The evolution of casino promotions has been dictated by changing regulatory frameworks, according to a panel at the SBC Casino Digital Day, which placed a focus on the changes to player engagement.
Significant changes to the UK market were cited as an example of the major changes within the promotion of iGaming, particularly in terms of wagering requirements being limited in the market.
Soft2Bet’s Martin Collins, Chief Business Development Officer, Soft2Bet addressed the panel by stating that, as an industry, we need to see this as an opportunity, especially given that there is very little likelihood of it changing in any jurisdiction.
Collins stated: “We need to be innovative and we need to engage with our customers better, to ensure that they are not just coming to us from a transactional perspective. If they are coming to us because they engage with our brand and are engaging with what we are offering them, then it drives more long term value and means that you don’t need to have these transactions.”
Reflecting on taking gamification to the next level, Collins revealed that in recent times, we have stagnated in terms of innovating the UI and the UX experience.
Singling out casual gaming and ecommerce, he emphasised his belief that iGaming has somewhat fallen behind other industries.
“Elements that they have brought into their engagement strategies in order to maintain customer loyalty and consistent usage has been lacking in our industry. A key example of this is when you consider a key metric for us is screentime. The average sportsbook or casino offering is around 15/20 minutes maximum, whereas casual gaming and TikTok both exceed this.”
He underpinned the need to embed experiences within gaming and shift away from a transactional experience for players, immersing them in something that is mobile-native.
Tiago Pereira, Country Manager (Portugal), Lebull, stated his concerns that the industry has “fallen into a rut” and needs to think outside the box when it comes to boosting the player experience.
The need for fresh ideas and new perspectives was underpinned as being crucial by Pereira as the industry looks to break “a marketing and UX rut, where everyone is engaging with the same promotions”.
“We have to look outside our industry and embrace what is working”, emphasised Pereira, who blamed regulatory handicaps for having a major impact on innovation in the sector – calling for increased conversations with regulators.
Francesco Postiglione, CEO of Casumo, also called for enhanced conversations between regulators and the industry, as he warned that we are in the era of high volatility games.
Postiglione laid out his belief that churn rate is elevated by high volatility games and securing player loyalty presents an extra challenge for iGaming operators.
“We live in a complicated and challenging era, but it also presents major opportunities.”
CEO of Scatters Group, Alexis Wicen echoed that sentiment that we have a lot to learn from casual gaming, which has always been at the forefront of the industry in terms of engagement and innovation when it comes to boosting loyalty.
