As Malta’s iGaming industry begins to mature and come under increased regulation, it’s any company’s game if they are able to step up to the plate and adapt to new circumstances.

Dr Gege Gatt believes the use of technology can help companies avoid making major cuts and experiencing failures… however, it seems that few companies are looking at this approach.

The Maltese gaming industry is under pressure.

The Star Group is the latest gaming company to announce cost-cutting and axed job. Yet they’re not alone. Multilotto cut half its Malta workforce this week, and GiG diverted efforts away from its game-studio reducing 25 staff members.

Unfortunately, they join a growing list of gaming companies that have had no choice.

Customer service teams are often the first to be cut when a business is under pressure. 

But customer service cuts lose more than people.

Great customer service is the lifeblood of a business. Customer service agents are valuable assets for a business. As the first line, customer service teams are hubs of customer knowledge.

In a recent survey of the gaming industry, we found that 75% of agents’ time is spent dealing with repetitive inbound customer enquiries. That’s hours and hours of direct customer interaction that’s being completely lost. And potentially not replaced. Cutting the department may be the cost-saver that’s needed but with no plan B, it’s customer experience that’s taking the hit.

Human interaction still drives business.

Changes to customer service departments are inevitable. But the kind of dramatic job cuts that make the headlines can be avoided.

So what’s the answer?

How do businesses manage the pressure to cut costs and keep up with consumer demand for amazing customer service? Technology, of course. But not just any technology and not ONLY technology.

Digital transformation is easy to talk about but hard to deliver. Too many companies we meet have tried and failed to adopt a digital approach to their customer service problems. Often this is because off-the-shelf customer service software just can’t do the job humans can do. When bigger companies attempt large scale in-house builds, they meet problem after problem. No wonder tech still isn’t seen as the solution.

Enter AI technology.

Virtual Agents, and the AI technology that underpin them offer a huge opportunity to transform a customer service operation from a money burning problem child into a productive, cost-efficient workforce.

Virtual Agents can automate the most repetitive tasks accurately, to the highest of standards. They can cross-sell, collect and analyse data and escalate priority issues to a small dedicated customer service team.

It’s been a tough year for the gaming sector. 

We’re working to make sure our clients have a viable option. Our platform only works if we’re offering a tech solution that makes good business sense. We’re not replacing humans with robots, this is a process of striking the balance between world-class technology and the humans that make business happen.

Dr Gege Gatt is the CEO of EBO.ai, a leader in customer engagement automation, helping companies solve today’s biggest customer challenge – communication at scale.

What do you think of the current state of the gaming industry in Malta?

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