Canadian Gaming Business

Canada's Premier Gaming Industry Magazine

www.CanadianGamingBusiness.com

Spring 2015

Vol. 10 No. 1

THE NEXT WAVE

Technology and the Future of Gaming

Social Gaming Evolution Strategic Security PM 40063056

The Analytically Agile Casino

CanadianGamingSummit.com June 16-18, 2015 Caesars Windsor

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Spring 2015 Publisher

Volume 10 Number 1 Chuck Nervick chuckn@mediaedge.ca 416.512.8186 ext. 227

contents 14

www.CanadianGamingBusiness.com

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Editor Sean Moon seanm@mediaedge.ca Advertising Sales Chuck Nervick chuckn@mediaedge.ca Senior Designer

Annette Carlucci

annettec@mediaedge.ca

Designer

Jennifer Carter

jenc@mediaedge.ca

Production Manager

Rachel Selbie

rachels@mediaedge.ca

Circulation Manager

Gill Daniels

circulation@mediaedge.ca

Proudly owned and published by:

President Kevin Brown

President & CEO Bill Rutsey

kevinb@mediaedge.ca wrutsey@canadiangaming.ca

Senior Vice President Chuck Nervick

Vice President, Public Affairs Paul Burns

chuckn@mediaedge.ca pburns@canadiangaming.ca

Canadian Gaming Business is published four times a year as a joint venture between MediaEdge Communications and The Canadian Gaming Association To advertise: For information on CGB’s print or digital advertising opportunities: Chuck Nervick 416-512-8186 ext. 227 chuckn@mediaedge.ca Copyright 2015 Canada Post Canadian Publications Mail Publications Mail Agreement No. 40063056 ISSN 1911-2378 Guest editorials or columns do not necessarily reflect the opinion of Canadian Gaming Business magazine's advisory board or staff. No part of this issue may be reproduced by any mechanical, photographic or electronic process without written permission by the publisher. Subscription rates: Canada $40* 1 yr, $70* 2 yrs. USA $65 yr, $120* 2 yrs. International $90* 1 yr, $160* 2 yrs. *Plus applicable taxes.

Postmaster send address changes to: Canadian Gaming Business Magazine 5255 Yonge Street Suite 1000, Toronto, Ontario M2N 6P4

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EDITOR’S NOTE

6

MESSAGE FROM THE CGA

8

COVER STORY

The Next Wave – Technology and the future of gaming

14 LOTTERIES

Lotteries and Technology – Keeping up with the pace of change 18 IGAMING

Social Gaming Evolution – The rise of offline-online convergence 22

INDUSTRY Q&A

26

GAMING INNOVATION

Security and Surveillance – Strategic Security

Gaming on the Go – The latest in mobile gaming apps

28 ANALYTICS

Analytics and Operations – The analytically agile casino 32

CORPORATE PROFILE

34

FACILITY PROFILE

36

EXECUTIVE Q&A

Intertain Group – Growing the online bingo community

Club Regent and McPhillips Station

Tony Santo, CEO, Gateway Casinos and Entertainment

38 FINANCE

The Audit Advantage – How internal audit can minimize risk 42 LEGAL

Anti-Money Laundering – Changes are coming 44

RESPONSIBLE GAMBLING New Horizons – Responsible gambling conference gathers steam

46 MARKETING

Direct Marketing – Sticking to the fundamentals

Official Publication of the Canadian Gaming Summit

Canadian Gaming Business | 3

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AS I WRITE THIS NOTE for our Spring 2015 issue with a focus on the impact of technology on the global gaming industry, I am reminded of the exponential rate of technological change most of us have experienced over the last 10 years. For example, while preparing this issue and working with our contributors and article sources, I employed a variety of technologies that didn’t even exist a decade ago – smartphone, tablet computer and a host of planning and project management apps, to name but a few. Apart from the sea of email we all receive on a daily basis, I welcome the majority of these technological developments with open arms. They help me to be more productive, efficient and timely in helping to meet our goal of providing the best content possible for our readership. For others, however, technological change can create a number of significant challenges along with the obvious benefits.

Perhaps few industries have been as profoundly affected by the accelerated pace of technological change as the gaming sector.

From the development of mobile gaming apps, innovation in gaming floor equipment, rapidly evolving customer engagement applications and security and surveillance concerns, technology’s impact on our industry has been both pervasive and permanent.

In this first issue of 2015, we look specifically at many of the areas which are currently experiencing significant upheaval thanks to technology. Starting with our cover story The Next Wave, CGB reached out to many sectors of the Canadian gaming community, including charitable gaming, responsible gambling and gaming equipment suppliers, to see just how pronounced these effects have been.

In addition to our technology-themed articles, we explore other significant issues and influences on the Canadian gaming landscape, including: • How Canadian lotteries are adapting to the evolving needs of a changing consumer demographic through mobile communication channels and online play; • The operationalization of analytics programs within an increasing number of gaming organizations; • The ongoing advantages of direct marketing in a world seemingly obsessed with online business, and; • An in-depth look at the important changes to AML legislation now facing the gaming sector.

As always we hope this issue of CGB has something for everyone.

If you have any story ideas, suggestions or comments, feel free to contact myself at seanm@mediaedge.ca or CGB’s Publisher Chuck Nervick at chuckn@mediaedge.ca for advertising information.

Enjoy the issue and cheers for now,

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messagefromtheCGA

Enhancing Educational Opportunities

BY BILL RUTSEY, PRESIDENT AND CEO OF THE CANADIAN GAMING ASSOCIATION

THE CANADIAN GAMING ASSOCIATION, together w ith our Summit partner, MediaEdge Communications, are always looking to develop and enhance the educational opportunities for our industr y in Canada, whether within the Summit or apart. Two examples of this are the just past inaugural Community Gaming Conference held in Toronto and the Food and Beverage Conference that will be an exciting new addition to this year’s Canadian Gaming Summit at Caesars Windsor.

CGA was proud to partner with the Commercial Gaming Association of Ontario to create the inaugural Community Gaming Conference held this just past January in Toronto.

Charitable gaming facilities are an important part of the economic and entertainment mix across the country.

Hundreds of shelters, children’s and amateur sports programs, health, disability, and education charities, and food programs rely on grants to provide their much-needed services, and are able to keep their doors open thanks to charitable gaming. In Ontario alone, this totals almost 3,000 charities.

The conference was conceived and developed to address the unique issues charitable gaming in Canada is confronting. The industry is on the cusp of change. Thanks to technological advancements, bingo halls are transforming into charitable gaming centres and altering the entertainment experience for their customers.

It was an energizing and informative experience for the more than 160 participants from across Canada who spent a

6 | Spring 2015

day and half together, networking and participating in a wide range of sessions, keynotes and roundtable presentations dealing with crucial topics such as marketing, facility design and layout, and game technology. CGA remains a strong supporter of charitable gaming and the benefits it brings to communities across the country. We look forward to working with the sector to develop an even more informative, contentpacked conference next year.

We are equally enthusiastic about the new Food and Beverage educational program within this year’s Canadian Gaming Summit, which will be welcoming gaming facility food and beverage professionals from across the country as they come together to learn, sample new products and exchange information and ideas. Tracks will include F&B trends, business opportunities, marketing programs, employee engagement and training, and technology. The educational program has been developed by a committee of leading gaming industry F&B professionals chaired by Joe Moore, Director of Food and Beverage at Caesars Windsor, our 2015 Summit host.

We constantly strive to improve the educational opportunities for Canada’s gaming industry professionals.

The Community Gaming Conference and Food and Beverage Conference are our two most recent successes.

See us at: Canadian Gaming Summit 2015

coverstory

THE NEXT WA

Technology and the future of

BY SEAN MOON

8 | Spring 2015 8 | Spring

WAVE AVE

f gaming

coverstory

Looking back a mere 10 years, the world had yet to experience the widespread use of smartphones, tablets, or the influx of mobile gaming applications that are now commonplace with today’s consumer. To say that technology has changed the face of the global gaming industry would be a gross understatement.

The question is, just how much further will technological change take gaming in Canada and how will it impact the future of one of North America’s most important entertainment industries?

Canadian Gaming Business | 9

coverstory

No sector of the gaming community has been left untouched by the advances in technology over the last 10 or 20 years. From casino-based offerings like slots and table games to charitable and commercial gaming, technology has caused a paradigm shift in how suppliers and operators bring gaming products to the consumer and how those consumers interact with those products.

In the following article, Canadian Gaming Business takes an in-depth look at just how significant an impact technological innovation is having on gaming, along with what the future might hold in store for Canada’s gaming community, thanks to technologies still under development.

CHARITABLE GAMING

With net gaming revenues to charitable organizations in Canada approaching the $500 million mark in 2012-2013, there is little doubt that charitable and commercial gaming makes up a significant portion of the Canadian gaming industry. Creating benefits for hundreds of thousands of people and organizations across the country, the charitable gaming sector has traditionally focused on land-based games such as bingo, charity casinos, poker, pull-open tickets, and raffles for the lion’s share of its non-profit revenues. But with an aging demographic and a societal shift towards electronic and mobile-based games, charitable and commercial gaming is faced with a number of challenges if it hopes to maintain or improve upon its position in the Canadian gaming community.

10 | Spring 2015

Terry Debono, partner of the Debono Group and a gaming industry consultant specializing in charitable g a m in g operat ions, believes t here a re fou r m ajor t ech nolog ic a l fac t or s t h at a re c u r rent ly h av i n g a pronounced impact on charitable gaming in Canada: 1. The widespread availabilit y of reliable high-speed internet; 2. T he exponential increase in computing power on both mobile and computers – small, powerful and cheap; 3. The development of online social media networks, and; 4. The ongoing evolution of mobile applications (apps).

“These are the four technological advances that are having the biggest effect on gaming period, charitable gaming is just part of that,” says Debono. “In particular, t he advent of so cia l net work s h a s c reat ed on li ne networking that acts as a virtual community for family and friends to meet and communicate. Facebook’s biggest users are not kids, they’re adults and they are using social networks to not only stay in touch with their family and friends, but also to entertain themselves.”

Playing Catch-Up Debono says that while the technology continues to develop at a breathtaking pace, many organizations are still playing catch-up when it comes to being able to address the wants and needs of today’s charitable gaming players.

“I don’t see organizations addressing the challenges quickly.

I think it is woefully slow,” says Debono. “Consumers have

coverstory

changed to want what they want, anywhere, anytime and on whatever device is convenient to them. And this is not restricted to the under-50 age group. The older demographic is using computers and tablets because they are easy, cheap and social to use. They’re playing games, doing crossword puzzles and communicating with family and friends on them. Oh, and sometimes, they’re gambling.”

Debono believes that charitable gaming has long existed as a vehicle for empowerment at a grassroots level by taking the proceeds from charitable gaming activities and funneling them into the local community. But, he says, this is a model that was created when there were no mobile phones or tablet applications and that charitable gaming’s relevance may even be put to question.

Relevance Questioned “If charitable gaming does not adapt to delivering products the way customers want them, its relevance diminishes to the point of non-existence. My solution is that the charitable gaming industry adopt an anywhere-anytime approach.

Whatever products are integrated inside of the (bingo) halls, those same products need to be able to reach out to players when they leave that destination. This is not to compete with the halls but to extend the relationship with the consumer beyond the halls.”

D e spit e t he ch a l len g e s, howe ver, D eb ono say s technology is also creating opportunities that need to be explored and that charitable gaming has much to gain from a more proactive approach to technological change.

“I t h in k t here is a hug e oppor t u n it y for socia l connection. The online social community allows for a superior experience and relevancy for the charitable gaming sector. It allows for customer acquisition. It allows the halls and charities to tell the stories of why charitable gaming is valuable because it raises x-amount of dollars for such-and-such specif ic causes. You need to look at having games that have strong social impact, social networking opportunities and allow people the opportunity to play in the hall and away from the hall.

If the process of answering the challenges is not as fast as the speed of change, we are going to fall further and further behind.”

RESPONSIBLE GAMBLING

For all the advantages in terms of social connectivity, marketing opportunities and enhanced game play that technology offers to both players and operators, it also shines a light on the need to adopt such technology with equal attention paid to responsible gambling initiatives.

Jon Kelly, CEO of the Responsible Gambling Council, says that much of the technology and innovation that

goes into developing online games already addresses the issue of responsible gambling. Whether it is a built-in self-limiting function on an i-gaming app or an ability to manage self-exclusion programs, Kelly believes i-gaming is much easier to address from a responsible gambling angle than many land-based operations.

“From a very concrete perspective, the technology behind i-gaming, as well as more and more gaming machines, makes several solid contributions to responsible gambling programs,” says Kelly. “When players can set spending or time limits, they have powerful tools to control their play.

Managing self-exclusion in i-gaming is another obvious example, not only because it’s easier for people to do, but because when people self-exclude, it is much more difficult to breach the agreement than in venues.

