The online casino industry is becoming increasingly competitive across the globe, and with more markets expected to open up particularly in Latin America in the coming years, effective promotions will be vital in the race for supremacy. Reach, engagement and ultimately revenue will all hit target if operators are proactive in their approach and offer something which gives them that competitive edge. One way to achieve this is via promotional tools.
Promotional offers are proven to drive acquisition. In 2023, the Gambling Commission (the gambling regulator which governs Great Britain) published research which showed nine out of 10 respondents had received an offer in the four weeks prior, with 76% of those who received an offer going on to use the offer. Free spins and bets were most frequently received and used, with free spins 10 times more likely to be used than any other type of offer.
It is not just new customers that will benefit from promotions though, as they can also prove to be an effective retention tool. While the Gambling Commission’s research showed that 64% of respondents utilised sign-up or welcome offers, 90% recalled any offer. A total of 74% of respondents used free bets, while 72% used free spins and 70% made bets with boosted odds. These are all retention strategies which can ensure loyalty and help maintain a positive relationship with players.
The bonus process
The types of welcome bonus available to players can vary. One example would be a matched deposit, where if a player signs up and stakes €10, the operator will then give them a bonus €10 to bet with. Free spins are particularly common in online casino, which are also usually conditional based on a deposit made by the player.
The best way to structure sign-up offers is to offer genuine value to the player. Some sign-up offers require large deposits in exchange for small bonuses, which are not as likely to be successful, and often simple and less complex instructions will lead to better take-up, especially with more casual players.
After the player has visited your website or app on the back of a sign-up offer, the next stage is to make sure your onboarding process is seamless, with as few barriers to entry as possible, while still ensuring you have the relevant security checks in place.
This should then be followed by tracking of the player’s behaviour and communications with that player based on their activity, providing they have given you permission to reach out to them with your marketing. Have they been playing a particular slot game? Do they show a preference for crash games? You can then inform them about similar games they may like to play, or inform them of any special offers surrounding the games they tend to play.
Loyalty programs
Regular players will often base their decision on who to bet with based on their VIP scheme. This is a particular USP in the world of online poker, where PokerStars Rewards offers cashback and other benefits based on the number of rewards points racked up by the player. Loyalty programs will often be points-based, where the more the player spends, the more they win.
A strategy that can be used to encourage participation and redemption with loyalty programs can be to remind the player of their availability in marketing communications, particularly if that player is using your website/app with some regularity.
The standout VIP casinos will offer a uniquely designed loyalty program with a series of benefits beyond just cash prizes. Some VIP players will have a dedicated account manager, and they may also receive offers for exclusive events and tournaments. Rewards can be customised for those players based on their preferences and the bonuses offered to them will be more lucrative than those offered to a majority of other players.
Seasonal and event-based promotions
Retention can also be driven by making the most of seasonal promotions. This is particularly timely at this moment, with UEFA Euro 2024 underway, and the Summer Olympic Games in Paris beginning in July. This is also an opportunity to cross-sell online casino games to sports bettors and vice versa. Retention strategies are often deployed with inactive players, but are far more likely to be successful when they are personalised based on what that individual player was betting on previously. A sports-themed tournament can work across both sports and casino, and free-to-play games based on those events can also be effective.
Themed promotions can appeal to an even wider demographic, such as Christmas or Halloween, and you will often see bespoke games being designed around these times of the year. Again, competitive events during these periods, especially across Christmas when more players will be able to play from home, can maximise player engagement.
Personalised offers
Offers do not necessarily have to encompass every player in your database. Player data should be analysed constantly, which can lead to personalised offers. They key is to have the right tools and technologies in place to make sure you have the best possible data analysis to work from.
Promotions can also be targeted towards segmented player demographics. If you’re finding your latest slot game is proving popular with women in the 18-30 age bracket, then this demographic is the one to target with special offers around that game.
Designing effective promotions
Promotions must be tailored to your target audience and communication should be clear. When sending out emails about sign-up offers and bonuses, that messaging should stand out clearly at the top of the email. Jargon and extensive terms and conditions should be avoided until the foot of the email. It should also be explicitly clear what players need to do to redeem these offers and where they need to click through to.
The success of these promotions then need to be monitored with regular updates and reports from your relevant teams, so that you can fully understand what is and isn’t working well and whether you need to divert from your current strategy.
Implementing promotional tools
The types of offers we have mentioned should be put into practice via advanced promotional tools. There should be a criteria for selecting the best promotional tools for your casino, and this may be something that a third-party supplier could be best-placed to provide.
This is where iGP can help with our single API platform iGaming Deck. iGaming Deck delivers a fully intuitive UI through a centralised hub. The enhanced promotional tools within iGaming Deck give operators more control of how they deliver promotions and bring the action to life for their players. The action can be controlled via a live dashboard. From promotions to risk limits to game configuration, operators can take control at a brand and player level.
Leveraging technology
In some cases, promotions can be automated, and these bring a number of benefits, such as better leads, a more personalised customer journey, and increased marketing ROI. According to Nucleus Research, marketing automation leads to a 14.5% increase in sales productivity and a 12.2% reduction in marketing overhead overall. Examples of automation tools and software are business process automation for things like customer relationship management, and robotic process automation, which covers data migration, data entry and customer service.
Promotional performance will need to be tracked and analysed, and this can be managed most effectively when implementing marketing analytics software and marketing attribution software. While marketing analytics software tracks your website user activity, marketing attribution software provides insight into your website visitors. Data visualisation software can also help, presenting data through charts and tables.
Branding has to be consistent, so promotions must be aligned with your brand identity. If your brand is particularly associated with high-stakes or skilled players, then the terms of your promotions can be more complex, but this should be avoided with more casual players.
Multiple channels should be utilised, whether that’s via email, social media, or in-app notifications. These channels should also be used to gather player feedback, which can help you adapt your strategies accordingly and improve promotions.
Boost your promotions today
There are many benefits to running online casino promotions, but only those with the most up-to-date and detailed software will give themselves an edge in such a competitive space. iGP are more than happy to help, and through iGaming Deck, we can offer the very best promotional tools and integration. We can maximise your online casino’s reach and give you the foundations for long-term growth and retention.
Get in touch with the iGP
Get in touch with the iGP team here to find out more.
