Tensions and challenges resulting from the impact of the online gaming environment including its open innovation culture on the traditional regulated gambling and casino industry

Abstract

The traditional gambling industry has been and still is currently under disruption caused by the more and more influential, regulated and commercially still fast increasing phenomena: online gambling. This trend has been even strengthened due to the Covid crisis, as soon as offline casino and gambling operators had to close their terrestrial venues. Not only traditional gambling operators, like casinos and/or slot arcades operators are facing this significant competition today, although gaming regulators, legislators and gambling technology providers, have to adopted permanently to this new situation. The online gambling segment has therefore nowadays a strong influence on the general players demands and behaviors, the product and game life cycles and also impact to and in terms of the innovation cultures of the traditional gambling technology providers. Technology casino and gambling providers are more or less having traditionally a closed innovation culture and environment. This master thesis objective is in particular, to find out and describe potential innovation related tensions and challenges,which are resulting from the effects and influence of the online gaming environment to the traditional gambling and casino industry. Furthermore, to see how the theoretical research results and its conclusions, do or do not match with the practical research conducted within that master thesis. On the practical part, a qualitative and inductive case study related to the objective has been conducted, with the aim to establish a grounded theory based in particularon the Gioia-methodology. The interviews were held mainly with stakeholders from an integrated global gambling industry giant, having actively both business segments, meaning the online and the offline part of the industry (B2B and B2C), within its group. The case study and its grounded theory shows, that most of the challenges and tensions resulting from the“clash” of cultures within the gambling industry and the case study example, are mainly placed within the internal space and therefore to be potentially solved primarily internally. The author proposes specific and concrete situative solutions for the challenges of the respective industry and company, in which the case study was conducted and outlines further, certain academic research topics, in particular when it comes to questions concerning business and innovation strategies and innovation matters related to acquisitions and mergers of traditional gambling operators/technology providers with online gaming actors and other entertainment corporations.