Stephen A. Crystal is the Head of Betfred Sports USA Development, and the founder of SCCG Management. He is a former Las Vegas casino owner and executive, and for over twenty five years he has been directly involved in all aspects of the casino and gaming technology industry.
In a video interview with Yogonet, he says that the impact of COVID-19 hasn't been as severe in Europe, where there's been a focus on online gaming, mobile sports, online casino, as it's been in the US, which has always been a brick-and-mortar casino culture. He notes the main effect of this crisis has been to spur the discussion of online gaming in the US, and he believes when there’s an exit, the US gaming industry will move faster to be more like the rest of the world in terms of gaming.
Asked about the esports betting surge amid the major sporting events shutdown, Crystal says trends in the US show that the younger demographic is more likely to spend time watching other people play video games than watching professional sports, so professional sports teams have already been investing in esports franchises and leagues to get close to that demographic. “So there's a synergy and a crossover between sports and esports, and I think we're going to see the acceleration of betting on esports.” He adds that it is easier to ensure integrity for esports than almost any sport.
Watch the full interview with Stephen A. Crystal:
Betfred has over 50 professionals in over 35 states working to provide sports betting market access, and Crystal estimates that within a couple of years more than half the US will be live with some form of sports betting. “What I've been explaining to technology providers outside of the US who often have the best technology to import into the US is that now is the time to come to the US, plant your flag with your best-in-class technology and try to get a share of the market place. Because the US marketplace is still the richest, most lucrative marketplace outside of China in the world,” he says. In that sense, he believes the biggest headline from what will come out of COVID-19 for the US is a movement towards more and more interactive gaming utilizing the technology that exists around the world.
Furthermore, Crystal believes that technologies that make more sense for the US right now, and will see a proliferation first, are Live Dealer and Virtual Sports.
When asked about Las Vegas situation as casinos start reopening, he says, “The biggest and best innovations in how to provide entertainment with our new reality will come out of Vegas. I don't know what they all are, but I can assure you, a year from now we'll be talking about things that are just as fun, just as in the character of Vegas as always, that we haven't thought about, and that's the beauty of Las Vegas. So it will live, it will take some time, and things will come out of it, in terms of the brick-and-mortar experience that will be exciting.”