It looks like the current state of the economy might be giving the igaming industry a competitive edge over its brick & mortar counterparts. Specifically, it looks like consumers are staying home to save money, and that online gaming is one of the places they’re turning to find entertainment. For instance, the GameAccount has seen an increase in money staked. As Gaming Industry Media reports:

The company said it has received £120 million in stakes thus far in 2008, a significant rise against the £10.5 million it reported during the same period last year.

“People are staying at home, not just because it’s getting colder, but to save money, too,” said Dermot Smurfit, GameAccount chief operating officer, in a prepared statement. “As markets all over the world are melting, we’re pleased that more and more people are turning to the Internet and skill gaming for their entertainment.”

Of course, a more than tenfold growth rate can’t be chalked up only to the recession. After all, the GameAccount has pursued a number of marketing strategies, such as an affiliate program (disclosure: the GameAccount is an Income Access partner).

Nevertheless, the positive effects that this economy is having on ecommerce has been seen across the spectrum of industries. For instance, eMarketer is predicting that this will not only be the first year that the internet purchases will surpass brick & mortar ones for holiday shopping, but will do so by more than double. It only makes sense, then, that online entertainment is going to experience relative (if not absolute) growth while its tertiary counterparts feel the effects of a slowdown.

There is a catch in all this, however. Just as a market slowdown can mean new opportunity rather than less opportunity, competition over those opportunities will likely increase. That is, with online operators capturing more of a player’s money staked, they are going to have both the incentive and the resources to step up their marketing efforts.

If the current state of the economy does have positive effects for certain strategic igaming operators, then, those operators are going to have to consider marketing tactics that offer them maximum control over and return on their marketing spend. Should these effects persist, moreover, we may even see a “thinning of the heard.” That is, those operators who are are strategic at this level may very capture a critical shares of the market to the detriment of their competition.

It seems as though Cantor Gaming has acquired one of the world’s largest odd making firms. What’s so interesting about this is that sportsbetting is very much compatible with where Cantor is headed. Cantor has a foothold in two kinds of mobile gaming: mobile phone gaming and another kind of mobile device gaming that players can use while in brick & mortar casinos. Sports betting, of course, is extremely well-suit with mobile gaming because players can place bets as sporting events unfold.

In this latest acquisition, Cantor was very clear that this odd making firm would complement its current array of product offers. As iGaming Business reports:

Las Vegas-based Cantor Gaming, an affiliate of the global financial services company Cantor Fitzgerald, announced that it has acquired Las Vegas Sports Consultants (LVSC) Incorporated, one of the world’s largest odds-making firms.
[...]
Cantor stated that products and services from LVSC would complement its own menu of gaming products and allow both firms to provide additional new and dynamic services including international sporting events.

In addition, Cantor revealed that LVSC would utilise its state-of-the-art technology to distribute a broader range of services on a real-time dynamic basis, which will form the platform for a ground-breaking suite of new products offered after appropriate gaming regulatory approvals.

This last mention of how Cantor would use LVSC’s “state-of-the-art technology to distribute a broader range of services on a real-time dynamic basis” seems very much in line with the trials that Cantor’s Ron Rushin discussed with us in August. All in all, then, this acquisition looks very exciting for both Cantor and its players. Offering a robust mobile experience will be important for all entertainment service providers in the very near future, and Cantor seems to be moving in that direction very decisively.

Here’s a clip of Cantor’s CTO, Ron Rushin, discussing the company’s involvement in mobile phone gaming.

Given that his entire platform seemed to be all about change, and considering that he is a poker player, Obama seems like quite a promising Commander in Chief as far as the online gaming industry is concerned. The same election that has sent him to the White House, however, also featured a few lessons for the online gaming industry and how they might be able to makes some headway in opening the US market back up. As the Gaming Industry Media reported the day after that historic election:

In Missouri, 56 percent were in favor of repealing a $500 loss limit at riverboat casinos in order to fund education measures. [...]

Additionally, Ohio voters opted to not allow a $600 million casino facility the southwestern part of the state.

Even though none of these items bear directly on online gaming, they do hold some lessons. The first (from Missouri) is that gaming grows when part of the proceeds go to the children. The second (from Ohio) is that there are still important pockets of popular opposition to gambling.

