Participants: Andrzej Hyla, Chief Commercial Officer at Wazdan, Ivan Shastsiuk, Team Lead of Promo Managers at SOFTSWISS, Alexandra Domingo, Rewards Manager at Bally’s and Enrique Jimenez Reyes, Senior Casino Product Executive at Playtech & SunBingo.

CasinoBeats: How do network promotions influence player acquisition and retention? 

Ivan Shastsiuk: First, let’s define what a “network promotion” is. It’s a collaborative promotional event that spans multiple casinos or gaming projects. These promotions are unified by a common prize pool and consistent participation rules, such as designated games, promotion periods, and minimum bet requirements.

Participating in these promotions has become essential for any casino. They significantly enhance the variety of bonuses and prizes players can earn for their activities. When a casino offers a wide range of promotions, players are more likely to stay longer and engage with the promos that appeal to them the most.

Usually, network promotions come in different forms like tournaments, random prize draws, “drop campaigns,” and cashback offers. For example, with a cashback promotion, if a player loses over 100 euro, they might get 10% back, which would be 10 euro. This not only helps soften the blow of a loss but also encourages players to keep playing.

Clients of the SOFTSWISS Game Aggregator who use the Tournament Tool can set up their own custom tournaments. They can mix in games from different providers, create unique tournament mechanics and prizes, and design their own custom looks. This flexibility allows casinos to experiment with different formats and really boost player engagement.

We’ve also noticed that longer tournaments, especially those broken into shorter stages (like a year-long tournament with stages every 1-2 weeks), tend to draw more interest. This structure gives more operators and players the chance to hear about the tournament and join in. Plus, the size of the prize fund is crucial – the bigger the prize, the more participants you’ll attract.

Andrzej Hyla: Network promotions are indeed a powerful tool to fuel player acquisition and retention. They create a vibrant atmosphere filled with excitement and opportunity. New players are drawn in by the prospect of participating in high-stakes and rewarding events. Existing players, meanwhile, are kept engaged and motivated to return for more thanks to the combination of substantial cash prizes, dynamic gameplay elements and the thrill of limited-time events with additional prizes. This engagement fosters long-term loyalty within the player base.

One particularly effective tactic is the award-winning Mystery Drop promo tool. Randomly granting cash rewards from a multi-million prize pool during gameplay provides continuous excitement and keeps players on the edge of their seats, ensuring they’ll be back for the next potential surprise. As Ivan said, the size of the prize pool is crucial for attracting players’ attention; therefore, Wazdan’s current network promotion covers a €4,000,000 prize pool, with the amount to be doubled by the end of 2024. 

Alexandra Domingo: Network promotions are a pivotal element in operator marketing strategies. By focusing on tournaments, these promotions offer players the opportunity to engage with new games in an exhilarating environment, complete with enticing jackpots designed to capture any player’s attention. Players appreciate consistency and routine, and by regularly offering network promotions like tournaments, operators can significantly enhance player retention rates and acquire new players to the site who may be interested in these types of promotions.

Enrique Jimenez Reyes: Network promotions serve as a magnet for new players with exciting prizes and engaging gameplay. Existing players are hooked thanks to immersive and rewarding experiences and this buzz then spreads across casinos, attracting new players looking for their next favourite site.

Tapping into festive moods with holiday-themed promotions further fuels engagement, while competitive elements like leaderboards create a vibrant community where players strive to climb the ranks and win prizes, ensuring they stay engaged for the long term.

CB: What metrics do operators and providers use to measure the success of network promotions? 

AD: The metrics vary depending on the type of campaign, but they are always the starting point. By defining the right metrics you aim to achieve, you can then design a campaign tailored to these objectives rather than building a campaign and then trying to fit metrics to it. Working in retention, when promoting network promotions, I look at game turnover, retention % and ARPU.

EJR: Network promotions target several key metrics to gauge success. These include attracting new players, keeping them engaged and playing for longer stretches.

Additionally, promotions aim to boost revenue from the specific games involved and elevate overall player activity through more game rounds and active player days. 

Ultimately, a successful promotion increases the conversion rate of new players into regular participants, driving higher engagement levels across the board. Wazdan’s recent network promotion exemplifies this perfectly, with a surge in new sign-ups, longer active sessions and a significant boost in in-game revenue – a clear demonstration of the positive impact on these vital performance indicators.

