oriental game - the monthly bet [march 2016 issue]

8/20/2019 Oriental Game - The Monthly Bet [March 2016 Issue]

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A COMPARISON:

VERSUS

DAILY FANTASY

SPORTS SPORTS BETTING

DAILY FANTASY SPORTS

MARCH 20162016 3

VOLUME 66


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CONTENTS

01 DECREASE IN SOCIAL CASINO PLAYERS

SEEN IN 2015, YET ENGAGEMENT INCREASE

2015

05 A COMPARISION:

DAILY FANTASY SPORTS vs SPORTS BETTINGDaily Fantasy Sports

11 ICE 2016: TAKEAWAYS FROM THE

BIGGEST GAMING INDUSTRY EVENT OF THE YEARICE2016

IVAN COMPETENTEWriter/Editor [email protected]


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DECREASE IN SOCIAL CASINO PLAYERS SEEN IN 2015,YET ENGAGEMENT INCREASED.

2015

M obile technology is, in this dayand age, already an integral partof one’s life. Truly, a lot of smart-phones and other related gadgetsare emerging in the market. Asmore and more people are ge nghooked with the use of these de-vices, app developers saw this asan opportunity for them to growalong with this technology ad-vance. The industry of gaming,

par cularly that of social casinos,is one of them.

,

Indeed, social casino gaming isincreasing in popularity today. Asalready men oned in the Decem -ber issue of this publica on, thepast ve years saw the emergenceof mobile casinos, regardless ofwhether they involve real moneyor not. Similarly, the period alsosaw the popularity of varioussocial gaming tles in Facebookand other social media sites.

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Indeed, when it comes to prefer-ence, people who regularly playsocial casino games choose to playin mobile more than any otherpla orm. Again, as men oned inthe December issue of TheMonthly Bet, it has been seen thatmore than half of single-pla ormsocial casino players (i.e. thosewho play either on the Web orusing their mobile gadgets)choose to play on mobile. Trueenough, such informa on jus esthe projec ons being made bynumerous analysts that proclaimmobile as one sector that willdominate the social casino marketin the next few years.

The MonthlyBet 12

However, the year 2015 saw amonthly decline in the number ofsocial casino players, according to

new data from SuperData, amarket intelligence provider fo-cusing on digital games. Duringthe 12 months leading to Decem -ber 31, the monthly ac ve users

of social casino games pummeledby 13 percent. Interes ngly, thereport, which was tled “SocialCasino Metrics: Industry Trendsand Analyses” and was releasedlast January, revealed that eventhough there was a decline, those

who s ck to playing such gamesare ge ng more and more en -gaged. This means that they arenot only playing frequently, butare also willing to pay more.

2015

SuperData

12 31 12

13“

”1

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The drop in monthly ac ve usersdoes not necessarily indicate thatthe social casino gaming sector ofiGaming is on the verge of a col-lapse. In 2012, it was reportedthat top gaming company Zyngawas earning nearly three-fourthsof its non-adver sing revenuefrom half a percent of its users.Recent data showed that less thanhalf a percent (0.23%) of mobilegame players accounted foraround two-thirds of in-app reve-nue.

2012

Zynga

0.23

Meanwhile, it is worth no ng in

SuperData’s report that ads play ahuge part in determining thetrends within social casino play.Indeed, players get to know abouta new game through social net-work adver sements, which is afar cry from how video games

where players get to know aboutthem through recommenda onsfrom other people. Marke ng maybe a big indicator, but the reportalso revealed that 35 percent ofthe social casino players stop play-

ing such games due to annoyingads that either pop out of no-where or are shown in an aggres-sive manner.

Super -Data

35

SuperData thus noted publishersto consider opt-in ads that providebonus rewards for the players’in-game currencies. True enough,Carter Rogers, a SuperData ana -lyst, no ced that VIP rewards pro -grams are one of the tools thatwill help in recrui ng and at thesame me retaining highly valuedsocial casino patrons. Publisherswith such programs are said toearn 68% more in December thanthose who don’t.

SuperData“

”SuperData

• VIP

VIPVIP

68

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Finally, with social casino gamers’con nuous shi to mobile, therm reported that revenue in thisrealm of iGaming will surpass thatof desktop games during thecoming year. A projected increaseof 11% in earnings would yield anes mated $1.4 billion.

