Evolution is unstoppable and new technologies emerge all the time. The way and intensity in which these technologies shall be adopted highly depends on distinct consumer needs and habits. The more the expansion and progress of technology applications, the more challenging it is for companies to reach consumers with the right tool for them.

What drives consumers into action are innovative technologies which are embraced when practical needs are met in meaningful ways. In our complex, technology-dominated present, innovation is useful when it has important impact on how everyday life is organized and led, bridging the digital with the physical worlds in a seamless manner.

As technological advancement and innovation are deep in the DNA of gaming, vendors tend to adopt a more critical stance towards established tools and more easily promote advanced technology solutions; in its turn, this has an impact on the front-end retailers, who have endorsed advanced applications by 53% according to a survey by Focus Bari S.A., a leading Greek market research agency, with the cooperation of SSi and Isra Center.

At the same time, they feel “called upon” by their customers to offer high quality of service by 34% and innovative solutions by 31%; most important than mere incorporation of innovation in their operations, is that gaming vendors link technology to actual customer experience; Thus, when they need to choose, they take traditional criteria such as proven quality, ease of use and price for granted; their top-3 criteria include customers’ approval by 55%, design and aesthetics by 45% and advanced technological features by 38%, all much higher compared to non-providers of gaming.

Today's reality, mentioned by many as “The Age of Customers”, demands from Operators to use platforms that enable smooth and seamless customer experience offering similar excitement and total effect in the physical and the digital worlds while players are seeking for technology innovations which define the new gaming era and for unique experiences that transform customer journey in an unparalleled experience. Players expect instant access to options and personalized offerings and they push for speed, simplicity and ease of use in all touchpoints, thus creating an Omni-business mandate.

More specifically, driven by the above needs and demands, Sports betting is becoming more customer focused, personalized and “on-demand” than ever with new products offering new opportunities. Players can now largely have a bet that is unique as it has been built or suggested by themselves; they are also been given the freedom to amend their bet at any time. Ease of use and simplicity in all tools and touch points are also apparent, even on the retail POS with “byod” coming up strong. Younger demographics bring along their needs for fast-settling bet types and the socialization of their activity, by sharing everything including their bets in private conversations or even posting them online. On data –side, volume, type and granularity of the Sports Betting data have changed creating new performance –related markets and player props. Trading operations throughout the life-cycle of a pre-match or an in-play event include some or all, of such task types that are better suited to be empowered by machine learning or even robotics: manual, transactional, repeatable, error prone, high-volume, pattern behavior, complex, massive intelligence. Considering the above list of task types as a line, as we move towards the right end then we are much closer to the “Intelligence Augmentation” type of robotics, whereas if we stay to the left then we are closer to the simple basic process automation, but, whatever the case, we have certainly moved in this new era of automations

To address the needs and plans above, INTRALOT have introduced a new betting platform, INTRALOT Orion, which incorporates several personalization options and capabilities in its product and player –facing modules as well as in risk management.  INTRALOT Orion is empowered with automations in its trading tools, including algorithmic pricing models, customer profiling, real-time alerts and safety nets around risk management and further advance our robotics journey. Furthermore, INTRALOT Orion betting platform serves the entire player journey across channels, while it offers a single point of control of all the player touchpoints, including desktop, native mobile application and self-service terminals.

It is designed to simultaneously feed multiple, diverse online and offline customer touchpoints, regardless of geographical location or specific business needs. In a nutshell, INTRALOT Orion is built with a view on all current and future sports betting trends, including the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning in risk management, customer support and responsible gaming (e.g. enabling facial recognition).