Many of the hottest gambling news articles are centered around the marketing of online casinos. As iGaming is a constantly evolving industry, new trends emerge in the marketing vertical as well.
Mark Grech, Head of Gaming & Business Development at Game Lounge Group, shared his opinion on the future of marketing in the iGaming sector with Login Casino readers. The expert also talked about ad bans on TikTok, casino live streamers, and the best tools for gamification.
What are the latest trends in the marketing vertical of the iGaming industry?
The iGaming industry is a very fast-paced space, where marketing trends are always changing and evolving. It’s important that you always identify new opportunities and test various marketing strategies across your portfolio of products.
A good example of the latest trends across iGaming is video marketing or live streaming of various casino operators and slot games, which is creating an extra layer of interaction. Slot tournaments are another good example, which gives the customer a competition feel and engages further within the casino platform.
Which countries do you consider the most promising in terms of iGaming?
Each country offers something special and operates differently from one another. Though there are always strong markets that in a way are more rewarding, Asia and LATAM are always solid and interesting markets to work in. During the pandemic, we have seen new growth in emerging markets, for example, the United States, where we are already operating across 5 states.
How did the recent ban on gambling ads on TikTok affect the affiliate companies?
TikTok has been one of the emerging social platforms to be used across marketing, especially to attract customers with truly engaging content, which affiliate companies purely look for.
Since the recent ban, affiliate companies saw a change in both social impressions and organic search, especially in countries where the APP is heavily used, which currently data shows that the US, Asia, and Eastern EU are at the top of the charts.
Mark, what is your opinion on signing live streamers as affiliates for gambling operators? Is streaming just a hot trend in the industry, or could it become a reliable marketing tool?
I’m sure everybody heard about Twitch.tv sometime or another, where millions of viewers watch others play various esports games, and nowadays we have categories dedicated to casinos and social chats. Throughout the past years, this has started to evolve across the casino industry, which created a new way to engage with the users, and I feel it’s just the beginning and it will evolve in various ways to promote casinos and even sports products.
During the pandemic, we saw that live streaming got accelerated and the initiative to promote new slot games and casinos increased, especially due to the limitations of not having a conference or event to showcase your new products.
How can an operator ensure compliance from the affiliate side and vice versa?
Both operators and affiliates liaise with each other to make sure that when advertising in specific markets, regulations are followed accordingly. Compliance is sometimes tedious and even limits both sides how advertising can be executed to the user, though it’s always important that it’s followed, as in the end both operators and affiliates are responsible for their customers and helping them gamble responsibly.
Do you see gamification as a new trend in the marketing vertical? Could you list some efficient tools for improving gamification?
Gamification can be developed and pushed in various ways, which can be beneficial for both the consumer and employees in certain cases, adding an extra layer on both frontend or backend environments across certain functions including CMS platforms, evolving CRM tools, and push gamified widgets across affiliates, hand in hand this will evolve in engaging content and expose different experiences to your audience.
As it’s still evolving, a good example of an interesting new gamification tool is the slot tracker. This tool provides valuable data to players who are looking to gamble smarter. Through the extension and console, users can view RTP, SRP, hit rate, bonus frequency, and more at both an individual and community level. The slot tracker community is growing by the day as more spins are tracked across new slots, casinos, and providers.
Could you give any tips for operators to acquire most of the traffic from affiliates?
My tip to operators would be that, before executing their casino brands in new markets, they should conduct and implement certain changes to their product environments in sync with the market needs and customer preferences.
A good example is implementing the correct payment solutions and correctly localizing the website, which helps the product to better adapt to the market and the end-user. This will benefit both the operator and affiliate, as traffic and organic search will have a better impact and will increase monthly FTD’s or NDC’s.
How do you see the future of the iGaming industry? Are there any upcoming developments in the marketing vertical?
Since the iGaming industry is constantly changing, looking at new developments is always a must. Diversification and market penetration strategies are very important to focus on, including paid media advertising, which provides a solid way to promote online casinos through various landing pages and dedicated widgets on both casinos and affiliate sites.
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