“On the venue side, technological advancements don’t seem to have had as dramatic an impact because the gaming floor is not as controllable as the gaming site. RG on the gaming floor remains more reliant on staff observations and interactions with patrons.”

Challenges and Opportunities Like most areas within the gaming industry, technology creates both challenges and opportunities for responsible gambling programs. With a demographic shift towards younger players both on and off line, Kelly believes the key to whether or not technology becomes a hindrance or a help depends largely on the ability of players to selfmonitor their activity.

“The big g est emerg i n g ch a llen g e to RG is on ly indirectly associated with technology and more associated with the users of the technologies,” says Kelly. “As the g aming market, par ticularly the electronic g aming market, shifts to younger players, the risk of those players having gambling problems increases. Young people are more likely to take risks and are less likely to have builtin controls. That’s why it’s so important to promote the value of using safeguards like limit setting.”

Allows for Feedback According to Kelly, one of the biggest overlooked areas of the technology/RG intersection is the potential for much better feedback directly to the player.

“As play analytics become more sophisticated, it is increasingly possible to spot play patterns which could lead to problems. This information could be fed back to players in order to help them manage their gambling. These kinds of opportunities for better informed decision-making are invaluable, no matter what the form of gambling or platform used.”

Ultimately, however, responsible gambling advocates like Kelly believe that technology can also be viewed as an invaluable Canadian Gaming Business | 11

coverstory

aid to promoting awareness of responsible gambling, in addition to being a medium for entertainment.

“Technology’s usefulness to RG depends on how it is implemented and managed—which means it depends on the people who design it and what they do with its output,” says Kelly. “In other words, it’s not about finding the latest gadget, it’s about building responsible gambling principles into the fabric of the organization.”

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Although the influence of technological innovation is most obvious in the world of mobile apps and i-gaming, traditional casino-based games such as blackjack, roulette and slots, along with a growing number of lottery offerings, are also experiencing significant change as a result of technology. From the use of proximity-based technologies for both marketing and player engagement purposes to creating a gaming environment the next generation of players is sure to love, operators and manufacturers are finding an increase in both challenge and opportunity.

“For not only the casino operators but also for the suppliers, the biggest question is how do you attract the Millenials and what is the technology or gaming experience that can be created to bring them to the casino floor?” says Brad Broderick, COO Americas, of table game manufacturer TCSJohnHuxley. “Historically, the Millenial generation has shown that they don’t like to stay put very long and are constantly on the go. Additionally, they are a very social generation. The key is to create a marriage of table games and technology to provide a fast-paced, skill-based and social gaming experience.”

Casino-Within-A-Casino As a good example of the merging of social experience with gaming technolog y, Broderick points to LotoQuebec’s recent launch of The Zone II at Casino de Montreal. Described as a casino-with-a-casino, the Zone II is a multi-game space where live “hosts” (instead of dealers) interact with the players and drive the pace within the Zone environment with lights, music, drinks, and continuous game play. There are some 80 interactive game terminals with a unique gaming offering of not just live but also automated games such as blackjack, roulette and a suite of slot titles, all playable on a single terminal.

“That, to me, is the future of gaming,” says Broderick.

“Now, it isn’t just sitting at a machine but more of a social gaming experience. I can come in with a friend, we can sit down at a terminal next to each other and play any number of games. If my buddy likes blackjack and I like roulette, well, he can play blackjack and I can play roulette. It no longer means we have to sit at separate gaming tables.”

While the Zone is one instance of an operator bringing the social networking experience onto the casino f loor, the other predominant approach is to take the casino into the online social net works through mobile and i-gaming technology. Slot machines, for example, don’t appear to have as much appeal to a younger demographic as with previous generations.

But thanks to technology, operators are now able to start bridging the gap.

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Demographic Shift “In many cases, Millenials are not compelled by the design or gaming content offered in traditional slots,” says Rob Bone, Executive Vice President, Marketing, of MultiMedia Games. “Slot machine suppliers should be looking at new types of platforms that share the same benefits of tablets or mobile devices, and also at new forms of content that may have a perceived level of skill, competition, or social game play mechanics.”

Bone says that, typically, the technologies that have the biggest impact on slot machines are those that enhance the player experience.

“For example, the credit meter, the top box wheel, the bill validator and most recently, ticket-in, ticket-out, all enabled new forms of gaming experience that directly benefitted the players.”

For lottery gaming suppliers such as Scientific Games, some of the most important advances in technology are occurring in the area of geo-location and recognition-based software. However, with

Untitled-1 1

its inherent marketing potential, this type of technology creates not only tremendous opportunity for the operators in terms of customer acquisition and retention, but also creates some potential privacy and regulatory concerns.

Emotion-Based Technology “There are emerging technologies that will enable ser vices based on player proximity and location, and through facial recognition,” explains St e ve B e a son , E nt er pr i se Ch ief Technolog y Off icer of Scientif ic Games. “These emotion- and genderbased technologies are being looked at, prototyped and demonstrated in the field.”

Beason cautions, however, that advancements in technology don’t come without their caveats. “ W hene ver you embr a ce ne w technology, you have to be very concerned about your customer’s willingness to participate,” says Beason. “You can’t just have technologists developing things

that they think are cool. They have to be something that people can use comfortably in a regulated environment. Of course, one of the biggest safeguards is that you opt in and have the ability to opt out. We need to make that very easy.”

Above all, ma k ing the g a ming ex perience fun and engag ing, particularly with a generation weaned on video games such as the Millenials, seems to be a common refrain among gaming suppliers.

“The gaming experience needs to be a fun escape that will allow socializing and entertainment, all within an area of the gaming floor,” says Broderick. “I don’t think we’re ever going to get away from live gaming — people still want to be able to touch and feel the chips, for example. But being able to offer a fastpaced game, because the Millenials get bored easily and are used to technology and decisions being made quicker, I think that is the key, along with managing all of that together to make it a fun, social experience.”

Canadian Gaming Business | 13 14-06-16 9:44 AM

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LOTTERIES AND TECHNOLOGY Canadian lotteries address the challenge of keeping up with the ever-increasing pace of change

Canadian Gaming Business recently asked provincial lottery corporations about the effects of technological change on Canadian the lottery sector. Read on to find out what our participants had to say.

Kevin Gass, Vice President, Lottery, British Columbia Lottery Corporation

Greg McKenzie, Senior Vice President, Lottery, Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation

WHAT TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCEMENTS ARE HAVING THE BIGGEST EFFECT ON LOTTERIES AND HOW DO YOU SEE THESE CHANGES PLAYING OUT OVER THE NEXT TWO TO FIVE YEARS? Kevin Gass: One of the technological adva ncement s impac t ing lot ter y in the future will be new mobile applications that deliver lottery results, as well as promotions and special offers. Additionally, about 33 per cent of players are using mobile devices for financial transactions today. The use of mobile payment is expected to see growth of transaction value and volume of 42 per cent annually for the next couple of years.

14 | Spring 2015

Dani Poknorik, Vice President, Information Technology, and Ken Schulzke, Vice President, Marketing, Western Canada Lottery Corporation

Greg McKenzie : The comfort with w h i ch c u s t o m e r s i nt e r a c t w it h technolog y, whether it ’s mobile, touch screens at retail, digital signage, o r o t h er n e w t e ch pr o du c t s , i s dramatically increasing. Customers w ith multiple devices, visiting or interacting with lotter y content in the form of tablet websites, apps and other experiences, are all on the rise.

In the next two to five years, I think we're going to see a convergence of useful data (understanding the customer better) and the tactics we use to market to people to enhance their ex periences, give better play and purchase experiences, and drive the business forward.

D a n i P o k o rnik and Ken Schulzke : One of the advancements, which we haven’t seen have a major effect yet, is customer information and analytics. With identified play, lotteries are gathering more information and changing their offerings based on this information. Mobile is becoming a self-service type of terminal, while advances in identity management and the potential to streamline player registration processes are just down the road. Now that cars, appliances, and many other devices are utilizing information to improve utility and offer alternate options to consumers, the potential exists to put lottery on this so-called “internet of things” in some form. All of this integration and communication increases possibilities for the industry.

coverstory

WHAT ARE THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES BEING CREATED BY TECHNOLOGY WHEN IT COMES TO THE LOTTERY SECTOR AND HOW DO YOU SEE ORGANIZATIONS ADDRESSING THESE CHALLENGES? KG : Technology has facilitated the evolution of consumer preferences, and players are becoming highly connected, better informed and are demanding a seamless purchasing experience. These new behaviours are being driven by Millenials as they demand a multichannel and multi-device shopping experience. The lottery sector has been slow to adopt new technology and has remained largely unchanged. As a result, the games and the delivery of the content have lost relevance to the young adult audience. Moreover, as Gen X’ers and Boomers are increasingly influenced by Millenial behaviour, our games are also at risk of becoming irrelevant to these demographic groups. In order to address these challenges, lottery organizations are going to have to make significant infrastructure investments to leverage a multi-channel strategy.

GM : Such a large scale IT project (a s t he just-lau nched Play OL G) will always come with its share of unique challenges. PlayOLG was built from scratch. The seamless integration of our customer service portal, responsible gaming features and slot and table games from three ser vice providers was a large and complex undertaking. My colleagues at Play OLG tell me w ith the development and launch of PlayOLG, they embraced each oppor t unit y to overcome obst acles a nd lea r n from each situation. PlayOLG has the benefit of a world class primary service provider and their expertise has guided OLG through the task of building a best-in-class Internet gaming website.

DP/ KS : One of the most common challenges is the pace of change.

Customer ex pectations are rising and consumers assume that lottery is offered through every channel in a cohesive way. The time-to-market and community aspects are challenges for the design and development of lottery

PlayOLG Debuts in Ontario

The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation announced this past January the province-wide launch of its Internet gaming site, PlayOLG.ca.

Following a preview by eligible members of OLG’s Winner’s Circle Rewards program, PlayOLG is now live and available to legal-aged Ontarians. Eligible players across the province can now register for an account, play games and fully experience PlayOLG. With the launch of PlayOLG, Ontario joins British Columbia, Manitoba, Quebec and all of the Atlantic provinces in offering online gaming. Currently, approximately 500,000 Ontarians spend an estimated $400-$500 million annually on grey market sites that are not regulated in Ontario.

“We are excited to launch PlayOLG, an important milestone in the modernization of gaming in Ontario,” said John Wisternoff, OLG’s Vice President of iGaming. “For Ontarians who love the excitement of gaming, PlayOLG offers a safe and regulated alternative to grey market websites.”

PlayOLG features a wide range of interactive casino-style games including slots and table games such as Blackjack, Baccarat, Single-player Poker and Roulette, as well as the sale of LOTTO 6/49 and LOTTO MAX lottery tickets and ENCORE. With the launch of PlayOLG as a new line of business, OLG says it will provide more money to the government of Ontario for hospitals, community infrastructure and other government priorities.

products. With all of the additional opportunities for interaction and communication with players, all lottery organizations must address regulatory, social, security, and privacy constraints.

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE BIGGEST UNEXPLOITED OPPORTUNITIES THAT TECHNOLOGY CAN HELP WITH AND HOW CAN ORGANIZATIONS MAKE THE MOST OF THOSE OPPORTUNITIES? KG: The biggest opportunity for the lottery sector is to leverage social media platforms. The 19-24 year old age group has the highest preference for using social media while shopping, which will continue as they grow older. In addition, the fastest growing demographic group for Facebook is women aged 55 and older, which represents the core demographic for lottery players. In an era where traditional retailers continue to struggle to retain customers, gamif ication strategies have resurrected some dated customer experiences and products.

Tw ent y- one p er c ent of Nor t h American consumers are regularly spending leisure time playing games, and 55 per cent of gamers are playing on their mobile devices. This represents a significant opportunity to inject an element of gamification into existing games, or create new content for our players that will be relevant to their preferences.

GM : L otter y is still ver y much an a nony mous business. One of the most unex ploited opportunities is simply to connect (in a voluntar y and transparent way) the purchases a customer makes and their preferences and behaviours. Ultimately, as we've seen in eCommerce over the last 15 years, the buying experience improves, c u s t o m er s at i s f a c t io n i mpr o ve s , a nd there a re seconda r y benef it s like lowered risk, player protection and measures around responsible gambling. The technology to enable that has been around forever, and it's used in loyalty programs around the globe. The difference today is that most of the technolog y in a CR M or loy a lt y pro g r a m is i nt eg r at e d with the rest of the experience, and doesn’t draw on the value of things like behavioural analy tics, pattern recognition, geolocation, and other various things. Combining these can create a great product and purchase ex per ience for the customer, a nd a l s o a d d v a lu a b l e i n s i g ht t o a n organization.

