"Once the industry gets back to normal, firms will try to diversify their offerings"

Which have been the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic for Booongo and the industry as a whole? 

The industry, as most of the industries in the economy, has been hit quite hard, particularly the retail operations and the brick-and-mortar casinos that have lost most of their revenues and got into deep financial trouble. The same goes for the sports betting operators that seen their operations being almost closed by the extremely low number of live events that happen, again, as the result of sports events being canceled.

We, at Booongo, are on the lucky side, as we focus almost entirely on online casino operations and this section of the gambling industry still does well and even growing within certain boundaries. This is a moment that we at Booongo use to get on the market with new tools that can help not only casinos but also sports betting operators, by offering their players extra activities and ways to relax from the safety of their homes.

Which were the measures/restrictions/limits/changes your company implemented voluntarily or had to adopt in accordance with local and/or regional policies when the pandemic first began?

With a global team working on most of the continents, Booongo was already prepared to move most of the human interactions fully to the online, so as a result, when the global situation started to look bad, we’ve decided to let all our employees work from home. As most of the processes were already in place this arrived as a natural step and took us just days to get up-to-speed with the new realities of the day-to-day work conditions. 

There are quite a few good outcomes that we see coming from this, one being the people looking to interact more but also commit more time to the needs we had to further grow Booongo.

What about the approach of the governments/political leaders in the different regions you develop your business?

The situation is not one where governments had tools to start using and as a result, most governments acted in an unsynchronized way and this can be seen in the way to situation evolved in each of the affected countries. We did not need and hopefully will not need any government support but there are lots of other companies that do need assistance and none of the governments moved fast enough to assist the companies and tax-payers at the right moment. I still hope the political leaders will get aligned with the business leaders towards a fast and decisive financial help that can ultimately reach the people and employees that desperately need help.

Has this situation changed your company's short- and long-term strategies and business plans? if so, in what ways?

We remain focused on the same plans and for us, there are some good opportunities arising from the current situation, but the more time this takes, the more likely that companies, including ourselves, could become victims to the global financial meltdown.

What about the global and local gambling industry? Do you think the tendencies and customer behavior expected for this year and beyond will change in light of the pandemic?

For sure a change will be seen once the situation gets back to normal. Operators, as well as providers, will try to diversify their offerings to both players and other companies, so they will be more resilient to the market changes. I would expect even more push from the retail casino and lottery operators to have a seamless online + retail offering. I expect that some of the obvious changes that in the past were taking years-and-years to happen now will be the main focus of many operators.

At the same time, the market will change, and some of the operators and provides that were not properly prepared will not open again, making more space for younger companies, with more will to innovate and differentiate. It is one of those Phoenix examples, in which from the ash of the disappearing companies, a new and better-adapted industry will re-surface. 

How much time and resources do you estimate it will take for the global and local industry to recover from the financial impact of the pandemic?

That’s a hard question and it depends on how fast we’ll adapt to the new normal. Looks like the virus is here to stay, for at least one more year, and people and companies need to get used to working in the current situation, where less travel and more social-distancing will be the norm.

Only the future will tell us how much time and money were needed to get things back to normal, however the new “normal” will look like, but for now it is important to stay focused on the business and adapt as good and fast as possible. 

Are there any bright sides to this situation?

As I was telling, this is and will be a filter that will force the industry to reinvent itself and become more resilient in the face of the unknown. Like any crisis, there will be new business opportunities as well for product improvements and new company acquisitions - and the companies that were not well prepared will have to make the step back and let the ones that had the right processes in place to take them over. This is a normal step in the evolution of any mature market and changes should always be embraced. 

Are there any similar situations (whether an economic or any other type of crisis) you or your company have experienced that you think can relate to the current difficulties that the industry is experiencing as a result of the pandemic in any way?

There are no “solutions” for evolution, and even if this is a forced evolution, it is still a situation that will make the market more powerful and better adapted. The only strategy that now works is to work better, work more and keep an open eye on the opportunities that may get in front of you.