Study on online gambling market Essay Example for Free

Study on online gambling market Essay For thousands of years, mankind has enjoyed spending money on games of chance. Today this has developed into a multi-billion dollar worldwide phenomenon- the gambling industry. While the total number of gambling enterprises has fallen in recent years the overall number of people employed in the industry has increases, suggesting that enterprises are now larger than they were a decade ago. The way people bet has been revolutionised of recent years with the online gambling industry taking over the traditional high street bookmakers. Betting exchanges on the internet where punters can offer bets to other punters. Meaning the average punter can now act as the bookie and say that a certain event will not happen. To understand the impact of the gambling industry, one has to consider the percentage of people that partake in gambling. Knowing it has been around for two millennia, it is interesting to observe today 80 to 85% of people will gamble in any given year. The gambling industry has evolved greatly in recent years due to the development of online gambling, this is clearly the reason for the rapid growth in the market. Along with new markets such as the online poker industry, that has taken the world in a massive fad with millions playing poker online. The gambling industry tends to be an industry in which people will use their disposable income, but the desire to win more and the increased joy from having a larger bet causes people to spend more money on gambling than they wish. This is a market driver for the industry but also the general increase in people gambling has become the main market driver in recent years. (Party Gaming) For the five year period from 2005 to 2009, it is estimated that revenues generated by the global online gaming market will increase to approximately $22. 7 billion, representing a compound annual growth rate of approximately 22 per cent. From this estimation of expected spending in the online gambling market, it shows a market with great potential. Introduction . The following report analyses the dynamic market within which gambling exists, and the way the online gambling industry beginning to takeover the gambling industry. From the report on the market it will be possible to have a clearer understanding of whether the market will continue to grow or whether the market can not continue to grow at such a rapid rate. The following report analyses the dynamic market within which online gambling exists. The report will focus on areas such as 1. PEST Analysis 2. Boston Matrix 3. Porters Five Forces 4. Competitors Analysis 5. SWOT Analysis 6. Shareholders Such consideration of the market will enable a clearer understanding of whether the market will continue to grow at such a rapid rate. Market Definition Market sectors There are four main gambling sectors that attract the vast majority if online gambling ? Online Poker ?Online Casinos ?Sports Betting ?Betting Exchanges Online poker and betting exchanges are dominating the market and have only been introduced in recent years to the online gambling market. Sports betting and casinos still have large market share of the market but growth has slowed down. The size of the online gambling market for 2004 was $8. 2 billion for the world. In 2004 in the U. K ? 7. 4 billion was spent in gambling. Even though stats are not that easy to compare it shows that online gambling has not yet dominated the gambling market and there is potential for further growth. PEST Analysis PEST Analysis is analysis of macro-environments that affects all firms. PEST stands for Political, Economic, Social, Technological factors of the external macro-environment. Such external factors are beyond most firms control and sometimes present themselves as threats. On the other hand changes in the external environment can lead to new opportunities; this is certainly true for the gambling industry. Political Political and legal factors are those controlled by ? governments, local authorities, or other trade or activity orientated regulatory bodies (Brassington and Pettitt, 2000). Gambling legislation is put in place in order to prevent consumers been taken advantage and also help control consumers with gambling problems. The internet is open to great abuse in all areas of the internet and gambling is no exception. Within five minutes it is possible to be gambling on the internet at as high stakes as one desires, this obviously has its dangers. Companies have recently been pushed to be more responsible for caring for their customers. Some of the companies now have a system which its customers can use. The system offers the customer control of how much they can deposit in a designated time period, this helps the customers control their spending. Though this may affect profits for a company, it gives the impression that they care for their customers, which promotes their company. The laws for online gambling are reasonably relaxed and with it been a worldwide market that anyone from any country can access it is hard to control such a market. There have been recent worries about illegal gambling carried out on Betfair with trainers and owners regarding the running of a horse to lose. Many bets would be taken on the specific horse resulting in a major movement in the market and the price . The in the know punters will know the certain horse that is going to lose the race and they then lay the horse to lose on betfair, guaranteeing that they will win. This has caused many investigation and question over betting exchanges. Economic This considers both the ?macro- and micro-economic environment conditions which affect the structure of the market (Brassington and Pettitt, 2000). With the UK expecting an increase in disposable income this is likely that more money is to be spent in gambling. The gambling market may, however, be susceptible to recessionary influences. In times of economic downturn consumers become more reserved in their spending. With the market been worldwide the