Continuing its series of interviews with key figures in the mobile gambling sector, IGamingNews spoke with Marcel Puyk, chief executive of Cellectivity, a mobile betting and gambling specialist, about Asia, in-running betting, and "next-gen" handsets.
Q: What significance do you see in the recent investments made in Probability and Mfuse by Michael Spencer and Mark Blandford?
A: It is good to see that very serious investors are now seeing good value in some of the best companies the mobile gambling market. What it shows to me is that after being a very much ignored sector of the online gambling market for a long time, some people with a clear understanding of the potential of mobile gambling have decided there is good value to be found.
In my view that is based on their opinion that, although small now, mobile technology will play a very significant role in the future of online gambling and sports betting.
Q: Is it a measure of the growing credibility and maturity of the mobile gaming sector?
A: I think that is absolutely the case and about time too! I have been talking about the future of mobile for a long time now at conferences all over the world and I think we are finally seeing that it is being taken seriously.
Q: Have operational issues in mobile gambling -- around handset compatibility, download issues, billing, players’ ease of use, for instance -- proven more stubborn than the sector anticipated?
A: That is definitely true. It has been a long road and the problems have been difficult to solve, but I think we are now at a point where the technology challenges are well-understood, at least by the companies who have worked in this space for a number of years. For the best companies in this sector technology is no longer the barrier, although they are still very challenging.
In the end what holds back the market the most is the user’s acceptance that the phone can be used to transact and to do more things than just make a call. That is something in which everybody involved in the market, from mobile operator to content provider, has a role to play. We need to make the wider public understand what is possible here.
Q: Is the next generation of handsets solving these problems?
A: The next generation of handsets is certainly helping a lot as they are built more for entertainment these days. The screens are good, there is more memory and the usability in general has improved a lot.
There is a lot of buzz around the [Apple] iPhone at the moment and how that is going to affect the sector. I think it has the potential to move the market on again as it is such a nice phone, but for that to happen the environment has to be opened up to third-party content and it will have to become more of a mass market product. Unfortunately, there is still no end in sight to the many operating systems in the market so many challenges will remain.
Q: From what you learned at AiG in Macau, what part will Asian markets play in the growth of mobile gaming?
A: Asia is obviously a huge market with massive appeal for anybody involved in the [gambling] industry, particularly in mobile gambling, with so many mobile phones around and the well-known propensity to bet for people in the region. But Asia comes with its own challenges.
First and foremost, the legislation is either entirely against gambling or is drawn up in favor of local monopolies. I do see that changing over time, however, as the realization strikes that illegal gambling cannot be stopped and that it is better to regulate the market.
There still remain very significant challenges after that though, not least the people’s trust in random number generators -- I don’t see a live dealer appearing on a phone anywhere soon. The fact that there are so many handsets out there -- many more models than Europe, not all of which are "official" -- means that porting to that will be a big headache.
That said, I think the market will be very attractive and we will certainly attempt to play a role there.
Q: Spin3’s deal with PacificNet looks an interesting one -- is teaming up with the right partner in the region the only strategy for Western operators trying to enter Asia?
A: All conventional advice says that anyone attempting to enter the Asian market requires a local partner or it will take a very long time to get anything done. I think it is the right thing to do for them. The regulatory and business environment in some of the countries can be a minefield, and to manuever through it you need someone to help you.
Q: A couple of the sessions at the Bet-Markets conference focused on in-running betting as being a key development for mobile betting. Do you agree?
A: In-running betting is currently a hot topic, particularly of course for mobile because you always carry a phone. This makes it a very convenient tool to place a bet wherever you are, whether in the pub, watching the match, or just out and about without access to a PC.
We have seen some very good growth in this type of betting, particularly for football. It is probably the biggest growth area in betting at the moment but you can’t just focus on that at the expense of all the other bet markets.
In-running doesn’t apply at all to horseracing, for example, and that market is still the biggest for most bookmakers.
But I do expect live betting to increase and if you look online you already see live content and bets being promoted strongly. That will not translate very well to the mobile, but mobile is definitely already playing an important role in live betting.
Q: Is the growing popularity of this area of sports betting the trend that will prove a tipping point for mobile sports betting?
A: I think it will help, but the main issue is still getting people to understand that they can bet on their phone. Promoting in-running betting will certainly help in that.