11$14

Informa on from this report, aswell as the upward developmentof the social casino sector of iGa-ming, is indica ve of iGaming’sthrust as the gaming industry pro-gresses this decade. The mobilegaming pla orm may be hi ng itsstride, but desktop games andother avenues in gaming are like-

wise ramping up in revenue dueto the popular gaming tles andthe way they are adver sed to theplayers.

A challenge here, however, is howsocial casino games within themobile sector get to penetratecertain markets around the world.In the Asian market, for instance,Western game publishers nd it

hard to break into the con nent,largely because of China’s domi-nance of the market’s mobilegaming sphere. The market inChina for mobile and social casinogaming, in fact, are largely han-dled by media companies such asGREE and Tencent, so much thatthey occupy almost three-fourthsof the region’s revenue last year.In order for the game publishersto enter the market, they wouldhave to partner with the localcompanies rst.

GREE

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the game’s highlights. But manysports fans nowadays aren’t justlimited to going online andcheck-ing whether a team lost orwon a certain game, or see if their

favorite teams or players performwell. There is now be ng involvedin doing any of these two things.

W ho does not love watchingsports? They denitely give fansthrill and excitement, especiallywhen watching them live at thevenue or simply in-front of the

television sets. When a game in-volving a favorite player or team ismissed, people can just connect tothe Internet—via desktop or mo-bile—and check the game’s resultsand even have a look at some of

SPORTS BETTINGDAILY FANTASY SPORTS

DAILY FANTASY SPORTS

A COMPARISON:

VERSUS

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How each of them work

Sports be ng and daily fantasysports have become two of themost popular forms of onlinegambling. While the former hasbeen popular ever since onlinegambling became a thing in thelate 1990s, the la er is more of arecent development as it emergedfrom the general idea of fantasysport games. These two are fairlycommon in today’s me that

some mes, they are dis nguishedto be one and the same. Yes, theyshare some similari es, but ofcourse, outweighing them aretheir glaring differences.

DFS

90

Sports be ng refers to an ac vitywherein players predict the resultsof a certain spor ng event, say agame of basketball, and place awager—usually money—on itsoutcome. In the world of onlinegambling, there are a lot ofsportsbooks offering players awide range of spor ng events forthem to bet on, including basket-

ball, football, tennis, volleyball, soon and so forth. All players have todo is pick the event and place betswithin a certain wager limit basedon the odds of that event.

Daily fantasy sports (DFS), mean -while, is an ac vity wherein play -ers pay an entrance fee to join atournament, build a roster of pro-fessional athletes from a par cularleague or compe on while com -plying with a salary cap, and earnpoints based on the real

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sta s cal performance of the ath -letes they chose. This is what bestdescribes fantasy sports games ingeneral, but the “daily” in DFS issuch because the tournaments

are on a daily basis, some mes ona weekly basis. Thus, the perfor-mance of the athletes are usuallybased on their play on a given dayor week, as opposed to typicalfantasy sports formats that usuallycover a league’s en re season.

DFS

DFS

“Daily” DFS

serving as commission.

DFS

DFS

10

$50

$90 $10

On the other hand, the commis-sion in sports be ng usuallyvaries, but typically, the netamount is lower. For example, aplayer wagers that his team willwin over its opponent, and inorder to win, say, $100, must bet$110. It may seem like a 10% com -mission, but it’s half of that. Thus,the total possible return for plac-ing $110 in order to win $100 isactually $210. Said gure is usedto calculate the percentage ofcommission that the bookmakerreceives.

$100 $11010

110 100210

Both DFS and sports be ng aresimilar in many ways. One of themis the fact that they have commis-sions. On one hand, DFS sites thathost tournaments o en keep a10% commission on all entry feesthat players pay upon entering the

compe on. Take a head-to-headcontest between two players forinstance. Each of them pay $50 astheir joining fee. Winner willobtain $90 as cash prize, with theremaining $10

How they are the same

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Like what has already been men-oned, the differences outweigh

the similari es of the two, andthere are a lot of them. One istheir differences is that in DFS,players go up against each other,while in sports be ng, playersgamble against the odds laid outby the bookmakers. In the former,DFS tournaments involve playerswith various levels of knowledgeof the sport/s involved, with thesites conduc ng the tournamentsourishing off of commissionsfrom every players’ entry fees. Inthe la er, sportsbooks pit players

against only one opponent--thebookmakers, whose primary roleis to guarantee prot, regardless ifthe players win or lose their bets.

