What are operators are looking for when choosing a screen system for their betting shops?
Bryan Corbin (Technical Director) “Screens are a key component in a betting shop and care should be taken to choose wisely. The problem of scalability needs to be solved first. Managing multiple screens in multiple locations is complex.”
So, when they scale-up does that cause other issues?
Bryan, “Yes, these days there’s greater coverage of a much wider range of sports, each with a variety of different markets. The data for these will be merged from various sources to form a complete service. When prices and other information alters it is only the changes which are sent to the shop. This keeps transmission volumes to a minimum and the speed-to-screen is maintained. Our systems prioritise data to ensure the most important information is given higher priority to avoid delays in the display of key information.”
Are there any techniques available for operators to enhance the customer experience?
Bryan, “One example would be to use the dynamic zoning feature. This reduces the complexity of managing a large number of groups by moving some of the logic of what to display into the shop.”
Aside from these technical solutions what else should a well-managed screen system do?
Bryan, “The screens play a key part in establishing the brand and a customer’s experience. Static, infrequently changing screens don’t work as well as dynamically changing screen content. When there is energy behind a campaign the tills are busier. Some of our clients will display the same message on the majority of screens for a few moments longer before the start of an event e.g. ‘Just 5 mins to get your bets on’. It always generates a positive response at the tills.”
Is there anything else MRG can offer to bookmakers?
Bryan, “There has been a period of realignment in Ireland recently, with several new services being set up. The range of solutions we offer are a good fit for any company with ambitions to expand beyond their current service offering. We provide an easy path for anyone with an old Albos unit to convert to BIDS. Also, with LiveSpace, we can add new features and extend the bookmakers’ capability to display new markets and information in excitingly different ways that the main gantry screens are unable to achieve.”