economic stability of different countries should balance the market out at such times, but large consumers of the market such as the US may have an effect on the market. Interest rates and level of inflation must be considered as threats to the online gambling industry. Social In order to combat the issues surrounding gambling addiction, casino staff undergo training in order to identify problem gamblers. The Gambling Bill is to focus on social responsibility rather than on casinos. The resort casinos which the gambling bill allows are an issue as evidence from New Zealand suggests that the bigger the casino the bigger the risk of problem gambling. This kind of control on the internet is done in a different way and there is no obligation for companies to offer this service. It is only the leading companies who tend to offer protection against gambling addiction. The way it is done on the internet is to let customers set there deposit limit with a desired time period. Obviously this is not as well controlled as at the casino as employees can take control of the problem customers but on the internet that kind of control does not exist, which proves to be a real worry for the online gambling industry. Many online gambling companies cater for only English speaking consumers due to the large domination of the market from the U.S and the U. K. This restricts market growth in other countries but companies are changing towards catering for other countries, with casinos ahead of the game due to its global appeal. As gambling is seen as a use of leisure activity the market considers its success on the amount of leisure time consumers have but from research it is clear to see consumers feel no obligation to carrying out their gambling whilst at work, often a poker game in the lunch break or even whilst working, which creates extra revenue for the online gambling industry. It also emphasis the ease at which it is to gamble online, which is the main reason behind the success of the market. Technological Gambling has been revolutionised in recent years by technological change and this is the reason for the rapid growth in the industry, making it easier than ever to gamble. The internet has seen new systems such as Betfair, and online poker which is know an $8. 6 billion market. The idea of online gambling is the ease of placing a bet. Before people would have to go to the betting shop or the casino to gamble but with such easy access for customers to access there betting accounts it has a bee a revolutionising advancement in the gambling market. New software is constantly been developed to offer an enhanced experienced for the consumers. The betting exchanges offer the chance for consumers to act as the bookies by being able to lay their bets. This obviously offers a new exciting way for consumers to experience gambling and has helped to develop the market. With improved graphics companies are making it more like the real thing. Some of the casinos online are designed to make you actually feel like you are in the casino the same is done with online poker games and even sports betting is going down the same line with offering text and audio commentary for sports events. This encourages consumers to use the internet rather than go to the casino or the betting shops. Porters Five force analysis Mr Porter was a scholar and management consultant. His model is based on the insight that a corporate strategy should meet the opportunities and threats in the organisations external environment. Porter has identified five competitive forces that shape every industry and every market. These forces determine the intensity of competition and hence the profitability and attractiveness of an industry. The objective of corporate strategy should be to modify these competitive forces in a way that can improve the position of an organisation. Barriers to Entry New entrants into to the market are quite regular due to the low costs of setting up an online gambling site. However, in practice, there are significant barriers to building a large, successful online gambling firm, as the business model is dependent to a large extent on, amongst other things, a strong brand underpinned by liquidity and effective payment processing. The exceptions of success by new entries tends to be when a company has an innovative idea such as Betfair. They are offering something different to the customer. The key features of a successful online gambling firm are difficult to achieve due to the following: ? Player liquidity: a large number of players are required for online poker and betting exchanges, to provide customers with opposing players for poker or a price for betting exchanges. In addition, player liquidity means that the larger sites can offer a greater variety for its customers. ?Software control: ownership of software to provide the operator with greater control, improved margins and bespoke functionality, with the ability to develop high quality user interface and scalable systems which are critical for attracting and retaining customers. Payment processing expertise: to attract and maintain customers, sites must be trusted and must provide a wide range of methods to pay-in and withdraw funds. Such payment processing must also be quick and efficient whilst maintaining low levels of fraud. ?Customer support: responding to customer enquiries on a timely and efficient basis enhances the level of customer service and customer retention. To build and sustain a large online gaming business requires significant investment in customer service operations. Marketing and global reach: as competition increases, the leading operators have greater marketing resources with which to attract and retain customers and are increasingly becoming global brands in order to penetrate new geographic markets. Buyer power The buyer power of customers determines how much customers can impose pressure on margins and volumes. The gambling market is driven by consumer trends and companies need to identify these trends and implement their strategies to remain competitive. Promotional