G3: Games, Gaming & Gambling

This Accenture report describes developments in the Games, Gaming and Gambling (G3) space, addresses some of the key challenges faced by both incumbent and new G3 industry players, and outlines the opportunities that the digital world is presenting these players.

Today, games, gaming and gambling—for which we have coined the term G3—represent a $345 billion global business, eclipsing both the movie and music industries. As the planet’s premier entertainment choice, G3 is not only growing but changing—rapidly evolving to the imperative of a wired world and shifting consumer tastes.

Today, there are a number of forces acting as engines of change upon the historically separate industries of games, gaming and gambling, creating related challenges for industry incumbents and new entrants alike. The most important drivers are advances in technology, shifts in consumer behavior and expectations, and changes to the regulatory landscape.

While the games and gambling industries have been historically distinct, the digital arena presents both industries with related challenges. G3 has achieved mainstream maturity and is now a global mass-market phenomenon, which will spawn mass-market offerings; these, in turn, will alter consumer expectations, charting a development trajectory of new applications.

To realize all the opportunities in the shifting G3 landscape, industry incumbents and new entrants will need to navigate the following five areas:

• Consumer proposition and brand
• Technology and infrastructure
• Value chain re-engineering
• Strategic partnering and alliancing
• Revenue extraction