DP/KS : There are a lot of self-service options and products that haven’t yet been explored. With more connectivity, integration, and information available via analytics, there are opportunities to gather information and inf luence consumer behavior. There are also other Canadian Gaming Business | 15

coverstory opportunities to leverage different products and verticals to initiate an impulse purchase. immersive and consistent experience Some of these opportunities, however, require some changes in mindset in sensitive areas whether they are purchasing online, on their mobile device or at a brick-andsuch as social responsibility, the regulatory environment, and privacy. mortar location. Lottery organizations will need to have a seamless experience HOW WILL TECHNOLOGY CONTINUE TO AFFECT THE PLAYER/CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE AND WHAT FACTORS MUST LOTTERY ORGANIZATIONS CONSIDER with their online and physical locations.

Lottery organizations will also need to WHEN ENGAGING CUSTOMERS FROM DEMOGRAPHICS MOST FAMILIAR WITH invest in customer analytic capabilities USING THESE TECHNOLOGIES (I.E. MILLENNIALS)? in order to deliver that personalized KG: Technology has enabled the player experience to evolve from an un-differentiated experience. Most lottery jurisdictions interaction to a very personalized one. Millennials in particular expect to have an have anonymous players and will need some form of account-based gaming to leverage the data.

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16 | Spring 2015

GM: Growing up in the digital age has raised the bar on entertainment as it pertains to a young adult generation. It is both harder to entertain them, and harder to engage them with the tools we currently have at our disposal. But on the bright side, these young adults have grown up on-line playing games.

So t o at t r a c t t he nex t g ener at ion of lotter y players, our challenge is twofold: Deliver entertaining lottery g ames and evolve our por trayal of lotter y w inners. We need to create g reat content a nd levera g e dig it a l s c r e en s , a n d p er s on a l d e v ic e s t o compete for our players' attention.

And we're in the unique position of being the only competitor who can combine an entertaining game with a wagering opportunity. Not an easy task, but if we can leverage all of the new technolog y available, we have a wonderful opportunity ahead of us.

DP/KS: Just because you put a lotto game on a phone doesn’t mean a Millennial is going to play it because they’re on their phone a lot. The product still has to fulfill their needs. Conversely, one could design a great lottery game for the under-35 demographic but if the only place it is offered is a traditional retail booth location, they may never see it because they don’t currently utilize that retail location. So, it has to be a marriage of the two - a product that fits the Millenial customers’ needs in a channel, and w ith technolog y, that they utilize. This could provide opportunities where the offering is more than the luck of the draw, and utilizes technology to provide customer engagement or entertainment.

13741 - Canadian Gaming Busniess Mag - Summer 2014 - 4.563” x 7.375”

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CUMMINS ALLISON JETSCAN IFX® I400 TICKET AND CURRENCY PROCESSING SOLUTION

E

nhancing operational efficiency is a key concern for casinos everywhere, particularly in soft count operations.

As the only multi-pocket sorter that can p ro c e s s m i xe d tic kets a nd cu r re n cy, the JetScan iFX ® i400 can considerably improve casino count room efficiency and productivity.

Managing high volumes of cash and t i c ke t s c a n b e ve r y t i m e - c o n s u m i n g unless the casino has the right equipment.

Casinos can now realize substantial time savings by using this single device that can process and sort mixed tickets and notes, including Canadian polymer bank notes, on a multi-pocket sorter at a rate of 1,000 documents per minute.

The JetScan iFX i400 offers processing p o we r li ke n o o t h e r by r u n n i n g b o t h mixed tickets and currency into multiple pockets without stopping and allowing users to receive a total count for both media on the single device. A small, fast and flexible multi-pocket sorter, the JetScan iFX i400 can be configured horizontally and vertically with three to as many as nine pockets – all in the same 76.2 cm x 45.7 cm footprint, which is 54 per cent smaller than comparable competitive systems. The nine pocket capacity fosters greater productivity for currency processing, allowing operators to separate mixed denominations, as well as face and orient bills.

Additional key features of the Jetscan iFX i400 include: • Bar code reading, sorting, and flat file expor t: Allows users to process and separate mixed n ote s fro m tickets, receive a total count for both media and then export both ticket and currency flat files to casino systems.

• Breakthrough technology: The JetScan iF X i400 is 39 per cent faster than its closest competitor, and through the u s e of pate nte d i m ag e - re c o g niti o n te chn o l o gy, th e curre ncy re ad rate is significantly improved. Higher throughput is accomplished first and foremost by the breakthrough imagingsensor technology at the heart of the JetScan iFX i400.

• T h e O n e To u c h P l u s i n t e r f a c e : An intuitive operating system that spe eds training and ma kes dayto-day operations simple – able to create multiple processing t ypes, enter coin and non-cash items into b atc h to t a l s , a n d a c c o m m o d ate future processing features.

• U s e r- f rie ndl y dis play: A v ib ra nt, full - colour, touch - screen display allows operators to change pocket configurations and switch operating modes easily. With no keystrokes to memorize, users are quickly trained and navigation is easy.

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igaming

SOCIAL GAMING EVOLUTION

The rise of offline-online convergence

BY KENNY HUANG

18 |  Spring 2015

The global social casino market, through online social networking sites such as Facebook, is set to hit $4.2 billion in revenues by 2016, and getting a piece of that revenue sounds very attractive. Landbased casinos are now asking themselves if they can take advantage of social casino growth and success, as well as wondering how and when are the right ways to engage.

igaming

BUT CASINO OPERATORS must compare the cost of competing as a business-to-customer destination against, for example, an offering such as DoubleDown Casino.

The monthly marketing costs alone associated with player acquisition would be prohibitive for local U.S. land-based casinos, not to mention the expense of the designers, analysts and engineers needed to create and operate the destination. The economics just do not make sense for a majority of brick-and-mortar operators.

However, according to SUPERDATA, 82 per cent of social casino players visited a land-based casino within the past year, 60 per cent visited within the past six months and 41 per cent visit a casino each week. This is strong evidence of the high overlap between social casino players and land-based gamblers. It also affirms the effectiveness of social casinos in bringing players back through the casino doors.

Your goal as a land-based casino operator is to leverage social casinos to increase your customer loyalty, extend it and acquire new customers through it. In the following article, we will examine the details of this convergence from the perspective of a land-based casino operator.

1) BRAND LOYALTY

Brand Development The f irst benef it of having an online social casino is to encourage brand loyalty. Your casino brands exist in the minds of the customer. It is not just the brick-andmortar casino building, the perceptions change over time, and your brand change with it. How can a social casino help in brand development?

By building emotional bonds online.

W hen the player leaves your br ick-a nd-mor t a r casino, they will play other peoples’ games. The 173 million social casino players per month are building emotional bonds while being entertained by the social casino game. Game designers have used emotional drivers to create the social gaming experience. This is the main reason why players keep coming back to the game day after day. They’re emotionally invested, they’re entertained, and this entertainment should be an emotional bond with your casino brand.

Behavior-based rewards The bait at the end of the line is to convince the social player to redeem a loyalty reward. The reward portion is vital and it is a bit of a balancing act between customer desire and profitability. However, even small rewards can positively reinforce the desired behavior as experiments have shown.

This small reward is where a social casino thrives.

Within the f low of the game itself, there are player incentives that encourage interaction. We’re talking about game elements such as unlocking games, levels or mysteries that can be tied into your brand or interaction with your branded content. The loyalty rewards are essentially an exchange for this player interaction — an exchange that ultimately brings that player back into the front door of your brick-and-mortar.

“The relationship between real-world play and social play through mobile and online platforms may be the force that drives growth in the industry for years to come.”

– Andy Roocroft 2) CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT

A majority of the casinos have a player database. This player database is the casino’s secret weapon. However, what is the current method of reaching your player? A one-way email telling the player there’s a discount in the rooms?

Multi-channel/two-way dialogues A social casino and its associated fan pages can create a twoway dialog rather than a mass marketing email campaign.

A game not only has an open direct channel into the player communication, it has context. An email sent out with a discount room rate (corporate messaging) is very different from an email/push notification informing the player that he/she has just unlocked a mystery item in the game. It is game/player context, it is a two-way dialog and the game (your brand) now has multiple open channels to reach the player. The social casino is email, web and social media marketing combined.

Engagement through reward redemption The player is eng aged when the player make his or her redemption. W hen they redeem the offer, they are effectively interacting with your brand, spending time with your brand and are now turning their loyalty into something tangible. This redemption also means that the player is now on average eight times as valuable as those who have not engaged.

Personalized engagement Your social casino game also creates a vehicle where you can reach players at an individual level rather than through simple mass marketing. It is dynamic and interactive content that can easily tailor itself towards a specif ic player. This is done through in-game player prof iling, customized messaging and customized content: these are fundamentals in a social game technolog y. This communication sometimes even promotes a co-creation process of the game. How is that for player engagement?

It is important to understanding that corporate messaging can be considered as ‘spam’ and is usually unsolicited.

Consumers don’t want you pushing your brand, “being Canadian Gaming Business | 19

igaming marketed to” and overrunning their social media newsfeed. The good news is that a social casino game that has context, timing, and personalized relevant messages on its side can reach your customers through entertainment.

3) LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION OR SOLOMO

SoLoMo means Social, Local, and Mobile and has recently become a marketing buzzword.

Everyone knows the importance of location. And unless your casino is a destination resort, your ideal customer probably lives within the 60-150 km radius of your casino. This ties into the mobile device. With the multiple mobile channels, and geo-location services, you can reach your target audience in a timely, relevant way.

A social game is also meant to be social. A good definition of a social game is a game where the underlying social network platform facilitates the game play. What this means naturally is that a social casino should be on the largest social network in the world: Facebook. It is vital. This allows the

game to tap into the social graph to leverage the viral effect and customer acquisition. Think about your own Facebook friends: where are the majority of your friends located? That’s correct, near you.

Your best chance at acquiring new customers for free are your current customers. Facebook gives us a referral eng ine that is un matched when leveraged properly.

4) SOCIAL ANALYTICS THAT MATTER

The application of measurements is the only way to prove the effectiveness of a digital social casino loyalty.

Social Gaming Metrics Social gaming developers are some of the best at a data-driven approach to game design. However, considering the off line-online convergence, we are no longer just talking about the usual social gaming metrics such as dau, mau, D1-3-7 retention, etc. These are important to gauge the health and engagement of the players, but these are social gaming metrics and not social casino marketing metrics.

The online-off line convergence metrics is a combination of social game metrics, digital marketing metrics and qualitative metrics. Think about the metrics that you are interested in the offline world. If you look at the offers sent out by direct mail, how do you know if it was worth it?

Conversion Rate In a digital world, the redemption / impressions metric is the equivalent of that answer.

This conversion rate is important as it applies to every stage of the funnel and to every communication channel that the game has to your player.

Two great examples are the following: • Assuming you have multiple offers to entice the players to come to your casino, you can test multiple offers and look at individual conversion rates. W hat do high-performing of fers mea n compa red to the low-performing offers? Can this information be applied to the offline world?

• If this g ame can leverage v ideo promos, how does this conversion (view completion) x # of views compare to your YouTube channel, or television ad?

Conclusion W h e t h e r w e ’r e t a l k i n g a b o u t activation/re-activation, engagement/ re-engagement, or acquisition, one thing is clear: You already have the most qualif ied, relevant and mostl i k ely-t o - en g a g e pl ayer s i n you r arsenal. Your player database is your secret weapon, and it’s free.

Yo u w a n t t o b u i l d a b a s e o f passionately loyal customers. A social casino is more than just a game. It is also an engagement tool that can be used to drive cer t ain behav ior to increase your customer loyalt y, extend it and acquire new customers through it.

Analytics

Be a game changer.

From marketing, to anti-money laundering, to the casino floor, analytics can help you make more accurate business decisions.

To learn more

sas.com/ca/casinos

SAS and all other SAS Institute Inc. product or service names are registered trademarks or trademarks of SAS Institute Inc. in the USA and other countries. ® indicates USA registration.

Other brand and product names are trademarks of their respective companies. © 2015 SAS Institute Inc. All rights reserved. S136196US.0115

K e n n y Hu a n g i s C E O o f B l u e B a t Games. For the majority of his career he has focused on gaming and the behaviours of gamers. Kenny has led BlueBat into the social gaming space from the beginning and is recognized as a leader and expert in social casinos. For more information, visit www.bluebatgames.com.

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INDUSTRY NEWS RELEASE

BET RITE INC. BRINGS MULTINATIONAL BINGO COMPANY ORTIZ GAMING TO CANADA (Winnipeg, Manitoba, CA/Boca Raton, FL, USA, February 26, 2015) – Bet Rite Inc., Canada’s Gaming Supplier, announced an agreement to introduce, distribute, and service the world-famous Ortiz Gaming video bingo games in Canada. The partnership is designed to introduce Canadian casinos and community gaming centers to the multinational leader in electronic bingo products that offer a thrilling and unparalleled gaming experience for players.

