eGaming Review January 2015 | Page 87

G T E C H / SPONSORED EDITORIAL STAND OUT FROM THE CROWD MATTEO MONTEVERDI, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT OF GTECH, IGAMING AND AMERICAS INTERACTIVE, TALKS TO EGAMING REVIEW ABOUT THE VITAL NEED FOR VERSATILITY AND CUSTOMISATION IN THE STRUGGLE FOR CUSTOMER RETENTION IN AN OVERSATURATED MARKET MATTEO MONTEVERDI t SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT IGAMING AND AMERICAS INTERACTIVE t GTECH Monteverdi guides GTECH’s global interactive product development and marketing strategy, while leading the company’s commercial and lottery interactive opportunities within the Americas region. He joined the company in 2010. Prior to this, he worked with Promptu System Corp and also collaborated as a venture partner with Innogest S.G.R. eGaming Review (eGR): What separates GTECH’s casino platforms from others in the market? Matteo Monteverdi (MM): GTECH’s platform is a unique ‘one-stop-shop’ for operators, offering a truly modular system built to service multiple channels from one solution. It’s built from the ground up, based on GTECH’s long experience in regulated markets, both as a commercial operator (B2C) and as a technology and gaming provider (B2B). It offers a fully integrated technology platform that meets all player and operator needs. In addition, GTECH’s interactive platform offers operators a 360 degree view of players which, in turn, allows cross-selling and up-selling through campaigns, bonuses and loyalty management. GTECH offers one of the broadest and fastestgrowing game libraries in the industry, across all channels from desktop to mobile, tablets or download app. One of the biggest strengths of the GTECH platform is that it also enables super-fast integrations with almost any third-party gaming system, opening a continuous content pipeline to operators for best-of-breed, third-party games. eGR: How important are the customisation options available on the platform? MM: Through our experience in providing casino systems across major commercial casinos and lottery operators, we have seen that customisation is of vital importance to stand out in today’s heavily saturated market. To increase customer acquisition and retention, all of our partners need key features including the ability to customise their casino portal, run innovative marketing campaigns, configure unique bonuses or organise bespoke tournaments. Such a scale of customisation, however, can only be attained through a modular system that can adapt to different operator and regulatory needs. eGR: What do you see as the key drivers for growth in the online casino sector? MM: Over the past few years, there has been an increasing demand for a distributable system, capable of delivering gaming content to multiple channels from a variety of different suppliers. While this continues, additional drivers are starting to materialise. These are aimed at providing a richer and more rewarding gaming experience that will keep players engaged for longer. Promoting achievement, consistency and player fulfilment, W W W. E G R M A G A Z I N E . C O M coupled with developing a more in-depth knowledge of player activity and behaviour, enables operators to comprehend their players’ needs in greater detail. This allows operators to deliver a more sophisticated and targeted offering. This should contribute to growth by presenting the customer with a product that is more relevant and appealing to their needs. Finally, consistency across all channels in an operator’s content portfolio will be a key driver for enhancing user experience, as casino players are becoming more demanding. eGR: How have player demands changed since GTECH entered the casino market more than a decade ago? MM: Whether through the advancement in hardware, the increase in internet connectivity and speed, or through the enhancements in software, design, and programming, players’ demands have changed dramatically. Players are now far more sophisticated than they were a decade ago, and are fully prepared to seek out the most rewarding and engaging casino experience on offer. Players are demanding a large and varied offering across multiple channels, not just from the gaming content pe '7V7F