Come Out to Play!! Guest Editor: Michael Silberling
President International Operations Caesars Entertainment
Gambling has undergone a technological revolution. From the customer's perspective, they are increasingly literate, comfortable and discerning with e-commerce and on line gaming and as the power of the technology grows and provides a much richer on-line experience, the distinctions between the real and the on-line offer needs to be redefined.
For the British land-based industry, faced with higher costs, higher taxes and greater regulatory restrictions than our on-line competitors, the challenge is how do we attract customers off the couch and into casinos?
A former British government minister, Richard Caborn, said in a parliamentary hearing that casinos are 'the safest place to gamble'. That is true and the introduction of initiatives like the Playing Safe programme into UK casino gambling will reinforce that position, but 'safety' has never been a USP to bring in the crowds.
The answer for me must lay in the way we craft the customer experience. The emphasis has its roots in the Caesars mission of 'Inspiring Grown Ups to Play'
Our approach must be recreationally holistic. It needs to be about the excellence of service; the bespoke personal attentiveness; the quality, diversity and value of our food, beverage and entertainment offers; the uniqueness of an integrated leisure experience where grown -ups can feel their leisure needs are not just recognised but where they are surprised and delighted.
We need to show that though the internet is a convenient utility with some great products, there is a time and place to enjoy a much more warm blooded approach to leisure.
The industry's future lays in embedding itself in the recreational psyche of the public as the first choice for a broad based, safe and grown - up leisure experience. Our own on-line virtual products do offer take-away tasters reflective of the main event but fundamentally we are social animals and the success of our land based businesses lays in recognising that.
We want people not only to wager on the lap top and the smart phone but also to come out to play.
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