“We are very excited about our new partnership with Ortiz Gaming and are pleased to continue to represent another best in class product of fering for the Canadian market.

We believe Ortiz Gaming is a first class organization that Canadian customers will find out through the excellent quality and excitement of their electronic bingo games, cabinets, and systems.” Richard Cone, president of Bet Rite Inc.

About Bet Rite Inc. With management’s more than 40 years of Canadian gaming experience, Bet Rite Inc., Canada’s Gaming Supplier, is a Canadian owned and operated company focused solely on bringing w o r ld c l a s s g a m i n g p ro d u ct s a n d s e r v i c e s to t h e C a n a d i a n g a m i n g market. Bet Rite was founded in 2009 and is a registered gaming vendor in every province across Canada supplying Canadian custo mers with superior products through excellent representation and customer ser vice. For more information, visit www.betrite.ca.

Through this partnership Ortiz Gaming will leverage the vast experience of the leading Canadian based gaming supplier to provide all gaming jurisdictions in Canada with the leading video bingo products that have become player-favorites worldwide.

“It’s a great combination of Bet Rite’s Canadian gaming business focus and custo mer ser vice along with O r tiz Gaming’s superior products,” Cone added.

“Ortiz Gaming is excited to partner with Bet Rite to fulfill the already-requested player demand for our fast-paced games.

Designed for customer ser vice, player interaction, and excitement, our games are an ideal match to the discerning ne eds of Canadian players,” explained M aurilio S ilva , president of Ortiz Gaming.

About Ortiz Gaming: Ortiz Gaming is a multinational developer of electronic gaming and video bingo gaming machines, providing the Or tiz Gaming’s “Bingo in Action” has consistently delivered entertainment a n d exc i te m e nt to p l aye r s w i t h f u n games full of adventure, easy to play, a n d g re a t p ay o u t s c h e d u l e s . O r t i z Gaming’s technical gaming innovations, evolutionary performance, sleek cabinet designs like the O- Circle cabinet, and gaming concepts are a proven model in over 14 countries encompassing North America, Europe, Latin America, and Asia. For casino and community gaming centers, Ortiz is known for the highest levels of customer service, reliability, and performance. For more information, visit www.ortizgaming.com.

Contacts: Billy MacLellan Chief Operating Officer bmaclellan@betrite.ca +1 506-962-1198 Eve Horne Marketing Coordinator eve.horne@ortizgaming.com +1 561 241-5368 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

STRATEGIC SECURITY Our industry panel discusses the impact of technology on security and surveillance strategies The Gaming Security Professionals of Canada (GSPC) is a not-for-profit organization founded in 1994 with representation from the major gaming jurisdictions across the country. Its members are dedicated to ensuring that the highest standards of gaming security and integrity are maintained. The GSPC asked two of its directors, Rob Kroeker and John D’Agnillo, and three of its corporate members to respond to some of the current security issues faced by the industry from a technological perspective. More information about the GSPC can be found at gspc.ca.

James Moore, Chief Operations Officer, iView Systems

Rob Kroeker, President Gaming Security Professionals of Canada (GSPC)

Daniel Nagle, SAS Security Intelligence Practice Lead – Canada

John D’Agnillo, Director of Surveillance, Casino Rama

Jean-François Lefebvre, Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Expert

industryq&a:security&surveillance

WHAT HAVE BEEN SOME OF THE MORE SIGNIFICANT RISKS FACED BY THE INDUSTRY OVER THE PAST DECADE AND HOW HAS TECHNOLOGY BEEN USED TO HELP MITIGATE THOSE RISKS?

James Moore : Increasing compliance and regulatory requirements have been key risk factors for many organizations over the last decade; be it from a general liabilit y, fraud, a nti money launder ing, bra nd, or industr y specif ic perspective. This has included the requirement for cohesive data collection, integrated interdepartmental involvement (AML, HIPPA A, Clery, etc.), overall risk reporting and privacy requirements as part of best practices. As the industry moves from an analog to an integrated digital environment (Internet of Things), key technologies mitigating these risks, have been business automation and analytics. Through access to digital data and performance metrics, analytics can be built to monitor and event drive collection and notif ication of these risks, better allowing business to understand and implement strategic plans that align key performance indicators (KPIs) with the overall business objectives.

R o b K r o e k e r : From a s e c u r it y a nd su r vei l l a nc e perspective, the risk of cheat at play is ever present.

Operators must remain vigilant in watching for that ver y small number of players, as well as organized groups specif ically targeting casino games, who are driven to break the rules. Improvements in the quality and capabilities of sur veillance equipment, the move to digital technology in particular, have enhanced the game protection abilities of operators. On another front, the rise in and increasing sophistication of anti-money laundering requirements has greatly amplified operators’ ex posure to compliance risk s. Today it is diff icult for operators to have appropriate money laundering countermeasures in place that are not, at least in part, supported by some form of IT solution.

J o h n D’Ag nill o : W herea s t hef t , f raud a nd cheat s have long been signif icant risks faced by the gaming industry and continue to require undue scrutiny from security and surveillance departments, the latter part of the past decade has ex hibited an increased focus on corporate social responsibility. More specif ically, strategic initiatives and investments in technolog y have been undertaken to promote responsible gaming, combat money launder ing and ter ror ist f inancing activities and prevent underage gaming. Utilizing facial and license plate recognition to identify self-excluded patrons, advanced identification verifiers at entrances to detect fake or altered IDs and intelligence software for investigating suspicious transactions are some examples of technologies employed to mitigate the risks associated with the above.

2042_Cashtech_CanadianGamingSummit_Ad_1:Layout 1 13-05-07 10:52 AM

Daniel Nagle: We’ve observed that the industry is in the crux of a battle with data. As the years have progressed the amount of information available to us via our customer interactions has now evolved to a point where the volume of information challenges us to heighten our business awareness and to focus our activities on true business value. Doing so is rather diff icult when the volumes involved have leaped several orders of magnitude due to technological leaps provided to us across the spectrum of our business activities. W hen it comes to security concerns this has meant that f inding the proverbial needle in the haystack has also become several orders of magnitude more difficult. I think through the effective use of analytics we can sort through the vast swaths of data and find the business value we need.

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industryq&a:security&surveillance

PROACTIVE CASINO SECURITY FOR 2015

By George Woof

Casinos are designed to be fun places for people to let loose and take risks. For those who work in the casino security, keeping people safe without creating an environment that feels “policed” can be a challenge. Subtle surveillance is key to security operations, but even the best surveillance equipment can’t prevent violent incidents, theft, or other nefarious behavior on its own. Knowing what warning signs to look for, where incidents tend to occur, and which times of day or night see increases in activity makes a huge difference in the impact of casino security.

Giving casino security professionals access to quality incident reporting and security analytics tools is like giving them a sixth sense: helping them to direct their efforts to work more efficiently and proactively.

When it comes to incident reporting, consistency is crucial.

In casinos that still rely on paper incident reports, creating consistent reports is almost impossible—spelling errors, different terms for locations, and illegible handwriting can make sorting through paper incident reports a nightmare, and can make it even harder to get any valuable insight from them. Electronic reporting systems allow security managers to create required report fields to ensure that all the right information is captured.

By defining lists of locations and incident types that officers can click to select, they can eliminate the possibility of inconsistency based on differing terminology or misspelling.

With consistent, thorough incident reports from security officers, casinos can not only ensure they have documentation to back them up in case of a lawsuit, they can also build a database of information specific to their location. At Report Exec, we’ve built comprehensive data analysis features right into our incident reporting software because data is only as valuable as the information that can be distilled from it. With an easily searchable database full of consistent information, security departments can identify trends, patterns in incidents, and hotspots of activity.

Analyzing security data can help pinpoint vulnerabilities that may otherwise go unnoticed, and is instrumental in developing security strategies and budget proposals. Data analysis is crucial for demonstrating the impact of the security department, relieving problems that exist, and distributing resources.

In 2015, incident reports should do more than just document what happened at your casino yesterday, they should help you predict what’s going to happen tomorrow.

George Woof is Canadian Consultant, Competitive Edge Software Inc. For more information, he can be reached at gwoof@reportexec.com.

24 | Spring 2015

WHAT IS HAPPENING IN THE NEAR TERM? WHAT ARE THE STRATEGIC PRIORITIES AND HOW ARE THEY BEING ADDRESSED? RK : In regard to IT and the near ter m, I see t wo potential drivers – and both have possible big data implications. The f irst is increasingly sophisticated gaming analytics solutions and the promise that data from those solutions may hold for producing growth.

The second is the continuing expansion in regulatory requirements, particularly in regard to expectations being placed upon the industry to accurately monitor, r isk assess a nd ma na ge customer t ra nsactions as well as the expectation to create the ability to, across hundreds of thousands of transactions, f lag, map and respond to transactions or transaction patterns of concern.

DN : Right now the strategic priorities we see in the industr y focus in and around regulator y concerns.

There is mou nt in g ev idence t h at t he reg ulators have high ex pectations from the gaming industr y t o i mprove st a nd a rd s a nd pr a c t ice s fo c u s e d on regulatory compliance. They see a wide rift between how the broader financial services industry addresses the problem, as well as the investigative protocols they bring to bear to solve for suspicious activity. Bridging the gap through business processes and technolog y will be the major focus on the next 12 months and beyond.

J D : S e c u r it y a nd su r vei l l a nc e dep a r t ment s a re realig ning operations to effectively manage their increasing role in social responsibilit y and A M L regulatory requirements. Adopting best practices and developing training programs so that personnel can effectively execute these new responsibilities and meet regulatory objectives has become a priority in most jurisdictions. As technology continues to evolve, it is important that leaders in the security and surveillance f ield stay abreast of the latest and greatest tools that can be leveraged to better identify and manage these risks.

Jean-François Lefebvre : It’s been over a year now that ongoing monitoring requirements have been extended to all business relationships. This certainly increa sed t he a mount of work needed to keep a high level of compliance. There has been and there w ill continue to be a lear ning cur ve on both the org anizations’ side and FINTR AC’s side on how to monitor these relationships, depending on their level of risk. One thing will remain crucial all along: Casinos throughout the countr y have to be able to not only properly document the controls in place and the information they gathered from the ongoing monitoring activities but also to clearly demonstrate that enhanced measures and monitoring are applied to their higher risk clientele.

industryq&a:security&surveillance WHAT LIES AHEAD IN THE LONGER TERM – THE EVOLVING ISSUES YOU ARE BEGINNING TO PUT YOUR MINDS TO?

JM: Convergence and integration (communication between security reporting platforms) are and have been evolving issues. As the industry moves away from reactive to proactive capabilities, predictive technology that employs a variety of techniques from statistics, modeling, machine learning and data mining of integrated data will become a key opportunity for the industry. Analyzing current and historical information to make predictions about future, or otherwise unknown events will play a key role in risk management.

DN: In the future, it will boil down to how we can automate, analyse and action information-driven events. The impetus to utilize technology to solve regulatory concerns will only grow as will the capabilities that these technologies offer us. We perceive there to be a shift in the areas surrounding investigation that w ill drive further automation of investigative protocols with faster insights and consistent decisions. To meet those needs we see an evolved use of mobile-decisioning platforms and visual analytics in order to rapidly assess and action key events as they occur. The transition from more periodic based investigation techniques to a more real time environment will put considerable pressure on most investigation departments but this is the direction the industry is going.

JD: With the information age in full swing as well as the transition to network based (IP) surveillance systems, the ability to integrate with the vast amount of information available from various departments and convert it into intelligent usable data has made data mining software and video analytics a prominent part of the latest generation of security and surveillance. This has allowed for an increased proactive approach to gaming security and risk management and has helped revolutionize investigative tactics. Moving forward, security and surveillance leaders should be focused on developing special project teams that are able to leverage the latest technology for auditing and investigating specific areas, looking for red flags and anomalies that could lead to the discovery of criminal activity or other potential risks.

JFL: Since the AML compliance work load is not going to decrease over time, the risk assessment will be key for all Canadian casinos, not only in defining the riskier areas from a money laundering standpoint but also on the compliance side. The emphasis is more and more on improving the KYC & CCD practices, on properly assessing the risks casino organizations are facing and on monitoring them more closely. Technology is obviously an efficient way to properly meet all these requirements but one should always ensure this tool is used as it should be and achieves the compliance goals as expected. Internal or external auditors will help in confirming casinos are in good shape in this regard.

WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS OF THE TECHNOLOGICAL REVOLUTION IN TERMS OF HUMAN RESOURCES, BUDGETS AND RISK MANAGEMENT?