strategies are used to initially sign up a customer and once signed up they are likely to stay there if they like the lay up of the site. It is predicted that one in three people that sign up for a free bonus will use that company for their gambling. Threats of Substitutes This is no real concern for the online gambling market, the only substitutes is betting shops and casinos, but these where all put in place before the online gambling market was created, so there is no possibility of threats from this. Supplier Power The supplier in this market is the software developers, where many companies use the same software to run their websites and with a worldwide market suppliers are never short when it involves employees skills to create the products, unlike coffee that may be affected by poor weather conditions. The concern of software developers rising prices for their products may be an issue due to them feeling they are loosing out on profit with which some online gambling companies are creating a large amount of profit. Competitor Analysis Competitor analysis is a ? systematic attempt to identify and understand the key elements of a competitors strategy (Brassington and Pettitt, 2000). An understanding of competitors enables competitive advantages to be formed. Gambling is a highly competitive market which may discourage market entry and stifle innovation, it may similarly stimulate a range of strategies for promoting growth and with constant technological improvements markets may open in the future. The amount of online gambling companies available to consumers are very variant, this has made a very competitive markets with companies offering free bonuses and providing the latest in software technology. The online gambling market can be split up into 4 sub-markets, online poker, betting exchanges, sports betting, and casinos. Betting exchanges market is dominated by betfair. Betfair is the dominant player in the betting exchange market, with an estimated 86% market share by value. Betfair exchange boasts a high level of liquidity across a wide range of betting markets, and a professional customer service operation alongside a fully integrated telephone and internet betting service. These features, have served to act as a significant barrier to entry into the betting exchange marketplace. Several other betting exchanges were set up including Sporting options and Betdaq. Sporting options was no success and was closed with many people losing money in there betting accounts because the company were unable to pay them back, betfair stepped in to offer support for these people which helped betfair grow even more dominant in the market. While there are over 200 online poker sites in operation, the online poker market is dominated by a small number of large operators. For the current year to 5 June 2005, the top eight operators had an estimated combined market share of 95 per cent in terms of ring game rake, 92 per cent in terms of number of ring game players and 88 per cent in terms of number of tournament players, which illustrates the effective barriers to developing an online poker business. Of these operators, PartyPoker. com has been the clear market leader in terms of both revenue and number of players since mid-2003. The sports betting market is much like the poker market, as many companies exist but the market is dominated by several market leaders such as William Hill and Paddy Power. William Hill has had success due to it is reputation of stores in towns and cities all over the U. K. As for paddy Power the success has been from large amounts or promotion and innovative ideas to promote the company. The casino market also works on the same basis that there are few market leaders that dominate the market. The main market leaders are casino on net, Golden Palace and Ladbrokes casino; there are still many major competitors in the market but with less market share but have the potential to take more of the market share. Most traffic is driven to online casinos via marketing on television channels and bonus deals in order to get customers to sign up for the casinos. Boston Matrix The Boston matrix is a chart created by the Boston Consulting Group in 1970. This is a useful marketing tool when analysis of market growth-relative share is required; the growth and share of different online gambling methods can be compared. The markets on the internet consist of poker, sports betting, betting exchanges and casinos. Dogs These are products with a low share of a low growth market. They do not generate cash for the company, they tend to absorb it. There are no online gambling markets that are in this category, this shows a strong healthy market. Cash Cows These are products with a high share of a slow growth market. Cash Cows generate more than is invested in them. Sports betting and casinos markets have slowed down as the stars of the online gambling market have entered the market. Problem Children These are products with a low share of a high growth market. They consume resources and generate little in return. They absorb most money as you attempt to increase market share. These gambling games are fairly new to the market and have yet had a chance to grow. Stars These are products that are in high growth markets with a relatively high share of that market. Stars tend to generate high amounts of income. Betting and exchanges and online pokers have taken the market to the new levels of turnover and have set of a craze worldwide. Shareholders For nearly every industry, sustainability is a key objective. Creating a sustainable online gambling industry benefits all of the industrys stakeholders. In recent months we have seen the flotation of many online poker companies, which developed a great relationship between the stock market and online gambling. But in September this year PartyGaming warned its growth prospects may be not be as great as was suggested when it floated in July 2005. More than ? 