Data silos across operator and supplier systems are holding back the gaming industry’s ability to deliver personalized player experiences and smarter floor decisions, panelists said at G2E Asia in Macau.
Speaking on a panel titled “How is technology going to shape gaming’s future?”, Aristocrat Gaming Chief Revenue Officer Kurt Gissane said data has become “the most valuable asset on the balance sheet,” but the industry is struggling to make use of it.
“Both operators and vendors alike have a lot of good data, but we have multiple different systems, so it’s hard to capture and unify that data,” Gissane said. “Tech can get us there, but it’s about removing those data silos and figuring out a way to move forward.”
Light & Wonder International Managing Director Jamie Dorbian agreed, warning that fragmented systems undermine the industry’s ability to understand players. “If all these systems are not talking to each other, they’re not going to get an accurate view of the player, their behaviors, or the predictive analytics,” he said. “There’s really no point unless they can have everything talking and create this one ecosystem.”
Gissane added that the shift from hardware-led to experience-led business models has made data integration even more critical. Operators using analytics to inform decisions, he said, are “separating themselves from the rest,” as the competitive edge no longer lies in property size or machine count, but in optimization and personalization.
Both executives pointed to the convergence of land-based and digital channels as an area where unified data is essential. Dorbian said the future lies in crafting a seamless player journey across both environments, while Gissane predicted a much more customized, frictionless experience between touchpoints.
Gameworkz founder and chairman Shaun McCamley, also on the panel, argued that cross-platform capability is now a foundational requirement, and that loyalty programs — “a key cornerstone of most operators’ bottom lines” — must interact seamlessly with both digital products and the casino floor.
He warned that many land-based operators in the region still fail to grasp how to structure their digital business internally, treating it as an extension of casino operations, IT, or marketing rather than as an independent unit.