JM: Applied to the security environment, this convergence ref lects a change in both structure and related systems approach. Enterprise security convergence initiatives involve people, processes and technology. Shifting from a silo approach to focus on “risk ” from an enterprise perspective has accelerated the need for innovative integration of systems and structure. Operating budgets and associated cost reduction pressures will further force streamlining of associated integration technologies across the industry, while requiring IT and physical security, risk and loss prevention groups to work more proactively and cohesively together.

RK : With respect to human resources, I believe the biggest impact will be a shift in types of skill sets and work approaches. Generally, risk management should be more effective in the future, but as already noted IT brings its own unique basket of risks to be controlled for and mitigated. Budgets are a concern. IT solutions can be

cost prohibitive and at times it is difficult to get reliable budget numbers making informed decisions around the acquisition and implementation of IT solutions elusive.

IT acquisitions need to be managed very closely and with a great deal of caution.

JFL: No doubt, technology will be increasingly needed with the enhanced ongoing monitoring requirements.

T h e r e a r e m a n y i m pl i c a t i o n s p e r t a i n i n g t o t h e technological revolution in terms of investment needed, software implementation and risk management. One of the biggest challenges financial institutions are dealing with (and casinos may be dealing with at some point down the road) is the management of alerts issued by their monitoring system. More time, more money and more human resources will most likely be needed, at least until these systems are up and running. Once fully implemented though, achieving a higher level of AML compliance will certainly be easier.

gaminginnovation

Gaming on the Go As mobile gaming technology continues to evolve, Canadian Gaming Business asked leading game and app developers about their latest mobile gaming product offerings.

Here is what they had to say. . .

IGT

Leading gaming entertainment company IGT continues to wow players from around the world with some of the industry’s f inest content for play anytime, any where.

W hether it’s through thrilling licensed games or via IGT’s time-tested, player-approved legacy content, IGT is bringing the Canadian gaming player base some of the most widely praised content in the industry.

IGT is unlocking mystery and fun with Clue Classic, the branded online slot theme based on the world famous crime-solving board game. Clue Classic boasts a f ivereel slot interface with exhilarating bonus events. The 2X Wild doubles a player’s win when it substitutes in a line win, and super sleuths will be looking for three or more bonus scatter symbols to trigger an exhilarating 15 free spins event. The intrigue and suspense continue to rise as nightfall descends and all bonus wins are tripled – meaning that, with the 2X Wild, some bonuses can be multiplied by 6X. For players who enjoy IGT cla ssics, t wo of the company’s most-loved slot themes of all time, Double Diamond and Triple Diamond have spun their way to IGT’s online gaming librar y. Both games feature big multipliers and vastly popular game play that keeps fans coming back for more.

Online slot enthusiasts can also indulge in IGT’s Golden Goddess. The familiar land-based slot title takes players on a mythical adventure full of fantastical 26 | Spring 2015

creatures and stunning scener y. Exciting game play features includes Selective Stacking – a mechanic that locks a major symbol on each spin for exciting base game play and larger payouts. Players can also choose their Super Stacks to create giant wins.

For more information on Clue Classic, Double Diamond, Triple Diamond, Golden Goddess and many other exciting titles from “Out of the Blue,” visit www.igt.com.

gaminginnovation

MKODO

Atlantic Lottery’s Winning Numbers Lottery App for iOS will soon pass a landmark 50,000 downloads. As its name suggests, the app provides Atlantic Lottery’s customers with the ability to view the Winning Numbers and results from the range of lottery games and draws.

The app was developed by A LC and gaming app developer mkodo using native code and frameworks on the iOS platform. The main reason for adopting this development strateg y was to ensure that the app delivered the best possible experience in terms of lookand-feel, animations and transitions for the customer.

Mkodo says the quality of design that this has delivered is a key component of the app's success so far.

“Developing the app’s functionality to enable Atlantic Lottery’s customers to view results, winners and prize values for the whole portfolio of games has been the first step in fulfilling the key journeys and expectations of the app’s user base,” says Mark Gibson, Business Development Director, mkodo. “ We are ver y much looking forward to enhancing the app's functionality in the months ahead."

The app offers Atlantic Lottery’s customers a widerange of information in a rich display that leverages the feature support available through native mobile development. The app's features allow users to view a year’s worth of winning numbers from previous draws for all games. It also includes a detailed breakdown of the prize payout information such as value of the prizes, numbers of winners, bonus values, etc.

The app has also helped to associate mobile with retail by using the mobile device's map functions to allow customers to search for a lottery retailer close to their location, or by entering an address of choice.

An additional feature is the listing of major prize winners along with their picture as they receive their prize.

The app was one of the first from a Canadian lottery in the Apple App Store. It allows customers to opt-in to receive push-notif ications to their device. There are a range of push-notifications that customers can choose to receive - from a reminder alert on the day of a draw (at a time to customer selects to suit their schedule), to letting them know when draw results are in, to knowing when

there has been a major prize winner in Atlantic Canada.

The Winning Numbers app is available on all Apple dev ices, r unning iOS 7 and above, covering more than 95 per cent of the Apple users with a responsive presentational style between phone and tablet devices.

There is a roadmap of sig nif icant enhancements planned for the coming months designed to substantially extend the functionality available to Atlantic Lottery’s customer base.

“We are delighted that the Winning Numbers Lottery App for Atlantic Lottery has been so well-received and proven such a great success among Atlantic Lottery’s players,” says Gibson. “The app’s take-up from the App Store showed the huge scope of customer appetite.

We are tremendously excited by the enhancements to functionalit y and presentation that will be released through 2015 and the opportunities and benef its that will be generated for Atlantic Lottery’s users and Atlantic Lottery’s business.”

For more information, visit www.mkodo.com.

Canadian Gaming Business | 27

analytics

ANALYTICS AND OPERATIONS The analytically agile casino

BY NATALIE OSBORN

The rise of big data has led to a new era of data-based decision making. Today, the use of analytics in decision-making has become a common business practice. Whether an organization is using analytics to generate insights for strategic planning, manufacturing, selling, supply chain management or marketing, analytics touches nearly every aspect of business operations as organizations strive for better performance and increased revenues. The gaming industry is no exception.

28 |  Spring 2015

analytics

CASINOS USING ANALYTICS for customer and marketing intelligence is nothing new, but there are many more ways gaming industry professionals can use data analysis to optimize information and increase success. In 2015, the analytically agile casino is one that’s making critical business decisions based on data-driven outcomes, a casino that’s no longer relying on luck to succeed, but rather placing its bets on analytics for the sure win.

MARKETING WITH A PURPOSE

Casino revenues are driven by consumer spending patterns that have expanded in recent years beyond the traditional slot machines and table games to include nightclubs, restaurants, shopping and more. The result has been mountains of invaluable customer data that the industry can leverage to understand how to target new customers, segment based on profitability, or understand the needs of a specific customer.

A naly tics g ives casinos the power to k now their customer, chart their value over time, and anticipate behavior. Using data analytics tools, a casino operator can tailor specific, personalized marketing campaigns to each customer in a patron database. By consolidating various touch point systems throughout the property, a casino operator can create a complete view of each patron. By understanding what type of person is on property, why they are there, and what they like to do, casino operators can individualize their marketing campaigns so that these campaigns are more effective, thereby increasing the casino property's ROI from check-in to casino f loor.

An analytically agile establishment looks for ways to enhance marketing through: • Data management: Integrate, cleanse and enrich patron data from every imaginable source. Capitalize on new data sources – particularly social media – as both a source of inbound intelligence and outbound communication.

• Patron segmentation: Group patrons by their past activities, and predict their likely future behaviors.

• Marketing automation: Increase response rates and decrease costs by creating and delivering relevant messages and incentives to your most profitable patrons at the right times through the right channels.

• Marketing optimization: Have the data-driven insights necessary to take the very best action for each patron at that particular moment.

• Mobile - Implementing real-time marketing decision engines With always-on connectivity, consumers’ expectations for relevancy have never been greater. To execute and take advantage of real-time client insight, marketers need

real-time capability. This is fundamental in the digital age, to convert insight into opportunit y and deliver instance offers to mobile devices.

Casino companies can leverage mobile advertising to lead to direct selling as opposed to far slower traditional marketing channels. When hot spots or geo-fences are located within a casino, patrons surfing that hotspot with their mobile device, or passing an i-beacon or geo-fence, can receive personalized marketing messages directly to their phone or tablet. When connected to an analytics platform, marketing messages can be tailored to the individual patron. Only analytically savvy marketers will be in a position to leverage the wealth of data available to drive real-time offers straight to the consumer’s device.

To thrive in a world of smart devices, casino marketers need to be that much smarter.

RESPONSIBLE GAMING

In an effort to protect those vulnerable to addiction and make a positive impact to systemic gambling problems, casinos are stepping up to tackle the issue and analytics is proving to be a worthwhile tool to help identify problem gamblers early. Using predictive analytics software to understand player behaviour, an alert can be triggered when operators see that an individual ’s behavior is becoming more risk y. At that point, there is a range of inter ventions which are personalized toward the individual player, such as a pop-up that asks them to assess the amount spent all the way up to staff communication/ intervention and even offer triggers that will entice the gambler to the property’s other amenities. While there is much work to be done in this area, many casinos are taking steps in the right direction with analytics proving to be a promising tool to fight addiction.

SLOT FLOOR OPTIMIZATION

When deciding which games to offer or replace, casinos may look at historic results and surmise reasons why games which were popular in the past will continue to be so in the future. Therein lies a missed opportunity.

With mountains of invaluable customer data available, a growing number of casinos around the world are turning to advanced analytics to assist with slot f loor planning to forecast the right mix of gaming choices, denominations, and machine placements to optimize customer interest and use.

W hile the traditional approach to decision-making around slots was limited to reports based on one variable exclusively using historical data, today’s forecasting looks at trends, seasonality, usage, location, machine drivers, game classifiers, time of day, day of week, etc., to truly understand customer preferences and factors that drive Canadian Gaming Business | 29

analytics

a machine’s success. With time, as databases become richer, predictions get stronger, providing a view of longterm gaming trend performance, and ultimately better decision-making.

Operators can now forecast at ever y dimension: by casino, by f loor, by section, by denomination, modelling at every meaning level within the hierarchy and allowing operators to forecast how many plays a machine will see by customer segment. This allows casinos to understand best-case scenarios, what will happen next, what will happen if a trend continues, why this is happening and what actions need to be taken.

What’s more, based on this data, operators are also able to assess machines a casino has never seen before. Analytics provides operators w ith a sor t of “shopping list” allowing them to buy machines based on data that w ill ensure their success when introduced into the overall f loor mix. Using this technology, operators to look at multiple scen a r io s, f rom mov i n g a m a ch i ne, t o reconfiguring it or to replacing it all together.

E ach of these decisions ha s a dif ferent impact on revenue and cost. Analytics can help decipher what impact the replacement of a machine will have on the overall f loor performance.

Slot Floor Optimization is par t ar t, par t science.

Managed effectively it helps casinos understand the relationship between machines and profitability. It helps managers determine the best mix of machines and how to optimize f loor space use to maximize returns. When it comes to slot f loor planning, bad decisions can mean significant losses, in both customer loyalty and potential revenue. By correlating the availability of the right games at the right prices with customer demand, the casino can generate incremental revenue increase, all the while improving the customer experience.

Advanced solutions prov ide automated processes for detecting, investigating, and reporting suspicious behavior and apply a risk-based approach to monitoring customer behavior. Using high-performance analytics and multiple detection methods enables an institution to monitor more risk scenarios against very large volumes of data, in less time. Once suspicious behavior is identified, a seamless workflow increases the effectiveness and efficiency of the investigative function. Combining high-performance analytics capabilities with all the essential elements of a

ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING (AML)

Big data can provide casino operators with a competitive advantage, but requires a well-planned approach to properly obt ain, manage, analyze and leverage the information in a way that can improve bottom-line results. But many casino operators are applying analytics as a standalone activity isolated from everyday business operations and decisions, limiting its true value. 2015 is the year to operationalize analytics into all lines of business, enabling front-line, day-to-day business users and decision-makers – sales people, marketers, and business unit managers – to optimize their business outputs and decision making to become the analytically agile casino.

Big data can provide casino operators with a competitive advantage, but requires a wellplanned approach to properly obtain, manage, analyze and leverage the information in a way that can improve bottom-line results.

As the gaming industry sees more stringent forms, there is also an increase in e-filing processes and requirements for capturing customer and transaction data. These changes require casinos to beef up how they capture and store customer and transaction information, as well as the depth and accuracy with which they report these details. A s many casinos continue to largely rely on manual processes—that are time consuming and often less accurate than the new regulations require—these changes necessitate substantial staff training, changes in culture and upgrades to IT. Information management and analytics technologies c a n g r e at l y a s si s t c a si no s i n m e et i n g t he s e n e w requirements by providing the most accurate, complete solution for detecting, investigating and reporting on potential illicit activity, including customer due diligence, suspicious activity monitoring, watch-list f iltering and case management.

