Time to listen to voice

What do rock-star entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk and fitness sensation Joe Wicks have in common? They both believe that voice and personal assistants such as Amazon Alexa will be as revolutionary as video streaming and social media.

Vaynerchuk is a ferocious podcaster, while Wicks is developing a series of audio workout tutorials that can be played through voice platforms. The voice revolution is already underway; many of us are using voice commands to send messages, look up information and activate content without having to search for it using the keyboard on our computers, laptops, tablets and smartphone devices.

Despite the clear shift towards voice, the global online gambling industry has yet to fully embrace the technology. Paddy Power has dabbled with it in the past, but they and others have simply failed to find a way to unlock its true potential.

There are a few reasons for this, from technology limitations to operators having to prioritise marketing channels that deliver the best ROI. But these hurdles can be cleared and operators are currently missing a trick by not communicating with consumers via voice.

Overcoming hurdles So, what are the main challenges? The first is context. It must be remembered that gambling is an inherently personal activity. Punters are unlikely to want their voice assistant to announce to their friends and family that they have been researching the best odds for Chelsea to win this year’s Premier League.

In addition, most platforms do not allow developers to create apps or Skills that enable real-money gambling. Finally, voice is a channel that takes time – along with resources and budget – to develop, fine-tune and establish a sizeable audience.

For operators looking to streamline marketing budgets, the ROI just isn’t there in many cases. That said, operators really do need to listen to voice and its growing popularity among consumers. And just because they can’t wager through the platform doesn’t mean that it can’t be used to acquire new players, provide added value and foster incredible loyalty.

Indeed, voice should be seen as another touchpoint between consumer and brand. It should be used to engage consumers with informative, useful and entertaining content, which in turn will build trust, drive awareness and strengthen authority.

Online gambling brands have had to become information powerhouses to compete with mainstream media establishments, many of whom also offer their own sports betting products. This has seen many publish written, audio and even video content.

Voice should be seen as an extension of this. Here’s how it works in practice: ICS has developed an Alexa Skill that provides news for major sports such as football, golf, tennis and rugby as well as a daily betting tip. It is possible for users to look up the latest price of a horse based on the date, meeting and time of the off.

By connecting the Skill to our Beforetheoff.com database, we can also provide information on whether a particular horse has been backed and the probability of its success based on previous form. By providing this to their players, online gambling operators can ensure they are heard above the noise of their rivals.

Those that prioritise voice now will also be ahead of the game as the technology properly enters the mainstream in the not-too-distant future, with Google even talking about indexing audio as part of its search algorithms. Vaynerchuk has made millions investing in the likes of Twitter and Uber; he’s a smart man who can spot a trend before most. The fact he is backing voice means the technology is a winning bet, and the egaming industry must take note.

[Bio] Andrew Morgan has been international director and senior editor at ICS for seven years. He wrote and edited fanzines at university which ran in parallel with a number of betting companies before moving to ICS in 2010. He also has a background in freelance journalism.