2 billion was wiped of the value of its shares; they dropped 30% in value. This obviously had an effect on other online gambling company shares which saw a slide in share price as well. One indicator of the slowdown is that although there are still more people signing up to play poker online, their average spend is falling. This is a concern for the online poker market as it shows the growth is not sustainable and action must be taken to not just let the online poker market just a short fad. Chief Executive Richard Segal said as these trends continued, the group would adapt its marketing strategy and infrastructure to provide greater focus on customer retention and player value. SWOT Analysis ________________________________________ SWOT analysis is useful in auditing information in a systematic manner. It demonstrates how strengths and weaknesses can be understood in context with opportunities and threats. SWOT analysis helps to explain where the online gambling market is today, but also where it is likely to be in the future. ?Strengths 1. New innovations and improvements are a regular feature due to a highly competitive market and high demand from consumers. 2. The growth in new consumers is constant, especially with the current fad of online poker. 3. Consumers have more faith in using the internet which is helping the market to grow: new payment systems such as Paypal are trustful and they prevent, together with insurances and banks, consumers from online fraud. 4. The overheads are very low for new companies to enter the market of online gambling: create a webpage and buy a payment gateway is basically enough to have a gambling website. 5. Online gambling represent entertainment at home that can be accessed at anytime, from anywhere and by anyone. 6. Due to the diversity of gambling available bringing consumers into the market that would not potentially consider gambling (e.g. gambling on games such as Chess) is very easy. ? Weaknesses 1. Online gambling is likely to become quite a saturated market, and will only continue to grow at such a rate if innovations can be added to the existing offer: develop gambling in new areas such as politics, decrease the time between the deadline to place a bet and the event on which the bet is placed 2. Companies with poor marketing strategies will have to struggle to exist due to the amount of competition: new websites are issued quite every day without even proposing new possibilities for consumers. 3. In becoming stronger, more reputable organisations have the capability to over power smaller organisations or websites: this may occur in France in the next few years if La Francaise des Jeux decides to develop a wide-scale platform for online betting it will probably have a very negative impact on smaller competitors. 4. Gambling laws in several countries such as France or Italy constrain success of market with the social issues of gambling addiction. 5. Betting shops and Casinos when they are allowed by national gaming acts still have a high presence in the gambling market and stop people using the online gambling options as much. 6. It appears to be quite difficult for new company to enter the market place due to high competition and dominance of large firms controlling the market, unless with having an innovative idea: some small websites, for example, focus on the European market, they propose adapted hours for online tournaments or develop their pages or hotlines in many languages ?Opportunities 1. Can emphasis on the rapid popularity of online gambling and that anyone can do it. 2. It is highly potential to gain a lead on the market with new technology. 3. Innovative ideas such as celebrities even gamble online, e. g. www. celebritypoker. com offers the chance to play poker against celebrities. 4. Inexpensive start up costs for a new online gambling company. 5. Constant improvement in technology opens up opportunities in the market. 6. Broadband creating much more opportunity. 7. The market is worldwide so anyone who has access to the internet can be targeted. Threats ?Rapid growth of the market may cause gambling laws to be tightened affecting profit for companies. ?Negative publicity highlighting the dangers of gambling. ?Demand depends upon real income therefore downturns in the economy can have an adverse effect of demand. ?Some companies are in a weak position financially. ?Dominance of the market. ?Market dependant on technology, which is not always reliable. Conclusion ________________________________________ The future of online gambling is bright with estimates of $32 billion spent in the year of 2009 compared to $14 billion this year. The market has seen rapid growth in recent years and it is not possible for a market to sustain such rapid growth forever, but it is still likely to grow at such a rapid rate for several years to come but it will slow down gradually. Gambling laws vary in different countries but could prevent the growth of the market, due to worries such as gambling addiction. There will always be a strong market for online gambling but is likely to see more domination by larger companies keeping the barriers of entry difficult to succeed in the market. Online gambling is highly innovative industry with new ideas to draw more people into gambling with the latest idea of offering to be able to gamble on games of chess or snooker or backgammon It is possible to gamble on nearly everything, this just defines the potential of the market. References Textbooks Brassington, F. and Pettitt, S. (2000). Principles of Marketing. Websites www. quickmba. com/strategy/porter. shtml Five forces analysis diagram. www. gamblinglicenses. com Provided information on the gambling laws work. www. partygaming. com Provided stats on market size and useful information on the online poker market. www. bettingmarket. com Reviews of the online gambling market with stats of traffic on online sites. www. reports. mintel. com Provided a report on the gambling industry, with helpful information on market size. www. amadeus. bvdep. com Provided information on the market share of companies. www. thismoney. co. uk Provided information on the share situation for the market.