30 | Spring 2015

successful AML solution – including customer due diligence, suspicious activity monitoring, watch-list filtering, and case management— it allows casinos to: • Monitor more transactions in less time • Improve the quality and accuracy of alerts • Enhance investigation speed and effectiveness • Identify organized crime rings This all provides casinos with more complete protection and the ability to meet compliance demands with greater speed and accuracy than ever before.

CONCLUSION

Natalie Osborn is senior industry consultant for SAS Institute’s Hospitality and Travel practice, and an 18-year veteran of hospitality and hospitality technology solutions development, specializing in analytics and revenue management. For more information, visit www.sas.com

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maestro

corporateprofile

THE INTERTAIN GROUP

Growing the online bingo community

John Fitzgerald’s vision of building the world’s largest online bingo site is fast becoming a reality.

Since going public in February 2014, Fitzgerald’s company, Intertain Group is a rapidly growing online business that currently offers bingo and casino games to its customers using InterCasino.com, CostaBingo.com and other brands to a global consumer base.

“OUR BUSINESS is all about bingo which is a strong community-based game,” says Fitzgerald, Intertain’s CEO. “Our player base is very loyal and you’ll see that our retention rate with respect to players is much higher than casino or other forms of gaming. We are now the dominant online bingo supplier and we plan on leveraging that sort of liquidity into new, regulated markets.”

The company, first known as Goldstar Acquisitionco Inc, was formed when it acquired WagerLogic Malta Holding Ltd, the parent company of CryptoLogic that operated an online casino under the InterCasino brand from a subsidiary of Amaya. The InterCasino gaming platform is supplied by NYX Gaming Group Ltd and Intertain’s bingo offering operates off of the Dragonfish platform, a leading bingo software service provided by 888 Holdings plc.

ONLINE GAMING GROWTH

With the WagerLogic acquisition, Intertain became the owner of one of the best and oldest online casino brands in the market 32 | Spring 2015

(InterCasino was founded in 1996).

“It’s very simple — we want to be the largest online bingo site in the world and with our most recent acquisition, we will be one of the largest that has the greatest proportion of regulated business, so that is

just the first step for us,” Fitzgerald says of his vision for the company.

By June 2014, Intertain had acquired another company, Mandalay Media Group. Mandalay owns some of the United Kingdom's leading online bingo

corporateprofile

websites including Costa Bingo, Sing Bingo, City Bingo, Fancy Bingo and Rio Bingo, as well as leading affiliate sites Casino Choice and Ignite.

Mandalay’s bingo product will boost Intertain’s existing business as it will help to diversify Intertain’s casino offering and provide the company with immediate access to new markets and a built-in player base of more than 9,000 daily unique players across all five brands.

STRONG U.K. BASE

Since its inception in 2009, Mandalay has had 1.1 million players register on its sites and has collected approximately £120 million in deposits. More than 98 per cent of the combined bingo business’ revenues are generated from UK-based players, which is consistent with Intertain’s goal of growing its customer base in regulated markets.

“We’re going to continue to work and organically grow our business in existing markets that we operate in which are regulated,” says Fitzgerald. “You won’t see us taking wagers in markets if there are any

grey areas or legal questions as to whether or not games are legal or illegal. This company, although based in Canada and listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange, has never taken a wager in Canada, for example, so we are really focused on growing our business globally and in line with a regulated approach.”

I n D e cemb er 2 014, I nt er t a i n completed the acquisition of Ve r a & Jo h n , a f u l l y i nt e g r a t e d global online casino that operates in 11 countries under three core brands: Vera&John, Vera&Juan, and Vera&John Social. Vera&John offers 800 games and has approximately 490,000 registered customers, receives approximately 10,000 deposits per day, and reached 1.0 billion real-money spins in 2014.

Fitzgerald says that while other companies’ business focus may be elsewhere, Intertain’s target customers are female bingo players.

“Even though we’ve been public for just over a year, the real strategy has

been to consolidate our business with a focus on the female demographic.

Most of our peers are focused on the male demographic and we saw a real opportunity.”

Most recently in early February 2015, Intertain and privately held Gamesys Ltd, the leading online bingo-led business and owner and operator of Jackpotjoy, Starspins, and Botemania, announced they have entered into a binding share purchase agreement. Gamesys employs 1,000 people across seven off ices, including the United States, and its business is still growing.

BALANCED APPROACH

With regards to the future of Intertain, Fitzgerald sees a balanced approach to the company’s growth.

“We will grow organically in our current markets such as the U.K., Spain, Sweden and other Nordic countries.

We’ll be leading in areas such as working with governments as to how to regulate markets. That’s what is so exciting about our business — we are only in a few countries right now and we are creating that sort of profitability.”

Although the company does not do online business in the Canadian m a rket , Fitzg era ld believes t he company has a lot to offer organizations such as Crown lotteries.

“In Canada, we also see a huge opportunity to work with the lottery corporations. We know bingo and we know online bingo. It’s our view that the lottery corporations are getting into this now and hopefully they’ll be able to lean on our expertise.”

When the company’s latest acquisition is completed in March 2015, Intertain will have achieved Fitzgerald’s goal of being the largest online bingo provider in the world.

“The great thing about bingo is in its entertainment value,” says Fitzgerald.

“Our players come back every day, they play small games, sometimes no more than a (British) pound for the whole night but they’re on our site chatting with their friends. That type of community interaction is so important to us.”

For more information, visit www.intertain.com.

Canadian Gaming Business | 33

facilityprofile

CLUB REGENT AND MCPHILLIPS STATION Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries – Creating Tomorrow’s Casinos Today

Renewal is important to sustaining most businesses, but it’s the lifeblood of the casino industry and why Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries is making exciting transformations to its Club Regent and McPhillips Station Casinos.

THE CASINOS OF WINNIPEG, m ajor comp onent s of t he c it y ’s entertainment offering, opened in 1993 and later underwent expansions that were completed in t ime for the 1999 Pan Am Games. In recent years, a new phase of casino renewal was initiated.

W hile both proper ties have undergone improvements, Club Regent Casino has experienced the greatest transformation with the addition of the Club Regent Event Centre, a modern architectural space with tremendous versatility. Designed by Number Ten 34 | Spring 2015

Architectural Group with f lexible seating by Gala Systems, the Event Centre can shift from theatre seating to a flat floor format, or a combination of both within mere minutes.

TRANSFORMATIONAL VENUE

“We’re extremely pleased with the new facilit y and the f lex ibilit y it prov ides,” says Way ne Per fu mo, V ice President, Hospit alit y & Entertainment Services. “It allows us to host legendary acts in the 1,400seat theatre at night and transform the next day for a 600 person gala

dinner or a more intimate setting for a few hundred. After adjusting lighting grids and seating arrangements you wouldn’t know it’s the same space. The technology is amazing. ” To complement the Event Centre, a striking new casino entrance and hotel link now welcomes guests to a spacious north lobby with new gift store, Ticketmaster, automated coat check and Players Booth. Just outside the Event Centre is an elegant 4,000 sq. ft. prefunction area with an impressive walk-up bar to serve guests prior to and during events.

facilityprofile

“This new facilit y gives us the opportunity to present more marquee artists then we could at our previous concert bowl,” says Perfumo. “Now that agents and promoters know we offer a leading-edge facility, they’re excited to include us in a circuit of Western Canadian venues that can host top performers like we have with Huey Lewis & the News and the Doobie Brothers.”

FLEXIBILITY IS KEY

The room can facilitate a party pit for guests to dance in front of the stage without blocking the view of seated guests. Perfumo notes the Western Canada Music Awards found the venue’s cabaret format fit its requirements to a tee.

“That’s a great example of how the room suited a third party’s specific needs,” he says. “Music industry guests enjoyed table service on the flat floor while audience members could cheer on their favourite artist on stage from the 400-seat mezzanine.”

W hile the Event Centre and its amenities are sure to impress, earlier enhancements make Club Regent Casino

a must see destination too. Toukie’s Lounge, completed in 2011, is the perfect spot to unwind, order a tasty appetizer or enjoy a cocktail with friends and play an assortment of popular electronic games.

If you prefer a quieter setting, wander downstairs to JAG’S for a delicious buffet or select from the menu both teeming with fresh Manitoba sourced ingredients.

W h a t i s n’t n e w b ut r e m a i n s enormously popular with Club Regent visitors is the largest walk-through saltwater aquarium on the Prairies and home to hundreds of tropical inhabitants.

UNIVERSAL APPEAL

Dan Sanscartier, Vice President, Gaming Operations says the 217,000 sq. ft.

Club Regent Casino and 178,000 sq. ft.

McPhillips Station Casino, has something for every player who visits.

“We have an incredible mi x of electronic games and table games,” says Sanscartier. “Between the two casinos, players can choose from a variety of slot machines and Pick ‘N Play machines that offer simultaneous bingo and slots play and are unique to our sites.

Our team is continually refreshing the

mix to offer our guests the newest, most popular games.”

“With the renovations, we’ve had to be flexible and relocate games to accommodate construction schedules, but we’ve strived to maintain the service our customers expect,” says Sanscartier. “Our employees have been terrific in letting guests know when games are being relocated, plus we’ve added slot locator displays to help everyone stay on top of the moves.”

“Ultimately, when projects are completed,” says Sanscartier, “we’ve been able to place games in prime locations on the casino floor. For example, table games players like that their area is located in a slightly elevated section somewhat separate from the main gaming floor.”

Major poker tournaments have been held twice annually in the Upperdeck area of McPhillips Station Casino, drawing participants from Manitoba and neighbouring provinces. This April 14 to 18 at the casino, Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries presents the PlayNow Poker Championship where players will compete for their share of a $600,000 prize pool.

Just a five minute drive from downtown, McPhillips Station Casino evokes the golden age of railway travel at a turn-of-the-century grand hotel featuring sweeping staircases, brass handrails and chandeliers – and it too has undergone upgrades inside and out. First came the new Crystal Room and Double Down Lounge – a spectacular space with an ornamental ceiling and luxurious surroundings where friends meet at its bar or partake in Blackjack, Roulette, and slots.

Make your way up a grand staircase to watch a Winnipeg Jets game on the Upperdeck Sports Bar’s large screens or check out The Club at the Upperdeck featuring the city’s best bands and DJs. Stop

by Michele’s Restaurant for a fabulous buffet or something special from the à la carte menu there or just around the corner in the classic Dixie’s Lounge. Casino visitors can park in the recently built 900-car parkade that will be connected to the casino via a 2nd level skywalk.

McPhillips St ation Ca sino and Club Regent Casino are on track to meet today’s and tomorrow’s customer expectations. Visit www.casinosofwinnipeg.com, Facebook and Twitter for offers and updates.

Canadian Gaming Business | 35

executiveq&a

TONY

SANTO

CEO, Gateway Casinos & Entertainment

As chief executive of Gateway Casinos & Entertainment, Tony Santo oversees one of the largest casino and entertainment companies in Western Canada, which has grown from just two facilities with 150 employees to 12 facilities with over 3,000 employees. After more than 19 years in the casino industry, the Gateway portfolio has grown to include Grand Villa Casino & Convention Centre, Starlight Casino, Cascades Casino Resort, the Lake City Casinos in the Okanagan, the Baccarat and Palace Casinos in Edmonton, and two Chances gaming locations in British Columbia. Canadian Gaming Business recently spoke with Tony to hear about his vision for the company and its role in the Canadian gaming industry.

WHAT LED TO YOUR CURRENT ROLE AT GATEWAY CASINOS & ENTERTAINMENT?

I started on this path at university where I studied hotel and gaming management at UNLV. Afterwards, I worked my way into leadership positions including roles as the Senior Vice President at Harrah’s Entertainment and Caesars E nt er t a i n ment . I a lso ser ved a s president for a number of properties including Paris Las Vegas, Bally’s Las Vegas, the Flamingo Las Vegas and the Las Vegas Hilton. Eventually I started a gaming consulting f irm, which is how I got to know Gateway. When the opportunity to lead the company was presented, I thought it would be both a great opportunity and challenge.

36 | Spring 2015

WHAT HAVE BEEN YOUR MOST SIGNIFICANT ACHIEVEMENTS SO FAR AND HOW DO THOSE ACHIEVEMENTS INFLUENCE YOUR ROLE AT GATEWAY?

As a leader, I always strive to identify and develop internal talent. This means taking the time to understand and respect the nuances of the people and culture in the properties I have led. This approach has been extremely rewarding for me throughout my career. At Gateway, we’re working with the team here to not only help them reach their individual potential, but also to harness that potential to make Gateway the premier casino a n d e nt e r t a i n m e nt c o m p a n y i n Canada.

WHAT ARE THE MOST PERSONALLY REWARDING ASPECTS OF WORKING IN A LEADERSHIP ROLE IN THE CANADIAN GAMING INDUSTRY AND WHY?

