Betting on a bright future

While the modern global economy is a highly competitive environment to do business in, some companies are thriving and expanding rapidly. Many of these companies are members of an exclusive club, the World Economic Forum’s community of Global Growth Companies, and look set to play an important role in shaping the new economy. A good example is Intralot, a firm operating in the gaming industry, supplying state-of-the-art integrated gaming and transaction processing systems, innovative game content and sports betting management to state licensed gaming organisations worldwide.

The community of Global Growth Companies consists of companies that are expanding outside their traditional boundaries, experience growth rates exceeding 15 percent year-on-year, have revenues typically between $100m and $2bn and have demonstrated leadership in their industry.

Global growth
Judging by its performance Intralot is clearly a deserving member of this illustrious group of companies, complying with all the criteria. “We have the highest organic growth in our sector, with an average sales growth of 38.5 percent during the last four years,” says Constantinos Antonopoulos, CEO of Intralot. “In 2008, our revenues will reach the $1.8bn mark. At the same time the company is rapidly expanding into all five continents and currently present in over 45 countries, with a workforce of more than 4,400 skilled employees, generating growth and employment all over the world.”

One of the world’s leading companies in the gaming sector, Intralot has managed to win the majority of tenders procured globally over the past three years.

“Expansion is an ongoing process for us,” says Mr. Antonopoulos. “Our growth strategy involves the expansion to new markets globally, taking advantage of three major drivers: the tendency towards the liberalisation of the lottery market worldwide; the legalisation of the gaming market, mainly in the vast Asian continent; plus the forthcoming privatisations of national lotteries, mainly in the US, but also in other countries around the world.”

Indeed, Intralot is the only European company in its sector that has managed to enter the USA market, and having already signed contracts as technology providers to six state lotteries, it is also interested in acquiring licenses to operate state lotteries itself.

Mr. Antonopoulos believes that a number of factors have been instrumental in maintaining the company’s tremendous growth record. These are characteristics that Intralot shares with other high performing businesses in the new economy.

One factor is the company’s focus on the consumer, in an age where consumers are increasingly demanding. “One reason for our excellent reputation in the global gaming sector is down to our commitment to meeting our customer requirements and performance expectations,” says Mr. Antonopoulos. “We have demonstrated a unique ability to adapt to new markets and overcome technological and cultural constraints. This is something that is highly appreciated by our customers.”

Given the fact that the company is operating in a socially sensitive sector, the firm has been keen to guarantee to stakeholders, either as a technology provider or as a lottery operator, that gaming practices are kept secure and responsible, keeping gaming as a means of entertainment only. This sensitivity to the interests of stakeholders, whether it is through environmental or socially responsible business practices, is another factor that marks out some of today’s fast∞growing successful businesses.

Mr. Antonopoulos suggests a number of key ingredients for effective growth that are characteristics of the company. “Innovation and medium-term vision are extremely important. Vision should be something you cannot touch with your hand, that’s neither too far nor too close; something that is achievable and regularly redefined,” says Mr. Antonopoulos.

“When Intralot started in 1992 we never imagined that we would reach the top of the global gaming industry. But even when you become a leader in your market it is important to keep raising your standards, we are constantly trying to improve our performance, and increase our innovation. Commitment to work is also important, as are fast decision-making processes. Keeping up with the vertiginous pace of the global markets is part of Intralot’s culture.”
Another integral part of the Intralot business is the firm’s vision and values, both of which contribute to the company’s success, says Mr. Antonopoulos, fostering both customer and employee engagement and loyalty.

Winning the game
Despite the company’s impressive growth record, Intralot has no plans to take its foot of the accelerator. In terms of technology, notes Mr. Antonopoulos, new channels and media for gaming are opening up new business opportunities. The challenge for the industry is to design new games to match the new technology.

“It is not enough to view the new channels just in terms of distribution. New games should test skills and be companionable at the same time,” says Mr. Antonopoulos. “This is the future: people socialising on the net or on mobiles, with real∞time games. Such projects need heavy investments in research and development, an area where Intralot is a true pioneer.”

The gaming industry is going through a period of considerable upheaval and there are, no doubt, significant changes and challenges ahead. Even so, Mr. Antonopoulos has the expansion plans for Intralot, and the markets and business areas the company is targeting, well mapped out.

“There’s the natural growth as the lottery sector becomes part of the wider world of entertainment,” he says. “Casinos too are part of this entertainment, such as those in Las Vegas. Increasingly, gaming is taking place on alternative channels, such as mobile phones and TV. This is what is changing the landscape of the industry, which has traditionally been about Lotto games, scratch tickets, and sports betting. A decade from now, people will be talking about ‘Entergaming’ as a new variant of entertaining. And that’s where we’re heading.”

Intralot’s membership of the community of global growth companies is only likely to improve the firm’s prospects. As a member of the community it will benefit from a programme of structured content, delivered by strategic partners of the forum, as well as informal, peer-to-peer exchanges of experiences and best practices.

As for the next year and beyond, Mr. Antonopoulos is optimistic about the outlook for the firm: “One thing is for sure, there is an exciting future out there for the gaming industry and Intralot is ready for the game ahead.”<

Further information: www.intralot.com