eGaming Review OCTOBER 2013 | Page 3

EDITORIAL TEAM Editor Tom Washington T: [phone] E: [email protected] Reporter Andy Roocroft T: [phone] E: [email protected] Reporter Gerard Starkey 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 editor, eGR Toni Giddings E: [email protected] Sub-editors Rachel Kurz?eld Eleanor Stanley Luke Tuchscherer COMMERCIAL Group commercial manager Ben Robinson T: [phone] E: [email protected] 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] 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 © 2013 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 ] After an unusually long and sunny summer, the UK has returned to more familiar grey skies and it couldn’t have come soon enough for the online sector. The lack of any major sporting tournament along with the hot weather had a few sports betting executives reaching for a stiff drink. And the return of Premier League football would have been celebrated in boardrooms all over Europe. The UK is still a vital market to the big names in the sector and, as expected, the football season resumed with a ?ood of gambling ads with the likes of Betfred, Unibet and Sky Bet joining the traditional big spenders in throwing money at the small screen. But for once the talk is not just of acquisition as the industry is increasingly more interested in the old than the new. CRM has become a real area of focus at the major egaming ?rms, with the industry recognising the opportunities presented by reactivation and increasing share of wallet among its existing database. We’ve take an in-depth look at retention this month and hopefully highlighted some ways it can help your business. And with the looming PoC tax on the horizon, anything that helps mitigate the 15% hike in operating costs will be welcomed with open arms. When Victor Chandler led the charge offshore back in the 90s I doubt even he could imagine the eventual result the stampede would have. The abolition of the gambling tax in 2001, along with a point of supply approach in the 2005 Gambling Act, have led to the UK government replacing its carrot with a stick to bring the industry back under greyer skies. We speak to Victor Chandler this month in an exclusive interview where he talks about the future of the industry both at home and abroad. Don’t be fooled by the TV ads, Victor is serious about his business. And so is the UK government. After a quiet summer, we can brace ourselves for a noisy autumn, and the most interesting action is likely to be found off the pitch. 03