From the rapid adoption of mobile marketing solutions by the casino industry’s biggest players, to the fast-growing online and mobile gambling markets in New Jersey, Delaware, and Nevada, 2013 was a banner year for the casino gaming business.
Since launching in late summer, mGamingWatch has covered some of the biggest and most consequential developments across the industry this year. With 2013 now in the history books, there’s no better time than now to reflect on the top stories of 2013 as we look forward to bigger developments and headlines in the promising year ahead for casino marketing and online gambling.
Marketers from around the gaming and casino industries are gearing-up for the new rules of mobile marketing taking effect this week with strict oversight from the FCC. With such little time remaining to answer so many questions, last week mGamingWatch, along with our sister sites Mobile Marketing Watch and mHealthWatch, hosted an emergency webinar for marketers and related professionals across numerous industries who must urgently educate themselves on a variety of emerging issues related to consumer privacy, location based services, and the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA).
The gaming industry’s biggest marketers have apparently been remarkably prudent with their use of SMS and other mobile marketing tactics in 2013. Whether this reticence is due to concerns over compliance issues or simply a general reluctance to more aggressively bring their marketing into the digital age, most casino regulars simply aren’t complaining about too many promotional SMS messages.
Over the next five years, Juniper reported Tuesday, the number of mobile and/or tablet owners using their devices to gamble will increase by 100 million. According to a briefling provided by Juniper to mGamingWatch today, 164 million people will either place a bet, visit a mobile casino or buy a lottery ticket on their device in 2018.
It’s a question for which the attempted answers continue to spark significant debate. Just how much is the online poker market really worth in the United States? According to a new report series by Academicon and PokerScout, the potential size of a regulated U.S. online poker market is $2.2 billion in the first year of operation.
The American Gaming Association used the recent platform provided by a U.S. Senate hearing to reaffirm the need for online poker regulations at the federal level. The AGA is also in favor of bolstering laws governing online casino games.
From Las Vegas to Atlantic City and the great many legal gambling – online and physical – markets in between, mobile marketing has quickly become the savvy casino and gaming industry marketer’s tool of choice for connecting with current and prospective gamers. Consequently, it’s understandable why gaming industry marketers are watching Washington closely these days to see how the new rules of mobile marketing will ultimately impact them.
In yet another promising indication of the American public’s growing acceptance of online gambling, a new study shows that nearly two-thirds of the U.S. population supports online poker.
As of early 2013, SMS was already well entrenched in the marketing mentality of casinos based everywhere from Las Vegas to China. But the full potential of SMS (along with email and social media marketing) in the gaming industry isn’t close to being realized.
According to the American Gaming Association, any attempt to thwart the tremendous potential and opportunity for growth apparent in the online gambling arena is all but futile. In a statement shared with MGW and first presented before the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade, Geoff Freeman, President and CEO of the American Gaming Association, made his and his organization’s position clear.
Last Thursday, Texas Republican Joe Barton proposed a new bill to legalize Internet poker. This legislation coincides with a bill proposed in June by New York Republican Congressman Peter King. Referred to as the Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection and Enforcement Act of 2013, it would not only allow for poker, but all casino games.
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