Crowd-based services anticipated to play fundamental role in future of gambling industry

LONDON -- (PRESS RELEASE) -- eBay, Zipcar, Airbnb, LinkedIn: Some of the 21st century’s fastest-growing businesses are built on the power of the crowd, and now the concept has come to the gambling industry following the launch of GamCrowd.com.

According to a free white paper published today by Clarion Events, the U.K.’s largest independent event organizer, and GamCrowd, the betting and gaming specialist equity crowdfunding and crowdsourcing platform, crowd services will reshape – and greatly benefit – the sector.

Crowdfunding is thought to be worth $10bn worldwide in 2014, with equity crowdfunding accounting for $700m of the total.

We believe that the introduction of a gambling industry-focused service allows innovation to thrive and gives start-ups a better chance to grow by pitching easily and directly for investment to a large network of potential backers.

Meanwhile, the overall crowdsourcing market is already estimated to be worth $2bn and betting and gaming businesses can benefit from the concept by subcontracting tasks in a cost-efficient manner to a highly qualified and experienced global workforce.

The joint Clarion-GamCrowd white paper looks at how crowdsourcing also boosts flexibility and scalability, speed to market, reach and originality.

“As an early adopter of new digital concepts, processes and technologies, the gambling industry is perfectly placed to benefit from the introduction of crowd platforms and services,” said Chris North, chief executive officer of GamCrowd.

“In no time, crowdfunding and crowdsourcing will play an integral, everyday role across the spectrum of betting and gaming. This white paper looks at the crowd in detail and should provide a valuable resource to everyone from the smallest supplier to the biggest operator,” North added.

GamCrowd is running the Start-Up Village at the European iGaming Congress & Expo (EiG) 2014, produced by Clarion Events Ltd, where innovation will be a key theme of the conference that will be held from October 21-23 in Berlin.

Nick Hares, managing producer at Clarion Events, said: “The crowd has a huge part to play in the future of our industry, particularly when it comes to fostering innovation and supporting start-ups. We have drafted this white paper alongside GamCrowd with the aim of setting the agenda and sparking debate at EiG.”