DFS

DFS

To be er understand the differ -ences between these two popularforms of be ng, here are some ofthe advantages of one over theother and vice versa. First, here

are some of the advantages of In-ternet sports be ng:

Players can place their wagerson just about any spor ng eventor league around the world.Whether professional leagues orworld tournaments, bookmakers

offer a much wider range ofsports and wager types. DFS sites,in comparison, only offer two orthree sports; in the US, it is onlybasketball or American football.

DFS

;

Players can bet on a plethoraof sportsbooks found in the Inter-net. Major Web-based sports-books always compete for cus-tomers, drawing them to play byoffering features as well as bonusoffers. In DFS sites, there are onlytwo major websites in opera onin the United States: FanDuel andDra Kings.

The Differences are Plenty

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DFSFanDuel DraftKings

Obtaining more prot is pos -sible when be ng in sportsbooks.A small edge will make playersmoney without having to worryabout covering a commission. Aslong as DFS par cipants pay a cer -tain amount, say, a dollar, for a potmoney worth $100, sportsbookswill s ll get the advantage when itcomes to payouts.

DFS

Then, here are some of the advan-tages of daily fantasy sports:

DFS

DFS requires less research.Here, team owners—those whopar cipate in the tourna -ments—entering DFS tourna -ments all have the real-life sta s -

cs of basketball or Americanfootball players to look up, usingsuch informa on to determinewhich of the athletes they willchoose for their rosters. Strategiesare important in building a win

ning team, but such a skill is notapplicable in sports be ng.

DFS

DFS

DFS players go up against easycompe on. Anyone trying toenter a DFS contest in eitherDra Kings or FanDuel will encoun -ter other owners with varying de-grees of knowledge in this form ofonline be ng. On one hand, thereare owners who play DFS for aliving, or the so-called profession-als. On the other hand, there areowners who are considered partof the majority of DFS owners, orthose who play just for fun andget to play in contests with entryfees of about $5 or $10.

DFSDraft -

Kings FanDuelDFS

DFS

$ 5 $ 10

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DFS only require small investment to play. Majority of DFS owners join in tournaments where entrance fees are around $5 to $10. Bet thatamount of cash in an online sportsbook, and any player doing so maynot get that much.

• DFS DFS$ 5 $ 10

Regardless of similari es and differences, there is no denying the grow -ing popularity of both DFS and sports be ng, especially for those whoare always tuned in to their favorite athletes or professional leagues.

They may have problems—online sports be ng are not available in allcountries while DFS is facing legal ba les in the United States—but aslong as sports enthusiasts are around and willing to bet, these two formsof online gambling will surely expand further in other jurisdic ons.

DFS

DFS

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ICE 2016:TAKEAWAYS FROM THE OF THE YEAR

BIGGEST GAMING INDUSTRY EVENT

ICE2016

I n the gaming industry, exhibitsand conven ons are importantevents that professionals andleaders a end in order to achievetwo things: obtain insights aboutthe industry’s ever-changing land-scape and engage in networkingwith all the other a endees. Usu -ally three- or four-day events,these interest-driven convergen-ces involve companies discussingabout the latest trends and possi-bili es within their respec ve sec -tors—in essence, land-based (of-ine) and iGaming. Not only that,

but these gatherings are

also perfect venues for thesecompanies to build up their net-work with other industry bigwigsand startups.

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Every year, numerous gaming ex-hibi ons and conven ons are heldacross the globe, but when itcomes to extravagance and gran-deur, none of these events comeclose to ICE Totally Gaming. O enconsidered as the largest gamingindustry event in the world, thisthree-day February event is abusiness-to-business (B2B) exhibit

that “brings together the onlineand offline gaming sectors” of theindustry.

ICE

B2B

Over the course of three days, es-

tablished companies launch theirnew line of products, while start-ups introduce themselves to theindustry by exhibi ng their re -spec ve brands. Moreover, ICEpresents an opportunity for alla endees to learn and gain in -sights about the latest trends inonline and offline gaming and totackle issues surrounding themthrough conferences. Finally, keyplayers in the gaming indus-try—operators, regulators, provid-ers, third-party payment proces-sors, etc.—use the event to con-verge and discuss business oppor-tuni es; basically, ICE is an eventthat fosters endless possibili esfor those involved.