IS: The leading indicator of any promotion’s success, including tournaments, is the Bet amount. Both the provider and the casino keep a close eye on this metric. Another no less important indicator is GGR (Gross Gaming Revenue). If the casino notices an increase in the bet amount during the promotion, it’s a positive sign, and the operator will likely continue participating in such tournaments.
Based on our analytics for November 23 – January 24, the SOFTSWISS Tournament Tool helped increase the bet amount by 4.2% during the tournament and by 9% after the tournament.

According to SOFTSWISS, the average daily bets per user increase by 22% with the SOFTSWISS Tournament Tool. More than twenty tournaments are held each month using this tool, and this frequency shows a significant boost in both Bet Amount and GGR.

To maximise player engagement and participation, operators should thoroughly prepare for these tournaments. Players should get advance notice about upcoming events, banners should be placed on the project website and social media channels. Additionally, creating a dedicated tournament page can help players easily find all the information they need.

AH: Wazdan has utilised a multi-pronged approach to gauge the effectiveness of network promotions. Key metrics from 2023 across all our promotions include:

• Player acquisition and retention: We witnessed a staggering 163% increase in unique active players, showcasing the promotion’s effectiveness in attracting new players.
• Engagement and activity: Tracking game rounds saw a phenomenal 248% growth, indicating high engagement and active participation from new and existing players.
• Revenue Growth: Total bets placed returned a significant 265% rise, demonstrating a clear correlation between the promotion and increased player activity with real-money wagers.

Network promotions are, therefore, a perfect tool for online casino operators to generate interest, improve conversion rates, reduce churn and, in result, boost their revenue.

The post Wazdan: Boosting player engagement through Network Promotions appeared first on CasinoBeats.

Balestra detailed that an ‘overwhelming request’ from clients is to grow into the sweepstake space. This provides one of the key ingredients enabling operators to expand into the US and navigate a far smoother regulatory path to tapping into a new audience. 

Nonetheless, whilst ‘a few businesses are thriving’ in Balestra’s view, he added that ‘we are now seeing a flood of industry entrants’. He believes one of the challenges lies in supporting these newcomers in understanding the nuances around legal framework in the sweepstake sector. 

He revealed that there are businesses tapping into sweepstakes as a promotional tool, citing the example of McDonald’s Monopoly as one of the most successful and engaging sweepstake games. 

Placing a closer analysis on the role of social casinos in the market, he added: “There are a number of things that distinguish traditional and non-traditional sweepstakes. 

“When I say non-traditional, I mean the social casino. But the main one is that with traditional sweepstakes, they’re only promotional tools. Whereas with social casinos, they are the primary offering. They are the central profit centre.

“So why do they fall into a grey area? I mean, I’m sure we’ve all heard that it’s not black and white, and it’s a grey area of law where they kind of operate. And this is because the sweepstakes laws were intended to allow businesses to offer these promotions.”

He went on to look at case studies. The focus of these has usually been around alternative methods of entry and the legitimacy of that alternative method of entry. 

Also the ‘equal dignity is increasingly complex because it deals with measuring what suffices as consideration.’

He continued: “The court’s interpretation of consideration has evolved over the years. Originally it was simple contract consideration. No need to give anything of value. If there’s an exchange, then that suffices as consideration. So any kind of agreement where you even agree to enter a contest, that in itself is consideration. And it’s evolved to address gambling consideration over the years.”

Largely case study deals with traditional sweepstakes that you would see as a promotional giveaway. So they haven’t defined exactly how far that door opens. In the 21st century, social casinos are trying to squeeze through that door, according to Balestra. 

“There are limitations to how far that goes and that’s where equal dignity comes into play. Courts have found that it’s not enough to provide an option for free entry if a promoter creates a burden or an obstacle to that option. And some examples, again, in the traditional space, traditional sweepstakes is the Boyd v. Pickley Wigley case, where it’s a supermarket contest. 

“They basically said by requiring participants to visit the store to receive the game piece used to get the prizes that the operator was barring.”

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The automated service means operators can connect with Enteractive’s proprietary platform for comprehensive player reactivation and activation with real-time control.

