In an interview with EGR Global, Jean-Christophe Choffray, head of product vision at Belgian group Gaming1, outlines their strategy for the years ahead.
An industry at a turning point
For several years now, the online gaming sector has been undergoing a transformation. The days of rapid growth with little supervision are giving way to an environment where national authorities are stepping up their demands. For players operating exclusively in regulated markets, the challenge is no longer simply to innovate, but to do so within a constantly evolving legal framework.
Jean-Christophe Choffray, who has been with Gaming1 for a quarter of a century, notes that the industry is going through a difficult period in which regulatory adaptation is absorbing most of its resources. According to him, almost 70% of development time is now spent adjusting platforms to the new rules, protecting players and meeting compliance requirements. This creates a competitive gap with unregulated operators, who are free to concentrate their efforts solely on innovation.
‘I think we are going through a difficult period where, as a fully regulated operator, we are only present in regulated countries, we have suffered a lot in the last two years compared to unregulated operators.’
Rethinking technology to regain speed
Gaming1 has undertaken a structural overhaul of its technological platform. The historical system, considered too monolithic, has been completely rethought and segmented to gain in flexibility. The aim is to drastically reduce the time needed to integrate new legal obligations without slowing down product innovation.
‘Our aim is to reduce the time needed to adapt the platform to new regulations, player protection, etc.’
Behind this technical project lies a broader strategy. In a sector where the rules are changing rapidly, agility is becoming as important a competitive advantage as the gaming offering itself. The challenge is no longer simply to create new services, but to build an architecture capable of constant evolution.
Artificial intelligence as a lever for player support
Another pillar of this transformation is the gradual integration of artificial intelligence into day-to-day operations. The aim is not to replace humans, but to improve understanding of behaviour and service quality.
‘We already work a lot with AI. We’re still in the early stages, so the aim is of course to use AI to help the customer.’
The company is currently developing agents that can analyse a player’s full history to help teams respond more accurately to queries or complaints. Where customer services used to have a fragmented view, the tool can now tap into much larger volumes of data.
‘In the past, our customer service department had problems with a limited view of the player. They have access to the whole database, but they can’t see the whole thing, or the whole history of the player. Our aim is to have our own AI agent that already integrates the database, capable of helping the player, responding to him and guiding him precisely through the problem he’s encountering.’
Targeted expansion in Europe
Despite a challenging environment, Gaming1 is continuing to expand geographically. The company plans to strengthen its presence in the Netherlands and Portugal and launch new operations in Belgium. These markets offer a strategic advantage: the regulatory frameworks there are already integrated into existing platforms, making it possible to speed up rollouts. The company is also considering entering new territories or acquiring existing operations and migrating them to its own technology.
This expansion strategy contrasts with some more complex experiences. In the US, adapting to multiple local regulations proved particularly burdensome and Gaming1 preferred to leave the US market.
Historically active in agreements with physical operators, Gaming1 is also reviewing its positioning between activities aimed at partners and direct operations. The company is gradually taking back control of its operations in order to improve its responsiveness. Partnerships, while providing structure, sometimes slow down decision-making in a sector where speed has become crucial.
The ongoing challenge of regulation
At the heart of all these choices is the regulatory issue. Rules are considered essential to protect players and structure the industry, but their instability represents a major challenge for technology players. Jean-Christophe Choffray argues in favour of greater regulatory stability, believing that too-frequent changes complicate innovation cycles and mobilise considerable resources.
Despite its growth, online gambling still represents only a fraction of the global casino market. For Gaming1, this means that the potential remains immense. The executive is optimistic that iGaming will continue to grow as technologies improve and experiences become more immersive. Eventually, the balance could even be reversed between physical and digital offerings.
In a sector under double pressure, Gaming1 is betting that solid infrastructures, the judicious use of artificial intelligence and an enriched user experience will be the keys to the next phase of growth.