EiG is officially underway. This year's attendance exceeds 1,500 - the most ever at this seven-year-old event.
A couple of interesting items to report first on the home front: I mentioned yesterday that the European I-gaming lot is keenly interested in U.S. legal developments, so it's somewhat apropos that the hot topic on day 1 is the seizure of 140 I-gaming domain names in Kentucky. My colleagues in St. Charles are covering this one diligently, but I'll sprinkle in some bits here and there on what's being said in Barcelona about the matter. The gist of what I'm hearing is that this is seen as a protectionist measure in the home state of Churchill downs, which happens to do some business on the Internet. A few people I've talked to seem to think that the whole thing was inspired by First Technology's successful acquisition of Bodog's domain names a few months back. I also learned the iMEGA is gearing up for a battle in to go to battle on this issue. I'll post an article on this shortly.
In other U.S. news, Clarion Gaming's Tony Boschert learned this morning via a phone call from St. Louis law enforcement that his front porch served as the termination point for a high-speed chase following a bank robbery. For more on that, click here.
Left: Our Tony Boschert enjoying a sandwich prior to learning that a bank robber crashed his car into his porch, Center: Tony, shortly after he received the news (apologies to CryptoLogic, whose booth served as a platform for Tony's rage), right: The nice man who visited Tony's house.
On to the sessions...
1:13 PM
I found a place the conference hall to plug in the laptop, but to my dismay, it's a UK-configured outlet. I came prepared with my petite continental Europe adapter but did not anticipating bringing its gigantic clunky UK counterpart. I blog on borrowed time.
The keynote speaker, Bruno Guissani talks about Internet trends and the empowerment of today's Internet user.
EiG Day 1 Keynote Speaker Bruno Guissani
He touches on several contributing factors for the Internet's tipping point, but perhaps his most interesting point is an anecdote identifying the guy who shot the famous Kennedy assassination film as the predecessor to today's video blogger. Amateur footage, he says, has reshaped the way we perceive world events. If the Kennedy assassination took place today, he adds, "our understanding of the event would be completely different" because there would have been multiple tapes from multiple perspectives.
1:50 PM
Not a single audience question for Bruno? Amazing. Moderator Sue Schneider chimes in, asking him if there is a way I-gaming operators can counter erroneous claims about their sites via forums. He recommends they have their representatives participate in the conversations - not by pasting in a prepared press release, but by actually engaging the forum users.
Bruno's final point is that online and terrestrial gambling will transition from parallel offerings to a hybrid that will become more and more intertwined as time passes. He also predicts that Las Vegas will eventually embrace gambling in a Second Life type of online environment.
2:15 PM
The suppliers CEO panel commences: The panelists are:
- Brian Hadfield, president and CEO of CryptoLogic
- Martin Lerby, Head of Games B2B for Ongame Network
- Nik Robinson, Senior VP for Orbis
- Mor Weizer, CEO of Playtech
Moderator: Sue Schneider, Instigator from Clarion Gaming
The Suppliers Panel
The pace is initially slow, and panelists are predictably guarded. I'm waiting for that first spark.
On a side note, I really like the name "Mor Weizer," although it would be incredibly stressful trying to live up to the standards it projects. He can at least be thankful he's not "Most Weizest."
2:16 PM
Today's first product announcement: Orbis launched its Betfair Arcade suite yesterday.
2:18 PM
Wonderul. . . Bruno Guissani, a very highly regarding blogger, is sitting six feet in front of me typing madly. So the bar has been set for EiG blogging. I actually read his piece on how to blog at conferences last night. Oddly enough, he recommends sitting in the back of the room so as not to be a distraction, yet he's sitting in the front row. He's off his game . . . unraveling before my eyes. Can the student outblog the teacher?
2:23 PM
Sue references the term "Co-opetition" ("cooperation" merged with "competition"), which Tribeca Tables co-founder Lenny Barshack coined a few years back in reference to summarize his belief that competing company's in the I-gaming space should work together for the betterment of the Industry as a whole. Brian Hadfield says he likes the concept, but doesn't care for the term.
This was a very important point made by Barshack, yet the first thing I that comes to my mind when I look back on Lenny as a speaker was a heinous photo of naked poker players shown in one of his slides. I won't paint a picture for you, but if you were there, you know the horror.
2:23 PM
Martin Lerby is the first panelist to acknowledge that, for competitive reasons, he can't share as much information as the audience would perhaps like. The discussion, in general, remains guarded. When asked to elaborate on how they are currently leveraging technological innovations, for example, the panelists agreed that innovations are important and left it at that.
2:28 PM
Bruno hasn't typed for a while. Nothing to say, Bruno? I'm blogging circles around him.
2:33 PM
In reference to keys for success in the software supply space, Martin Lerby stressed the importance of diversification. "The survivors are the full-service agencies," he said. The panelists concur that specialization is not the way to go.
Brian Hadfield touches on the popularity of social networking and advises that suppliers should consider this when developing strategies for better serving their customers.
Brian also says that standards-based development will be important for the industry moving forward. The insistence on keeping all things proprietary, he says, is detrimental. I have to say, though, that as I have observed, the spirit of competition is much livelier then the spirit of cooperation.
2:36 PM
The discussion is finally picking up. Brian mentions that operators should be able to run products from multiple suppliers and that this is the way the market is heading. "We don't hold nooses around the operators' necks anymore," he says.
In this sense, I believe CryptoLogic might have something by pushing its branded games (e.g. the Marvel series). Hugely popular terrestrial slots ("Wheel of Fortune," "Monopoly," etc.) have established a blueprint in this area. Likewise, most state lotteries are absurdly brand-happy with their scratch games.
Martin says that branding is important, but it's quality of game play that ultimately wins the customers. I respectfully disagree. He's right in that the quality has to be there, but all of the companies represented on the panel have produced excellent products, as have many of their competitors, so it seems to me that they need to go the extra step to differentiate.
2:51 PM
It's getting dull again. I just surveyed the list of 140 domain names on the Kentucky list and at a glance it appears that of them are property of any of companies represented by EiG's CEO panels.
2:55 PM
An audience member asks the panelist to comment on the prospects of I-gaming if Barrack Obama is elected as well as whether they are concerned about the Kentucky domain campaign. Brian Hadfield says much more needs to happen in the US than a change in leadership. Therefore, his company will continue to focus on Europe.
No one addresses the Kentucky question. It is as if it were never asked. This makes me wish the Obama question wasn't put out there with it. Then someone might have been compelled to comment on Kentucky.
Sue, however, is more than happy to comment on Kentucky. To her, it is clearly protectionism from the state that hosts the Kentucky Derby. The wheels in my head are starting to turn. . . If one were to embrace the interpretations of the UIGEA given by US Attorney Catherine Hanaway and Congressman Bob Goodlatte - specifically, that the prohibition refers to all I-gaming without exception - shouldn't the domain TwinSpires.com have been included on that list?
On the election, Sue points to emphasize that strengthening the Democrat majority in Congress would help to sway the general sentiment toward I-gaming in Washington. More importantly, she expects more to happen on the state level. It will start with individual states regulating I-gaming, and it will liquidity is reached via interstate compacts.
3:03 PM
My battery is down to 16%. Why the hell are the sockets British?
A mathematical expression of my imminent power outage.
All in all, it was a pretty good session. Getting the heads of these companies on a panel together was a coup. Unfortunately, the climate is far too competitive to really get these guys talking. I'd really like to hear what the panelists would have to say about the issues discussed over a few drinks.