It doesn’t have the fanfare of digital music downloads, nor does it attract highly visible public controversy like internet gambling. But online gaming has quietly become the 800-pound gorilla of the internet. CNN news cites a recent report estimating that revenues from internet games will reach $953 million this year. Sales of “boxed” games at retail outlets are in a steep decline as droves of gamers take to the internet to play their favourite games.

Mark van Diggelen is a man who saw this coming. Instead of being a passive internet consultant though, he has been prepared to act on his knowledge and put his own money on it. He is the CEO of SkillPod Media , which owns the SkillPod.com internet gaming brand. Combining a passion for gaming with a distinct gift for identifying internet trends, he has developed a world-class online gaming platform and created one of the world’s leading networks of online gaming portals and web sites. His gaming platform offers highly addictive and interactive games, including multi player games. SkillPod Media runs online gaming portals specifically designed for different countries, ranging from the US, Canada, UK to New Zealand, South Africa and India.

His success lies not so much in the games themselves, however, but with the gaming experience. “I place a lot of emphasis on the quality and entertainment value of the games and the environment that you play them in,” van Diggelen explains. “Many online gamers want a social experience as well as the opportunity to play their favourite games,” he continues. “Online gaming sites have become places to make new friends, and we place great emphasis on this aspect. The days of the stereotypical anti-social internet gamer have all but disappeared – people no longer want to play in isolation. They want interaction and communication.” van Diggelen believes that this is the main impetus behind the dramatic rise of internet gaming and the simultaneous decline in boxed game sales.

“The characteristics of online gamers may surprise you: it is not male teenagers who are behind the online gaming phenomenon,” notes van Diggelen. “Over half the internet gamers are women, and ages range from 20 to 55, with three-quarters of all gamers over the age of 35,” he continues, reeling off figures with familiar ease.

The financial drive behind successful online gaming sites is advertising. van Diggelen firmly believes that publishers and advertisers alike should start planning to include these opportunities in their strategies. “The opportunities for growth and return on investment are there for all to see. Given the demographic of online gamers, displaying ads alongside or within the games is a guaranteed way of reaching a mature and sophisticated market segment, with plenty of disposable income,” he points out. “In fact, it has already been estimated that 126 million online gamers will spend $8.3 billion by 2008,” he continues.

While van Diggelen is reluctant to be perceived as an online gaming guru, he is increasingly the person that others are turning to when they need advice on launching their own gaming sites, more often than not using his online gaming platform. His clients come from all over the world, including his native South Africa, where internet gaming is hugely popular.

What distinguishes van Diggelen from many other internet visionaries is that he has first proven his ideas by building a successful business himself, before going on to advise others. He has been actively involved with the vision, development and management of online games and entertainment offerings for the past 7 years, and combines this with a keen understanding of online marketing and internet business strategy. All his online gaming sites are created and personally managed by him and his team, and he takes a similar hands-on approach to the consulting services that he offers his clients.