W hen I arrived at Gateway, there were many talented individuals who weren’t in a position to reach their full potential. But we’ve changed that and now we’re actively developing our internal talent, which has made us a stronger company and hopefully a better employer. Building from within — to develop an internal team that is focused and engaged — is so rewarding to me because that’s how I came up in the business.

executiveq&a

WHAT DO YOU BELIEVE ARE THE GREATEST GROWTH OPPORTUNITIES FOR GAMING IN CANADA AND WHY?

I f you lo ok at t rend s w it h c a su a l gamers, I believe the g reatest g row th oppor tunit y resides in transitioning our g aming facilities into entertainment complexes with a wider range of entertainment options and amenities. Because that is really what people want to do – go out and b e ent er t a i ne d. So ou r ch a l len g e, a s a n o p er a t o r, i s t o pr o v i d e t h e complete enter t a in ment pack a g e – g a m in g, accom mo dat ions, din in g, and entertainment. I also think there are a number of markets that could supp or t more g a m i n g pro p er t ie s , but obviously that is up to local and provincial leaders to determine.

WHAT’S YOUR PHILOSOPHY FOR DELIVERING THE BEST GAMING EXPERIENCE FOR ALL PARTIES INVOLVED, INCLUDING THE CUSTOMER, YOUR COMPANY AND THE COMMUNITY?

Our philosophy starts with our employees.

We fundamentally believe in working to ensure everyone on our team is motivated to deliver the best possible experience to our customers. There’s no doubt that our employees are our best Gateway

ambassadors in the communities where we operate. Through Gateway Gives, our team works to give back and support local charities and community projects. As a company, we also work with local governments to be a good corporate neighbor and ensure we are aligned with economic development mandates as municipalities work to grow and move forward.

WHAT ARE THE GREATEST CHALLENGES FACING THE CANADIAN GAMING INDUSTRY TODAY?

When you look at the gaming offering in Canada, there is more work to be done in creating a n enter t ainment of fer i n g t h at i nclude s , but i s not limited to, gaming. The next critical s t ep i n t h at pro c e s s i s c r e at i n g a robust loyalty platform that rewards customers for all their preferences and purchases – not just gaming. The casual gamer should be rewarded for dining at a restaurant or purchasing concert tickets. That’s how we attract a younger demographic – providing entertainment and rewarding those preferences.

WHAT IS YOUR VISION FOR THE FUTURE OF GATEWAY CASINOS AND ENTERTAINMENT AND ITS ROLE IN THE CANADIAN GAMING COMMUNITY?

We are working hard to develop and grow Gateway. With over 3,000 employees in Western Canada and 20 years experience as a Canadian gaming company, we would like to find new opportunities across the country while increasing and improving our B.C. and Alberta operations. For ex ample, we are excited about the oppor t un it ies in Ont a r io th roug h OLG’s modernization process. Ontario represents a very important new market to our company and we’d be thrilled to be selected as an operator in Ontario.

More than a transaction.

A connection.

From the moment that currency touches our bill validator, we are responsible for providing an effortless, accurate transfer of cash into play. We are your representative on your casino floor.

This philosophy has earned JCM its position as the industry leader, with more bill validators and printers in play than all other brands combined. And now, we will show you how a simple buy-in can lead to a level of player engagement that goes beyond the transaction. We’ll help you make connections.

Canadian Gaming Business | 37

finance

THE AUDIT ADVANTAGE

How an internal audit can minimize risks for lottery and gaming organizations

BY LESLEY LUK

Internal audits can play a critical role in helping lottery and gaming companies more effectively manage some of their leading risks in today’s challenging and quickly changing business environment.

AS LOTTERY AND GAMING companies evaluate their strategies and plans for investment through 2015 and beyond, some important risks to consider include:

including those in the lotter y and gaming sphere. Cyber securit y is increasingly appearing on the top of many board agendas, and data security breaches now appear as headline news on a consistent ba sis. The CYBER SECURITY As the term implies, amid today’s world consequences of lapses in security can of constant connectivity, cyber security be disastrous and often carry impacts is a key focus point for most companies for both an organization’s bottom line 38 | Spring 2015

and reputation. It is critical that lottery and gaming companies remain vigilant and up-to-date regarding all the recent protection criteria and measures.

How an Internal Audit can help: • Perform a “top down” risk assessment around the organization’s cyber security process, using industry standards as a

finance

guide, and provide recommendations for process improvements.

• Review existing processes to ensure they consider the threats posed in the constantly evolving environment.

• Assess implementation of revised technology security models, such as multi-layered defenses, enhanced detection methods and encryption of data leaving the network.

• Eva lu a t e t h i r d - p a r t y s e c u r it y prov ider s u se d by lot t er y a nd gaming companies to assess the extent to which they are addressing current risks.

EVOLVING BUSINESS MODELS

Given the ever-increasing competitive atmosphere of the lottery and gaming industry, combined with the speed at which new technolog ies are being developed, evolv ing business models (such as the shift from land-based g aming and physical lottery tickets to internet and mobile lotter y and gaming) are a standard part of today’s business environment. As business models evolve, so too do the associated risks, so it is crucial that companies are aware of the risks they face and help ensure that processes are put in place to mitigate and address them.

How an Internal Audit can help: • Assist in creating automated extract, transform and load processes, along with system-generated analytics and dashboards monitored by the business against specified risk criteria.

• Assess the alignment of the strategic goals and objectives of the organization with risk management practices and monitoring, including the prioritization of strategic objectives and risks on a continuous basis.

• Enable data analytics audit programs designed to verify the underlying data analysis and reporting of risk at the business level.

How an Internal Audit can help: • Review the process by which vendors • Automate auditing focused on root cause analysis and management’s responses to are identif ied and establishing risks, including business anomalies and onboarding processes and controls trigger events. for selected vendors. important. For many lottery and gaming organizations, costs can increase unnecessarily due to vendors failing to meet contractual obligations.

Third parties often work under highly complex contracts where the requirements are not clearly identified, key responsibilities may be overlooked, or contracts may not reflect changed circumstances. No matter the reasons, organizations need to manage the risks related to vendor relationships to maintain control over their costs.

As business models evolve, so too do the associated risks, so it is crucial that companies are aware of the risks they face and help ensure that processes are put in place to mitigate and address them.

How an Internal Audit can help: • Review transition plans against industr y standards and leading practices while providing recommendations around potential risks and operational issues.

• A s s i s t i n i d e n t i f y i n g a n d documenting the risks and controls of new operating models.

• A s s e s s h o w r e g u l a t o r y a n d compliance requirements apply to the evolved business model and develop ongoing monitoring process around these newly applicable requirements.

• A s s i s t w i t h t h e t r a i n i n g a n d education of relevant individuals around the changes.

VENDOR MANAGEMENT

With industry trends showing a strain on gaming revenue, managing costs to maintain profitability is extremely

• Conduct vendor audits that focus on compliance with contract terms and effectiveness of vendor internal controls.

• Assist in developing, implementing and calibrating a continuous monitoring system over vendors related to their self-reported data.

Us e o f D at a A n a l y t i c s a n d C o nt i n u o u s M o n it o r i n g i n Internal Audit Over the past few years, data analytics have helped revolutionize the way in which companies assess and monitor data, especially in terms of efficiently expanding the scope of audits and improving the detail levels to which audits can be performed. Data analytics and continuous monitoring can also help internal audit departments simplify and improve their audit process, resulting in a higher quality audits and tangible value for the business. In addition, leveraging data analytics also accommodates the growing risk-based focus on fraud detection and regulatory compliance.

• Recommend the consistent use of analytics, including descriptive, diagnostic, predictive and prescriptive elements.

While the risks identified are particularly relevant, others continue to exist and internal audits can help manage those stemming from such areas as intellectual prop er t y prot e c t ion , i nt er n at ion a l operations, system implementations and upgrades, transitioning to the cloud, mergers, acquisitions, divestitures and revenue from contracts with customers.

There is little doubt that as lottery and gaming organizations take steps to adapt and innovate, their risk profile can also increase.

The proper identification and mitigation of these risks is essential to effective business operations including reputation management, cost management and the protection of company data and assets.

Lesley Luk is Senior Manager, Technology, Media & Telecommunications (TMT), at KPMG in Canada. Contact KPMG in Canada’s Silvia Montefiore - (416) 228-7211 or Lesley Luk (416) 228-7215 to learn more about internal audit opportunities and strategies for your organization.

For more information, visit www.kpmg.ca.

Canadian Gaming Business | 39

The Canadian Gaming Industry Meets at Casino Windsor Register today to attend Canada’s premier annual conference and exhibition for gaming professionals. The Summit delivers face-to-face interaction between attendees from all gaming sectors, disciplines and regions within Canada and beyond, and is the leading provider of information and education to the Canadian gaming community.

The Summit’s world-class educational program, expansive exhibition floor and enjoyable social events provide an invaluable and memorable learning and networking experience. Casino Windsor’s top-notch convention, gaming and entertainment facilities will help make the 2015 Summit an unforgettable experience!

19th Annual Canadian Gaming Summit There are many reasons to attend this year’s Summit: • The Summit is Canada’s Premier Gaming Industry Conference & Exhibition with over 1,500 gaming industry professionals and suppliers; • It is the only conference in Canada dedicated to all aspects of the gaming industry; • Based on last year’s survey, over 95 per cent of delegates indicated that they would attend again this year; • A large percentage of delegates attend the Summit because of our conference education program, offering the latest in industry information; • Our education program is curated by representatives from all of Canada’s lottery corporations, and showcases industryrecognized speakers, presenting on a wide array of topics relevant to the gaming industry; • The Summit also provides many networking opportunities at event breakfasts, luncheons, receptions, keynote presentations, and special events; • The Summit’s impressive trade show floor consists of a number of industry-recognized product and service providers showcasing the latest and greatest in the gaming industry.

Highlights of the 2015 Summit Canadian Gaming Industry Awards and Chairman’s Reception Thursday, June 18, 2015 6:00pm - 10:00pm The Canadian Gaming Summit Awards and Chairman’s Reception, since its inception 19 years ago, has honoured achievements in industry leadership. Join your industry colleagues for an evening of celebration, fine food, drink and entertainment. If you know someone deserving of this industry honour, visit the Summit website (www.CanadianGamingSummit.com) and click “Gaming Awards Nominations.”

Outstanding Learning Opportunities The Summit takes place over three days from June 16-18, 2015.

The comprehensive Educational Program at the 2015 Summit offers sessions and keynote presentations covering a wide array of gaming topics presented by industry leaders. The program includes seminars on Charitable Gaming, Finance, Gaming Operations, Human Resources, iGaming, Legal & Regulatory, Marketing, Security & Surveillance, Sports Betting, Technology and much more!

40 | Spring 2015

Valuable Networking Opportunities The Summit’s Golf Classic will be held on Tuesday, June 16 at Essex Golf & Country Club, a premier private club providing it members and guests with an exceptional golf experience.

Join your colleagues at the Summit’s Opening Reception to kick off the 2015 event on the evening of Tuesday, June 16 at Caesars Windsor from 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm. Refreshments will be served as you mix and mingle with those from past Summits and meet this year's new attendees.

The Canadian Gaming Industry’s Premier Exhibition The Summit’s Exhibition showcases the industry’s leading suppliers of gaming-related products and services. Everything from slot machines, to casino furnishings and table games, to cash handling and security and surveillance products are highlighted over two days on the jam-packed trade show floor.

Exhibition Floor Hours: Wednesday, June 17 Thursday, June 18

1:00 pm to 5:00 pm 10:00 am to 2:00 pm

New for 2015! The Canadian Gaming Summit Food & Beverage Conference A new Food & Beverage category has been added to the list of Summit educational program session tracks for 2015 and beyond.

Food & Beverage revenues are now more important than ever for gaming facilities, a trend that started in Las Vegas many years ago and which has recently made its way to Canada. We will be welcoming and encouraging Food & Beverage professionals from across the country to come together to learn, sample new products and to exchange information, ideas and the latest in F&B trends.

The 2015 Food & Beverage educational track will be broken into several sub-categories, including trends, business opportunities, marketing programs, training and technology.

We look forward to seeing you at Casino Windsor!

For registration, program and hotel & travel information, please visit: www.CanadianGamingSummit.com The Canadian Gaming Summit is owned and produced by:

June 16 – 18, 2015 Caesars Windsor Windsor, Ontario

“Where the Canadian Gaming Industry Meets”

See you at Caesars Windsor

...for the Food & Beverage Conference

The Canadian Gaming Summit is excited to announce that a new category, Food & Beverage, has been added to the list of educational program session tracks for 2015. Joe Moore, Director of Food & Beverage at Caesars Windsor, our 2015 host hotel, will be the Food & Beverage Committee Chair.

www.CanadianGamingSummit.com

legal

ANTI-MONEY

LAUNDERING Changes are coming

BY DON BOURGEOIS

Anti-money laundering measures have been part of the gaming industry for decades. While mandatory reporting measures are more recent, participants in the gaming industry have had control activities to mitigate against individuals or organizations using casinos to “launder” money from illegal activities for years. These were put in place primarily to protect the operator, such as measures to protect against counterfeit currency.

