
Niculae believes that there have been three primary consequences of the events of 2020 for the igaming industry.
Firstly, she highlighted a ‘constant focus on cloud gaming technology,’ stating: “Now 2020 locked us indoors, but really opened up the possibilities for new experiences, more vitriol, more interactive, more immersive experiences.
“We are truly lucky that the advancement of such technology, 5g technology for example, are creating a seamless gaming experience for the user. You can now play slots from any device as long as it has a screen and internet connection anywhere in the world.”
In addition to significant steps made with regards to gaming technology, Niculae argues that the rise of the “creator economies” will have a ‘tremendous’ impact on the igaming industry.
Niculae continued: “In Interactive Gaming Group, we’re constantly focusing on looking at what players are expecting from creators, and we’re seeing that consumers are moving away from linear entertainment, and they want to be explorers and creators of their own gaming experience. They are looking for more interactive experience, and closer contact with the creator.”
“We’ve seen that player’s and end users in general are not only focusing on single platforms, but they are experiencing gaming on multiple platforms, and they also want to be closer to the creator, by exploring other platforms, not just the standard streaming platforms such as Twitch, they’re looking for that for that allow them to be closer to the creator, engage and interact better with the creator.”
Finally, Niculae believed that the ‘rise of virtual technology, augmented reality and virtual reality’ will have far reaching implications for the igaming and slots industries.
“These technologies have been around for quite some time, but they are now starting to creep into the mainstream of gambling,” she claimed.
“2020 is empowering people to look for experiences where they can engage beautifully with their friends seamlessly creating an experience that would normally take hours to plan, prepare and arrive at.
“For example, going to a land based casino together with your friends has now switched to an online experience. What used to be an experience that was shared with a small group of friends, or limited group of friends can now be broadcasted to audiences worldwide, and it can also be experienced in a virtual reality environment.”
In her concluding remarks, the IGG CEO stated that beginning 2021, the igaming sector is: “More open to change, more willing to create, more focused on imagination, and the role that imagination has in us being able to explore new business opportunities and new business potential.
“We will find ourselves more focused on responsible gaming in general, being much more aware of player protection, and also being more aware of the business opportunity responsible gambling is opening up.”
