Ask Global chief Fivos Polymniou took stock of the industry landscape in a recent All-in on Gaming podcast pointing to the need for upcoming regulation to deliver an uplift for the industry and, most importantly, hand customers more choice in how they play.

Fivos Polymniou, director of ASK Global, believes Britain’s landbased gaming industry is on the brink of a meaningful uplift thanks to long-anticipated regulatory changes.

Speaking on CPI’s All-in on Gaming podcast, Polymniou described the white paper’s not-yet-implemented proposals, which will allow cashless payments directly on machines and relax limitations on machine ratios, as “very significant”.

“Making it easier to play – which could be, you know, adding digital play at the machine, making the environments a little bit bigger, more slots, for example – is crucial,” he said.

And Polymniou was ever conscious of the customer and  the importance of giving them more choice, whether that be a choice of payment options or of attractions. While integrated resorts in places like Las Vegas and Macau have long embraced this philosophy, UK operators are catching up he argues. 

“Operators of smaller venues now realise that bringing some of that experience in is very important too,” Polymniou said, noting that he has seen this shift firsthand across bingo halls, AGCs, and pubs. “All of those are now finding some way to enhance the customer experience.”

Indeed, Polymniou is optimistic about the future of Britain’s landbased sector – but like many in the industry, he believes that regulatory updates need to happen much more regularly.

“I think the industry has needed the sort of uplift [that the white paper will bring],” he concluded. “Hopefully there’ll be more regular reviews thereafter, rather than having this big long gap that we’ve had.”