WHAT HAS CHANGED since the 1990s has been the addition of a public policy dynamic – one that is at times more politicized tha n helpful to guide the development of legislative and regulator y responses. In addition, this dynamic has become international in nature with multinational governmental organizations dr iv ing public polic y changes to achieve a closed loop for transactions – one in which transactions can be tracked and identified.

The changes announced as pa r t of t he federa l 2 014 Bud g et should not be seen in isolat ion.

T h e D e p a r t m e n t o f F i n a n c e ’s December 2011 consultation paper, S t r e n g t h e n i n g C a n a d a ’s A n t i Money L aunder ing a nd A ntiTerrorist Financing Regime noted 42 | Spring 2015

the historic development of the public policy response to money laundering and the perceived def iciencies. These perceived def iciencies, for better or worse, were not the mak ing of the g a m i n g i ndust r y, but t he g a m i n g industry was nonetheless caught in the public policy web.

EXPANDS DEFINITION

Bi l l C - 31 i mplem ent e d t he 2 014 Budget announcements with several amendments to the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act in June 2014. The key changes, some of which are being phased-in, included an expansion of the definition of “casino” to include both more physical premises (more than 50 devices) but also internet gaming. The legislation uses the Criminal Code’s

def initions of “lotter y scheme” – wh ich prov ides both cla r it y a nd potential confusion. For example, it is fa r from cer t a in that the def inition which refers to “Internet or other digital net work ” includes all that the legislative drafters may have intended, especially when “the sale of lotter y tickets” is expressly excluded. In the 21st century, what is a “lottery ticket?”

The Department of Finance has more recently been consulting on other important changes prior to full implementation of the amendments and the enlarged scope of gaming t h at is t o b e i ncluded. Two k ey areas for consultation in 2015 will include (1) client identification, and

is whether it is better to work with the Department of Finance and with FINTRAC, during Finance’s consultation process, or to look for the gaps and weaknesses in the legislation and exploit those.

CONSULTATION BEGINS

Finance has initiated a consultation process with the sector and other sectors with respect to the proposed regulation on client identif ication and signatures. These consultation sessions will provide opportunities for comments prior to drafts of the regulations being prepared. Formal consultations are anticipated in 2 015 to meet the requirements for draft regulations pursuant to

ALLOW FOR FLEXIBILITY

S i m i l a r l y, t h e a m e n d m e nt s o n identif ication are expected to suggest greater f lexibilit y and recognition of the dig ital world ’s dy namics. W hile in-person customer identification would remain, there could also be g reater ability to do customer identification in a non-face-to-face environment such as the internet. A recurring theme would likely be the importance of “reliable and independent” sources of information – but also recog nition that both the pr ivate a nd the public sectors have evolved and innovated new methods that are both reliable and independent of the customer. The use of both a single method to prove identity and a dual method will probably continue, w ith modif ications. The single method could take into account evolv ing government-issued dig ital identif ication being considered in some jurisdictions.

The client identif ication options w ill play out d i f fer ent l y i n d i f fer ent types of gaming channels and in different provinces.

Jurisdictions w ith hospitalit y-based VLTs, for example, will have different challenges, options and issues than wou ld ju r i s d ic t ion s w it hout t he s e devices. The policies and other control measures to ensure compliance w ill va r y, but the overa ll object ive w ill remain to comply.

W hich leads to the “going forward” opportunity for the gaming sector. As noted above, Finance will be consulting on draft regulations in the near future.

It is important for gaming companies to review the draft regulations both in context of their own operations and on a more comprehensive basis. One option is to work with Finance and colleagues through this consultation process to ensure that the final regulations both achieve the legitimate public policy objectives and ensure that they do so in an efficient and effective manner – without making compliance a practical impossibility.

The existing regulations – or at least how they have been interpreted and applied by FINTRAC – have not been consistent with commercial and legal realities.

(2) signature. The Department is expected to want to address some of the practical concerns that not only the gaming industry has expressed but a l so t he f i n a nc i a l i ndu st r y, securities industry and others have raised. The existing regulations – or at least how they have been interpreted and applied by FINTRAC – have not been consistent with commercial and legal realities.

For example, while “signature” in various other federal and provincial legislation have recognized electronic signatures, the approach t a ken ad m i n ist rat ively h a s been much narrower. There were credible arg uments that, for ex ample, the Ontario Electronic Commerce Act def inition of “signature” applied to contracts in Ontario that required a s i g n a t u r e , i n c lu d i n g g a m i n g contracts. This argument has not been litigated. Interestingly, there is also federal legislation that would similarly expand what is included as a “signature.” The issue for the sector

t he St at utor y I nst r u ment s A c t and Treasur y Board of Canada Secretariat guidelines.

Finance is considering regulations that would provide greater flexibility.

Consistent with other regulators and departments, there is recognition that a prescriptive approach does not encourage innovation, including technological, to achieve the public polic y objectives.

Finance is ex pected to propose more open-ended approaches. For ex ample, it is ex pected that the proposals will move away from the physical signature card approach a nd include PI Ns a nd ot her “electronic signatures” that have been accepted and proven reliable in the e-commerce world. While a handwritten signature would still be usable, an electronic signature t h at consist s of a combin at ion of let ters, cha racters, numbers or other symbols, or a digitally- Donald Bourgeois is Principal, Gaming recorded voice signature could also & Regulation Group. He can be reached at be recognized. bourgeois@grgadvisors.com

responsiblegambling

NEW HORIZONS, NEW MOMENTUM Responsible Gambling conference gathers steam

In its third year, the New Horizons in Responsible Gambling Conference has quickly become a key event for researchers and industry professionals in the field. After two previously successful years, returning host BCLC was challenged with delivering yet another winning annual event, and attendees were not let down. A colourful list of accredited presenters, a world-class venue and delegates from across the globe were the perfect recipe for success.

THE 2015 CONFERENCE featured 29 speakers from around the world, each bringing a unique view of social responsibility in the gambling industry. Presentations focused on education, outreach and responsible marketing of gambling activities and were geared towards professionals and specialists within the gambling industry.

T he st a r t of t he con ference wa s celebrat ed by t he international expansion of the BCLC GameSense brand as the Massachusetts Gaming Commission announced its adoption of the Canadian responsible gambling program. “ We are thrilled to have Massachusetts onboard with GameSense,” said Jim Lightbody, BCLC Interim President & CEO. “GameSense is designed to communicate with players in an approachable tone and with engaging resources.

It’s become a model others look to for best practices and it’s exciting to share this with our counterparts.”

New Horizons kicked off with a pre-conference workshop where delegates discussed developing a plan to alleviate harm caused by gambling, as well as workplace wellness.

The following day, the Hon. Michael de Jong, B.C. Finance Minister and minister responsible for gaming, off icially opened the conference with remarks that highlighted the positive state of responsible gambling efforts in British Columbia. In conjunction with his address, the province announced a new 21-point plan to improve services aimed at promoting responsible gaming which BCLC will help implement.

THE SCIENCE OF HUMAN BEHAVIOUR

The thought-provoking keynote address was delivered by Kristen Berman, co-founder of Irrational Labs, a non-profit 44 | Spring 2015

responsiblegambling

behavioural consulting company located in San Francisco, USA. Her presentation, The Behavioural Science Behind Addiction, shed light on the difficulties we face in getting people to opt into what is good for them. Through various food-related examples, Berman captivated her audience and bridged the concept to the diff iculties of gambling responsibly, setting the stage for two days of discussion on the topic.

Over the course of the conference, delegates were provided with a number of stimulating breakout sessions led by distinguished professionals such as Dr. Sally Gainsbury of New South Wales; Australia, Dr. Michael Wohl, professor at Carleton University in Ottawa; and BCLC’s new Director of Social Responsibilit y, Dr. Kahlil Philander. Themes such as the stigma associated with problem gambling and communicating responsibly provided attendees w ith plent y to deliberate as the conference unfolded.

New for 2015, New Horizons delegates were invited to watch and par ticipate in “The Great Debate” to

resolve whether “gambling providers should do more to prevent problem gambling.” The powerful discussion was moderated by BCLC’s Paul Smith, retiring director of social responsibility, and arguments provided by both the affirmative and negative parties captivated the audience.

In addition to sessions, presentations and discussions, va r iou s net work i n g e vent s encou r a g e d at t end i n g professionals to connect with other industr y ex perts passionate about responsible gambling. During one of these events, a tribute to Paul Smith was held in the form of short videos from colleagues at BCLC and around the globe. The stories and best wishes highlighted the positive impact Smith has had in the field of responsible gambling and the friendships he has developed throughout his career.

For more information on the New Horizons in Responsible Gambling Conference, visit HorizonsRG.com and follow @HorizonsRG on Twitter.

Canadian Gaming Business | 45

marketing

DIRECT MARKETING Stick to the fundamentals —they work

BY ANDREW GAGE DIRECT MARKETING — the perception of its value seems to have lost traction these days in a never-ending haze of multichannel messaging that is not planned or coordinated with overall marketing and revenue goals. This is unfortunate because direct marketing can have a significant positive impact on revenue, brand perception and brand awareness when done properly.

A lot of companies seem to have forgotten the fundamentals. This stems from the confusion that has been created by the number and variety of channels available today to deploy direct marketing messages. E-mail marketing has continued to show value, particularly for customer retention and win-back programs. Social media has exploded as a channel to connect and engage with very educated consumers which has made messaging and content important differentiators that can play a big role in all aspects of customer acquisition, retention and win back. Smartphone penetration in Canada has steadily increased, creating significant opportunity for geo-targeting prospects through mobile optimized content and banner ads. To top it all off, good old-fashioned direct mail has proved to be highly effective when coupled with a well-planned research and data strategy.

This plethora of choices has left many organizations paralyzed with respect to how and where to deploy their direct marketing prog rams.

This paralysis has also caused many marketing executives to lose sight of the fact that, no matter what channel you use, the fundamentals still apply and that doing nothing is worse than testing something and learning it doesn’t work.

The key to successful direct marketing is to create measurable interaction with these basics in mind: 46 | Spring 2015

Know your audience — Do your best to know your audience and use imagery and content that match up with their demographic.

S e g ment you r pro spe c t s a nd customers — One offer does not fit all. If this weren’t true there would be no need for marketing! People engage or buy for different reasons. You need to segment and test your offers and you need to measure the results. You’ll be amazed by what you learn.

Build your database — Use every possible oppor t u n it y to capt u re customer data and preferences. Every channel can and should be used to create an interaction that allows you to capture data.

Never stop refreshing your customer base — Consider it your sales funnel. If you stop trying to find new customers, eventually your old ones won’t be there either.

Use sma r t c reat ive — T h is is overlooked far too often in direct marketing. Good creative that matches your audience and your segmentation makes a huge difference.

Select the right channel — This is where old-school thinking meets the reality of the revenue-generating direct marketing programs of today.

Understanding your audience and how to reach them with the right message via the right channel is critical. It will take some research and time to determine the right channel mix. Reliance on one channel is very limiting.

Timely offers — Customer outreach and offers that you send out need to be timely. Do your best to match up what you are offering with when your customers will find the offer relevant.

Test and learn — Adopt a testand-learn approach for every direct marketing channel available to you.

This will validate costs and results along the way. It w ill also provide critical insight on how and when to communicate with your prospects and customers. In some cases you may find that different segments of your prospects a nd customers respond bet ter v ia different channels. Key components of what you can test include: List Messaging — active, lapsed and net new customers.

House list versus rented list, addressed versus unaddressed.

Channels — Direct mail, e-mail, social, mobile Offer — Test incentives, time frames or methods of response.

Creative — Test formats, imagery or copy.

Campaign measurement — Track response rates by target. Measure channel effectiveness. Measure effectiveness of follow-up communications.

At its core, direct marketing is a discipline. It’s about getting the right message in front of the right person at the right time to drive revenue and customer loyalty. Successful direct marketing is rooted in managing the fundamentals and a methodical, patient approach to customer acquisition, retention and win back. Organizations that are disciplined in this way are gaining signif icant ground. Don’t be in so much of a rush that you lose site of the basics and don’t be paralyzed by the choices and options you have. Keep testing and learning!

Andrew Gage is Executive Vice President and Partner with Marshall Fenn Communications.

He currently sits on the Board of the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Ontario. Marshall Fenn is a full service marketing communications agency supporting some of Canada’s largest organizations in the gaming, financial services, retail, healthcare, and government sectors. Contact Andrew at andrewg@marshall-fenn.com.

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