ICE

-

ICE

ICE 2016: By the numbersICE 2016

The latest edi on of ICE Totally

Gaming took place at none otherthan the ExCeL Centre, London’slargest purpose-built events andconference venue on February 2to 4. The venue has been witnessto ICE events over the past fewyears, and through and through,

the exhibit itself grew larger, ac-commoda ng more companiesand exhibitors as well as the at-tendees. Indeed, last month’s ex-hibit saw the venue occupying38,980 square meters of net oorspace, which is basically 15 of 20available halls within the ExCeLCentre.

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http://www.icetotallygaming.com/ice-attendance-grows-again-total-exceeds-28000http://www.icetotallygaming.com/ice-attendance-grows-again-total-exceeds-28000http://www.icetotallygaming.com/ice-attendance-grows-again-total-exceeds-28000


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Like the previous exhibits over thepast few years, this year’s ICE To-tally Gaming was a huge success.Lively and busy, ICE 2016 was not just lled with exhibit hall booths;

they are also brimming withmodels engaging with a endeesand camera crews covering theevent. Par es were held, especial -ly on the second day. But moreimportantly, insigh ul discussionsabout new developments in the

world of gaming and the issuessurrounding its different facetswhere held through talks and con-ferences, featuring keynote speak-ers and industry experts.

ICE

ICE2016

The overall in-depth discourseover pressing trends and issues inboth land-based and iGaming isdenitely worth taking a look;anyway, these are the reasonswhy gaming exhibits and conven-

ons are held in the rst place,right? Thus, here are some of theimportant takeaways that every-one involved in the iGaming indus-

try, including you, the reader, cantake note of and learn from:

ICE 2 2 2 4Excel

ICE

38980Excel 20

15

With the increase in oor size, it is

not surprising that the a endeesin the recently concluded ICE To-tally Gaming event was the big-gest on record. In 2015, ICE hadan independently audited recordof 25,497 a endees from 133countries plus 510 exhibitors. Clar-ion Events, the organizer responsi -ble for this important highlight inthe gaming calendar, hasn’t re-leased any sta s cs yet on whattranspired last month, but it surelyexceeded the 2015 sta s cs.

ICE

2015 ICE133 510

25497

2015

Important Takeaways fromICE 2016ICE2016

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Gaming operators and the prob -lem of forcing their players toswitch to another pla orm

Lo ery opera ons are mostlyretail; that is, players go to outlets,choose their winning combina-

ons, and wait for the next drawpu ng in mind not to lose their

ckets. Nowadays, however, manyof the operators the world overhave taken advantage of the digi-tal aspect, bringing the thrill ofplaying lo o either online orthrough their mobile phones. It issurely great to see this develop-ment, but many experts have cau-

oned operators not to force theircustomers to play lo o throughmobile or online and totally scrapretail at the same me.

;

In ICE 2016, a panel discussionwas held talking about exibility inlo eries. Here, panelists agreedthat having other pla orms inplace while retaining retail is thebest way to ensure that playershave other op ons in playing

lo o. This is denitely a prime ex -ample of an omni-channel ap-proach in gaming, where theland-based and online aspectsmerge together to provide a com-plete offering for the customers.

2016 ICE

The state of eSports

The sector of eSports is an emerg-ing one in the gaming sphere.Indeed, since it burst into thescene a few years ago, a signi -cant amount of money is alreadybeing wagered, making it the next

poten al wagering pla orm. Sure,regulators have begun looking atthis possibility to facilitate furthergrowth given the amount ofmoney already being wageredthere, but during a panel discus-

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sion at ICE, experts believe thatthis gaming sector s ll has a longways to go before it can be men-

oned in the same breath assports be ng. In fact, the prob -

lems that eSports is facing today issimilar to what is happening indaily fantasy sports (DFS) andsports be ng, especially in theAmerican se ng.

