Where is the innovation?

In a week where PartyGaming once again posted disappointing results in its poker division, the whole industry is talking about the potential slowdown in the European poker market. With listed gaming firms showing slowing or declining numbers in their poker verticals the question is can the industry do more to compete with the big two US-facing firms?

Dominik Kofert, CEO of Pokerstrategy.com, says he thinks there is, and a lack of innovation is holding the sector back. In this exclusive interview with InsidePoker Business he says the poker business needs to act now to stem the decline.

InsidePoker Business: Do you think there needs to be more innovation from the poker sites?

Dominik Kofert: Yes, the emotional attachment of a high-volume player to their poker software is like that of an office worker to Microsoft Excel. It's just another application on their desktop you double click and you play. Operators have failed to innovate and turn their products into experiences for their customer, and that is something you only really see with PokerStars and Full Tilt.

IPB: How can the firms compete with the US-facing sites, and do you agree that it's an unfair advantage?

DK: Everyone always says it's unfair they are taking US players, but I think the sites could do better. I'm not saying they can overtake PokerStars and Full Tilt, but there is no reason for resignation or passivity. They can do better. PKR is an example of a firm who showed you can do better. Innovation and building an experience is going to be key.

IPB: How do you create that user experience?

DK: You can do this through a lot of branding such as PokerStars and Full Tilt are doing or you can do this through new features. Poker operators need to think hard and long about how they can turn their site into a proper experience for the players. This helps turn a commodity into a holistic customer experience, which is really required as being just a poker room is nothing special. It’s not going to cut it.

IPB: Do you think there is enough investment in poker rooms?

DK: I think there is underinvestment in poker which is largely due to networks. Network operators are not investing enough into poker because they are not making much return. If you compare the networks to the standalone sites over the past six months you will see the networks have sharper drops in numbers. And as the networks have a smaller margin that is a big problem.

IPB: Why are the networks are suffering?

DK: The reason they are not making enough return is to do with the poker ecology. The networks need to regulate properly and if they do the average recreational player is going to be worth more and we will see growth on the networks again.

This is an excerpt from an interview in the latest issue of InsidePoker Business. To read the full interview register for you FREE copy of InsidePoker Business today.