Now, Obama is going to have his work cut-out for him, so even if the UIGEA was the piece of legislation that was most incompatible with his platform (and it’s not), it could get pushed to the wayside to make room for more pressing issues — such as a disastrous war overseas or an economy in crisis.

The gaming industry, then, needs to show what the country can gain (as a society) from regulating online gaming. One of those gains is an added set of social resources. Another one of those gains is economic stimulation.

Now that there is a potentially sympathetic administration headed toward the White House, the industry needs to emphasize the benefits what US society stands to gain from regulating online gaming. After all, most of the industry’s opponents emphasize what society risks losing by regulating online gaming. What the industry should be doing, then, is emphasizing what US society stands to gain.

For starters, where the losses are risk that can be avoided through prudence, the gains are near certainties. More to the point, however, a cost-benefit analysis approach puts all trade-offs into perspective, and the time has never been so opportune for just such a comparison.

Most of us are familiar with the stereotype of a bunch of guys playing strip poker against a couple of seemingly inexperienced girls, and then end up losing a bit more than their shirts. Well, it seems that online players are about be faced with the same prospect. iGaming News has reported on some research numbers from Poker Players Research Ltd. Here’s a quick overview:

• female poker players now account for over 26% of real-money online
• these players play for lower stakes than men, accounting for just 13% of the rake
• female players prefer to play one type of game
• they are less likely to play at multiple tables simultaneously
• female players are more likely to decide where to play based on recommendations from friends and areless likely to start playing at one of the top 20 sites.
• by the end of 2009, female players will account for 33% of online, real-money players and 20% of the rake.

The take-away for online poker operators here is clear: start marketing to women. Based on how these women choose where to play, moreover, the marketing strategy should focus on community engagement (something that is in no way alien to the online poker industry).

Basically, there an opportunity here (and growing) for poker rooms that want to capture a larger female audience. It’s going to require, however, that online poker brands leave the walls of their own online community and engage players in the communities where they go to find out where to play.

This doesn’t, of course, mean astro-turfing by posing as a player. Rather, it means simply working with other community webmasters to make sure that those reviewing various online poker rooms and products are fully aware of any new games, tables, or promotions that are being offered. From there, any poker room that’s worth its salt should be able to generate some new female sign-ups. After all, by creating awareness of their products among influencers, the pertinent recommendations should ensue.

An issue that online gaming operators have to deal with is that of underage players. If operators can find some reliable way to screen for underage players with any degree of accuracy, then online gaming would have a much better chance of being regulated/institutionalized in prohibitive markets.

Well, one of the areas in which operators can start doing this is mobile gaming. Essentially, gaming operators might consider working with law maker and/or service providers to prevent minors from placing wagers over their mobile phones. After all, underage mobile gaming is becoming an additional challenge for the online gaming industry. As the Costa Tropical News reports:

A 16 year old boy from Granada has generated a debt of 48,000 € using his parents credit cards on an internet virtual casino.

The Spanish Federation of Rehabilitated Gamblers, FEJAR, spokesman, Jorge Barroso, [...] also warned about the amounts now being spent by some children on their mobile phones, especially if Internet was present, with bills of 300 or 400 € a month not uncommon, and some children already suffering from deformed hands from sending so many text messages.

The mobile side of this problem, however, could be averted at the level of the mobile service provider. Essentially, if a minor has their own mobile phone assigned to them, that number can be flagged as being used by a minor, and financial transactions could be blocked by the mobile service provider.

Of course, in a non-mobile environment, operators are still stuck between a rock an a hard place. While they could win over public opinion and legislators by reversing the charges accrued by minors, that would lead to a slippery slope: any player with children could simply apply for a refund under the (false) auspices of their children having placed the wager with their credit card.

The parents of such children are in a similarly tough position: many credit card companies will refund a cardholder for purchases made by anyone who is not the card holder so long as the card holder files criminal charges against whoever that other person is. Since many parents would be loath press charges against their own child, there is little choice but accepted the debt accrued by their underage children.

An important of the regulation process would be determining what points of access are not just viably regulated, but enforceable as well. In many jurisdictions, a minor who has a mobile that is not pre-paid require the consent and cooperation of a parent/guardian — i.e. a legal adult has to assume contractual responsibility for that mobile line. It is at this juncture that an account can be made restrictive in the sense that it cannot conduct financial transaction or, at least, cannot accrue certain kinds of financial charges.