eGaming Review 117 | Page 3

EDITORIAL TEAM Editor Tom Washington T: [phone] E: [email protected] Senior reporter Gerard Starkey T: [phone] E: [email protected] Reporter Andy Roocroft T: [phone] E: [email protected] Reporter Liam Stoker T: [phone] E: [email protected] Head of Content, Pageant Gaming Media Alun Bowden T: [phone] E: [email protected] PRODUCTION Head of production Claudia Honerjager E: [email protected] Art Director, eGR Toni Giddings E: [email protected] Sub-editors Rachel Kurzfield Eleanor Stanley Luke Tuchscherer COMMERCIAL Group commercial manager Sam Compagnoni T: [phone] E: [email protected] Publishing account manager Debbie Robson T: [phone] E: [email protected] Publishing account manager Jonathan Vintner T: [phone] E: [email protected] Director of business information Ben Robinson T: [phone] E: [email protected] Group head of content Gwyn Roberts CEO Charlie Kerr Circulation manager Fay Muddle Content sales T: [phone] E: [email protected] eGaming Review is published monthly by Pageant Media, Thavies Inn House, 3-4 Holborn Circus, London, EC1N 2HA ISSN 1742-2450 Printed by The Manson Group © 2014 all rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or used without the prior permission from the publisher [E D I T O R ' S LETTER ] We like to tackle the big issues here at eGaming Review and this month is no different. Operators are facing a squeeze from all angles – be it regulation, increased competition or tax – and much of that is being perpetuated by the wholesale shift to the dot.country licensing model across Europe. As our cover feature explores, each of these markets has its own unique framework egaming firms must adhere to – for better or for worse. The difficult question to answer is whether European egaming is ‘working’? Certainly for most operators the task of managing a pan-continental business has been expensive and, at times, exasperating. After years of pushing for individual member states to introduce their own licensing regimes, the reality is that just a handful of operators are making significant profits in multiple territories. Is it going to get any easier? Will newly regulating countries provide a greater opportunity? See page 24 to find out. This issue also takes a close look at how poker could benefit from the ‘fun factor’ applied in other verticals (p39). It is well documented that few operators are seeing growth in the product right now, but with heavy investment in a new look PartyPoker and 888 looking to launch in Italy in the next few months, operators haven’t given up quite yet. I wouldn’t overlook the importance of Gamesys and the emergence of its Virgin Poker brand either, given its track record in branding and an entertaining, and engaging style of gameplay. It is about to launch the product in New Jersey, which should provide a fine testing ground prior to a launch in Europe. And it will have its sights firmly set on 888 and PartyPoker players. We also hear from 32Red CEO Ed Ware and Deloitte's Simon Oaten (p45) on the strategies operators look set to deploy in the run-up to PoC implementation. So as you can see, there’s no let-up in this industry. Luckily you can visit our website ergmagazine.com for the latest news and analysis on a daily basis. Enjoy the issue. 03