Rohan MathawanAs an entrepreneur, you probably understand the importance of looking at your rivals and competitors for advice. They won’t give it to you freely, but that doesn’t stop you from taking it by evaluating their business model and applying the most suitable methods to your business plan. However, your muse doesn’t have to be a closely matched peer, as the gaming and betting industries highlight. In the 90s, the market values were in the millions of dollars. Today, the sectors are expected to turn over close to $100bn and $93bn by 2025, respectively. How have these companies succeeded, and what lessons can you take for your business? Continue reading to learn more.
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Gaming & Casinos – The Kings of Product Variation
The gaming and casino industries never stop, which is why they are profitable and popular. Steam, the hosting and developing arm for PC games, has more than one-hundred-and-twenty-five million active users, giving it revenues of over $1.5 billion. It does this via releasing game upgrades, as well as software patches. For example, a new patch for a soccer game includes the latest transfers, making the experience more lifelike. Online casinos do the same, which is why the market grows between 3.1% and 10% year on year. Bingo is a prime example because it’s a huge moneymaker, with over twelve million players in the UK alone. However, establishments mix things up by offering related services that add new dimensions to the user experience, such as online scratchcards on the Betfair Bingo website. The platform knows that the keenest bingo fan might want to try something different and has various offerings to ensure the novelty never wears thin.
Both Fields Investing in Mobile Technology
Mobile tech such as fifth-generation software is beginning to be released in cities around the world. Whereas lots of businesses will wait and see how the process goes before investing, the gaming and casino sectors are already on the bandwagon. Of the nearly one-and-a-half-billion gamers on the planet, a reported seven-hundred-million are online gamers thanks to smartphones, tablets, and a range of mobile devices. For casinos, 5G not only makes their offerings more accessible, but it allows them to take advantage of the prevalence of smartphones. By making their products and services widely available from anywhere in the world, the gaming and casino markets have broken down barriers for users and eliminated common concerns. As a result, 4.3% of all smartphone users have downloaded a sports or casino-related betting app. Even the console giant Microsoft is taking notice. It has released the xCloud for the next-gen Xbox Series X, where saved games are playable on Android devices.
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Crossover Events Between Gaming & Casino
Games are three-dimensional, whether they are on a console, smartphone or app. Although the majority of users prefer the experience of one-person shooters and multiplayer modes, they tend to invest in every format. For example, Resident Evil started as a computer game for the PlayStation, but the release of a series of films made the creators approximately $916 million. Freemium events, on the other hand, allow companies to tap into a new market. This Medium post confirms that over thirty-million people watch the League of Legends championship live event. The League of Legends creators made more than $1bn selling add-ons to engaged users through this channel. Casinos create crossover opportunities by leveraging gameplay. GTA Online launched its own gambling establishment in 2019, hailed as the biggest release in decades, and carved out business opportunities for developers and casinos in equal measure.
There are many lessons businesses can learn from the gaming industry. However, the ability to vary products, utilize mobile technology and expand into crossover events will stand most companies in good stead.
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