Industry News
Zendesk’s 2020 Messaging Report reveals focus on mobile and LatAm growth
The international CRM giant Zendesk released its Annual State of Messaging Report 2020 last month providing key data and insights on the most important conversational business and messaging trends ahead. The coming months will see core expansion in the global messaging landscape with strong advances ahead for the industry in mobile, integrated resorts and Latin American expansion, as messaging finally moves beyond boundaries according to Zendesk’s VP of Conversational Business, Warren Levitan.
In 2019, the number of messages exchanged between businesses and customers on Zendesk’s Sunshine Conversations platform increased 500%, and if the data revealed in the company’s third annual State of Messaging report is anything to go by, this is just the tip of the iceberg for the year ahead. “2020 will be the year of connecting conversations in the enterprise,” explained Warren Levitan. “We are seeing businesses embrace messaging as a shared platform for customer engagement, allowing them to truly unify sales, marketing and service interactions for the first time. This is a massive step toward putting customers at the centre of our businesses.”
Zendesk’s 2020 report combines interviews with more than two dozen customer experience product, sales, and marketing leaders from companies such as Google, Twitter, Hootsuite, Birchbox, and more, providing a measured analysis on the future of messaging across online, mobile and social platforms. Featuring expert commentary and in-depth analysis alongside original Zendesk research and third-party data, the report provides key insights into how messaging is changing the face of business with some notable parallels with the gaming industry in the coming decade.
As the international gaming industry continues to expand into emerging markets such as Brazil and Argentina, one significant area of focus within the report is that the LatAm region is leading the way. “Latin America – where WhatsApp is queen – is embracing conversational business faster than other regions, with Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa following closely,” states Levitan. “In many developing countries, messaging has leapfrogged web, email, and mobile apps to become the digital commerce channel.”
The companies dominating the messaging landscape and the vast differences between countries and continents when it comes to who is winning the messaging race is just one aspect of the research. 2020 will also see evolving and emerging conversational business trends such as AI, machine learning and in-chat payments unlocking huge opportunities for online brands across all sectors. Facebook has revealed that 150m people on Instagram have a conversation with a business every month and so for gaming brands the focus on in-chat payments is essential going forward.
“In-chat payments may be the key to unlocking conversational commerce at scale in the west,” Levitan added. “Apple Business Chat has Apple Pay built in and Facebook has several projects in the works with WhatsApp Pay, Facebook Pay and, most controversially, Libra — its planned cryptocurrency. Kakao, Line, and Telegram also boast their own crypto coins in various stages of development. Buying stuff is a crucial part of the conversational customer journey and it’s about to get a whole lot easier.”
Over the past decade, messaging has fundamentally changed the way people interact with friends, family, colleagues, and companies. According to Business Insider, messaging apps have surpassed social media in global monthly active users. Since 2018, nearly every major messaging channel, including WhatsApp, WeChat, Facebook Messenger, Google’s RCS, and Apple’s iMessage, has extended beyond the consumer to businesses. At the same time, businesses of all sizes in every industry have embedded modern messaging experiences into their own apps and websites.
Speaking as part of Zendesk’s 2020 report, Rob Lawson, Global Partnerships, Google, explained: “We’ll start to see the pendulum swing from customer care being the primary driver for business messages towards marketing, lead generation and sales. To date we’ve seen businesses primarily motivated by reducing call centre costs and frustrations for existing customers. In 2020 we’ll see increasing activity from brands deploying conversational techniques to engage new customers and drive incremental business value.”
Bringing the report’s focus back to gaming and integrated resorts, recent data from global research and advisory firm Gartner predicts that by 2022, 70% of all customer interactions will involve emerging tools like chatbots, machine learning, and mobile messaging, up from 15% in 2018. The impact of this for the land-based sector will be keenly felt as Zendesk’s report highlights how live chat remains an effective channel for real-time conversations and a growing number of hotels, resorts and other customer-centric brands are creating bespoke messaging experiences within their mobile apps and websites.
Warren Levitan, VP Conversational Business, Zendesk, added: “Intent and sentiment engines will be connected to every messaging channel, with businesses intelligently routing each message to the right system and person or bot. Once messaging penetrates the business, we will see that it knows no boundaries.“
To read Zendesk’s full interactive State of Messaging 2020 report, visit: zendesk.com/message/state-of-messaging-2020/
Welcome to our weekly roundup of American gambling news again! Here, we are going through the weekly highlights of the American gambling industry which include the latest news and new partnerships. Read on and get updated.
Latest News
IGT announced that its much-anticipated Wheel of Fortune Big Money Spin electronic table game (ETG) recently made its world debut at Downtown Grand Casino in Las Vegas, Nev. The vibrant standalone ETG game includes many of the attributes that have propelled the success of the Wheel of Fortune slots franchise for nearly three decades including word puzzles, wheel spins and exciting jackpot rewards. The game is accompanied by an attention-grabbing, 9-plus-feet upright video wheel that stands independent of the ETG terminals and entertains casino guests with the famous “WHEEL-OF-FORTUNE!” chant.