Connected via a simple API integration, the platform allows for AI-driven engagement scheduling and optimisation, with easily configurable settings while a real-time dashboard provides CRM managers with live control and the ability to monitor player survey results.

Mikael Eliasson, outbound strategy manager at Betsson Group, said: “We’ve been working with Enteractive for many years and with (Re)activation Cloud, they are really stepping up the game to make player retention and premium-quality churn prevention easy to use and an essential tool that no operator can be without.

“This also safeguards our data, in regards to GDPR, from a company- and customer’s perspective to be assured that all is handled in respect to their integrity and protection for any responsible gaming related area.”

Enteractive CEO Mikael Hansson added: “(Re)activation Cloud is a real game changer. We’ve been developing the service for three years in order to make this happen, and now it’s here.

“[The tool] is all about delivering real personal customer relationship conversation through an API. Following a simple integration, CRM managers can simply sit back and watch churn rates drop and active players come back, driving bottom line results with no risk.”

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CB: What are some of the key challenges facing small to medium-sized casinos when trying to compete with tier-one operators?

TH: “There are so many online casinos operating in the online gaming industry, meaning competition is fiercer than ever and the ability to differentiate is proving much more difficult.

“While tier-one operators can often lean on a big budget to devise marketing campaigns and develop new products in house, the SMEs operating in the marketplace have to think of alternative and cost-effective measures in order to compete, largely as they have smaller pot to play with.

“…players crave a personalised approach and giving them care and attention can go a long way to improving loyalty.”

“That’s where customer support can play a big role in acquiring and retaining players. It’s well known that players crave a personalised approach and giving them the care and attention can go a long way to improving loyalty.”

So how exactly can customer support services help improve smaller casinos?

“Honing in on and improving the user experience is such an important factor for all operators but particularly for smaller businesses as it can make a real difference. Outside of the igaming industry, it’s often the case that the independent and lesser-known brands sharpen their focus on going that extra step to please their customers in an effort to stop them jumping ship.

“The same approach should be adopted for smaller casinos too. ‘Know your customer’ is a phrase often attributed as a compliance measure but it should also relate to the relationship between operators and end users. Developing a strong relationship means understanding their needs and providing them with a personalised service which matches their expectations.

“We’ve found that some operators are initially reluctant to outsource customer support as it is such an important part of the business. Understandably, they want to feel they are in control of what is being communicated to the paying public. But we make sure we are very transparent and that they have good visibility on all messaging and communications.

“We listen to the players and, in turn, pass on insights to the operators who can then reap the rewards of our considerable knowledge in the industry, across all verticals, different platforms, and markets. This gives them the benefit of our focus on customer experience as a whole, not just what is communicated in a singular chat session or email.”

What are the most effective techniques in providing customer support?

“There are a variety of ways to communicate with players, such as one-to-one phone calls, live chat and social media. The key however is taking a multi-channel approach in order to engage with players in their preferred mode of communication and therefore maximising engagement levels.

“Another important factor is that support staff are trained to understand the tone and brand culture of the operator.”

“Another important factor to consider is that the support staff that are in regular contact with players are fully trained to understand the tone and brand culture of the operator.

“Interaction has to remain consistent across the board, ensuring no player receives an insufficient response when contacting for support.

“At Enteractive, our trained agents must have a similar cultural background and be able to speak the same language as the player they are engaging with. They are also available around the clock to deal with any requests, understanding that the igaming industry never stops and is accessible 24/7.”

What evidence do you have to show the benefits of focusing on customer support for casinos?

“Through our experience of customer support at Enteractive, quality relationships can create up to 10 times longer connections and improve loyalty. Players appreciate the extra care and attention given to them by operators, ultimately enhancing the user experience that keeps them coming back for more.

“For operators, it leads to increased lifetime value of players and helps provide them with that competitive edge over their rivals.”

The post Sharing the love: how effective customer support leads to increased loyalty appeared first on CasinoBeats.

Throughout May, visitors to the Betat site can take part in new adventures and explore a unique promotion during each week of the month.

Whether a player is looking for a relaxing getaway to soak up the sun, or seeking an adventure to get the adrenalin pumping and knees dirty, Betat has something planned.

They’ll have a chance to traverse the seas on unimaginable adventures that will visit exotic places, such as the Amazon, the Caribbean and the crystal clear seas of Hawaii.

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