ICE

DFS

Basically, the issues regarding eS-ports as a be ng pla orm areplen ful. One is that it is s ll con -tested in the US whether par ci -pa ng in a compe on by rstpaying an entrance fee is consid-

ered wagering. Another is on theaspect of be ng on which teamwill win an eSports tournament.Also concerning for regulators isthe fact that there could be cheat-ing happening, says one panelistin the discussion. If the collec on

of wagers is well-focused, thesame should also apply on ensur-ing that the game so ware beingused in tournaments are notrigged with cheat codes or manip-ulated any way just so one eSports

team wins over its opponent. Fi -nally, the issue of skill-basedgaming in general con nuouslycauses confusion within legisla-tors. All these problems consid-

ered present, eSports achieving itsfull poten al in the gaming indus -try is s ll up in the air.

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Gaming and Millenials

Millennials, sta s cs show, get toenjoy playing on digital plat-forms—in mobile, in par cu -lar—more than just going directlyat the brick-and-mortar gamingfacili es. Most gaming operatorstoday, especially in the case ofland-based enterprises, are tryinga ract millennials—those bornbetween 1980 and 2000—intoengaging to visit their facili es andbasically enjoy the gaming experi-ence.

1980 2000

According to panelists in one talkregarding gaming and millennials,operators wan ng to penetratethe demographic must take intoaccount the la er’s mindset inorder for the former to stay rele-

vant. The panelists suggests thatoperators planning to establishtheir facili es in many gaming ju -risdic ons must consider goingaway from the typical tradi onalfeel to an even livelier, more en-gaging experience. This is where

the non-gaming aspect comes in;the integra on of entertainmentspaces around the gaming spacesare examples on how land-basedgame operators can ins ll to mil -lennials a complete retail offering.

;

Japan as a Next Big Thing ingaming

We are all well-aware of the ongo-ing saga with regards Japan’s

long-term plan to introduce inte-grated resorts in the country, withthe Japanese Diet focusing onother things of na onal impor -tance. The bill that will lay theframework of Japanese gamingregula ons may have been put

into form, but the legislators haveyet to come into agreement onthis due to varying opinions. S ll,all signs point to Japan as the nextbig thing in the vast gamingmarket of Asia.

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In one seminar at ICE, a keynotespeaker from Japan informed theaudience that many of its ci zensare par cipa ng in poker tourna -ments which are overseen by theJapan Poker Associa on, a govern -ment-approved non-prot organi -

za on. Since this is so, the moreor less 50,000 ac ve Japaneseplayers are compe ng in tourna -ments that don’t involve money;yes, there are no payouts. This isdue to the long delay of thegaming bill, as people are looking

to not just play in these pokertournaments, but also go under-ground. Another keynote speakerin the seminar also expressed op-

mism that the gaming bill couldbe on its way to become law bythe end of 2016, although there isno saying when the legislators willcon nue their discussions on thema er.

ICE

50,000;

2016

A separate seminar also discussedhow western game developerscan take cues from Japan when it

comes to innova ons in the worldof iGaming. Indeed, Japanese de-velopers have been coming upwith “freemium” games—thosethat are ready-made and can beturned into paid-for online andmobile games. The challenge of

these Japanese developers to re-invent and come up with some-thing new is what their Westerncounterparts can do, who seem tobank in on popular types of gamessuch as games of chance and slotgames.

“”

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The impact of ICE in the AsianmarketICE

So many things have transpired inthe biggest industry event of theyear, and truly, the liveliness of thegaming industry is evident in therecently concluded ICE 2016.Apart from the chance of those ina endance to establish networkswith one another, everyone lethe exhibit lled with new and ex -ci ng informa on about the dif -ferent facets of gaming, some-thing that they can carry as theycon nue on with their endeavors.

2016 ICE

The Asian gaming market, for one,can learn a lot from the experienc-es such as this, ge ng their handsfull on the new things that they

discovered at ICE. As they furthergrow their business and contrib-ute to the ever-expanding marketof gaming, Asian companies takeadvantage of these exhibi onsand conferences to poten ally im -plement fresh ideas into their ex-is ng products or services, allow -ing them to possibly bring in not

just customers and clients, butalso revenue.

ICE

Now that we are on the subject ofgaming conferences and gather-ings, we are glad to inform youreaders that Oriental Game is pre-paring to be part of an annual iGa-ming event. It may not be as grandas the one that happened last

month, but we can assure youthat we are going to introduceourselves into the Asian iGamingscene, and this will happen in afew months’ me. Stay tuned formore updates from us!

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oriental game - the monthly bet [march 2016 issue]

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