MGM Resorts International has announced that Corey Sanders, Chief Operating Officer, will retire from the company after more than 30 years of dedicated service and leadership. Sanders has agreed to remain COO through Dec. 31, 2025, and to serve as an advisor to the President and CEO through Dec. 31, 2026. The Company intends to name a new COO to serve as Sanders’ successor later this month. Sanders is currently MGM Resorts’ Chief Operating Officer, overseeing the company’s Las Vegas and regional properties as well as multiple corporate departments, including Hospitality, Gaming, Human Resources and Strategic Initiatives. Prior to that, he served as the company’s Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer.
Members of Kletsel Dehe Wintun Nation, the Sherwood Valley Rancheria of Pomo Indians, the Mechoopda Indian Tribe of Chico Rancheria and Big Lagoon Rancheria gathered outside the State Capitol in Sacramento to protest Assembly Bill 831 (AB 831). If passed, the bill would limit economic opportunities available to less wealthy tribes in the state by banning legitimate online social games using sweepstakes promotions. It would also eliminate more than $1 billion of existing economic activity generated by the industry in California, and close off a potential new revenue source for the state via sensible, modern regulation and taxation.
Partnerships
Genius Sports Limited has expanded its long-term partnership with Hard Rock Bet Sportsbook (Hard Rock Bet) to power the top-rated platform with its market-leading official data, trading and marketing solutions, as well as its ground-breaking BetVision product. Genius Sports has worked in partnership with the leading operator since 2021, providing the highest quality official data and pinpoint trading solutions across top tier leagues globally, including the Premier League, Serie A, European Leagues, Liga MX, NFL and more. Hard Rock Bet will be able to provide its customers with Genius Sports’ first-of-its-kind BetVision low latency streaming solution.
Quick Custom Intelligence (QCI), a leading provider of data-driven casino intelligence and player engagement platforms, has announced that Dania Beach Casino is continuing to benefit from its deployment of the QCI Nimble platform. While the property currently focuses on the QCI Host and QCI Marketing modules, it has expressed enthusiasm about the capabilities of the new AGI56 release and its impact on future customer engagement strategies. AGI56 represents the most ambitious release in QCI’s history, with the platform undergoing a full refresh of its technology stack, improved integration of advanced analytics, and the introduction of generative AI-driven tooling through Chatalytics.com. QCI’s platform is currently deployed in more than 350 casinos worldwide.
The post Gaming Americas Weekly Roundup – September 8-15 appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
MediaX Agency, a globally recognised leader in digital PR and growth marketing, has officially launched Linkible, an AI-powered link building agency engineered to help businesses in highly competitive and regulated industries achieve stronger online authority, higher search engine rankings and sustainable organic growth.
With AI-driven outreach and industry-specific link strategies, Linkible is redefining how brands secure high-quality backlinks, increase domain authority and dominate their niches in Google search.
Linkible is purpose-built for industries where credibility and compliance are critical:
• Law Firms & Legal Marketing – Earn authoritative legal backlinks to attract clients and improve local SEO.
• SaaS Companies – Accelerate organic growth with niche placements and product-led content strategies.
• Cannabis & CBD Brands – Gain SEO visibility while staying compliant in a restricted advertising environment.
• iGaming, Casino & Gambling – Drive traffic with white-hat link strategies tailored for high-competition keywords.
• E-commerce Businesses – Build scalable backlinks to boost product visibility and drive online sales.
Key Features of Linkible
• AI-Powered Prospecting & Outreach – Identify and connect with the right publishers at scale.
• Niche-Relevant Authority Backlinks – Secure placements on trusted websites that move rankings.
• Compliance-First Approach – Tailored strategies for industries facing strict regulations.
• Transparent SEO Reporting – Real-time dashboards to track backlinks, traffic and keyword improvements.
• Scalable Growth Solutions – Flexible link building packages for startups, enterprises and agencies.
“Traditional link building is outdated and ineffective in competitive industries. With Linkible, we’re combining the power of AI with our proven PR and SEO expertise to deliver smarter, faster, and compliance-friendly link building strategies that help businesses rank higher and grow sustainably,” said Rachita Chettri, Co-Founder of MediaX Agency.
The post MediaX Agency Officially Launches Linkible appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Allwyn, the lottery-led gaming entertainment company, has announced the launch of Allwyn Player Protection Lab, a global responsible gaming initiative aimed at supporting novel research and innovation to advance player safety.
Opening immediately for applications, the programme will support academics and experts working in the field of responsible gaming to explore new ideas, concepts and perspectives. Applicants are encouraged to submit proposals focusing on one of three key areas: digital innovation; using messaging to drive positive play; and developing effective safety tools.
Following the open call for applications, awards will be made for successful projects of up to €100,000, dependent on the scope of the prospective proposal.
The project demonstrates Allwyn’s commitment to developing global leading practice in responsible gaming. The call for applications will ensure Allwyn is casting the widest net and has the best chance to uncover new and interesting approaches to protecting players.
Nicole Garrett, Head of Responsible Gaming at Allwyn, said: “The Player Protection Lab is an exciting new avenue for Allwyn. Our responsible gaming team is seeking proposals that will encourage progress in player safety and break new ground in our industry. We hope that by opening the application process, we will have the opportunity to explore genuinely new ideas and draw lessons from other sectors.”
The call for proposals will run until 14 November.
The post Allwyn Launches Player Protection Lab appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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