Online casinos have long utilised promotions as a cornerstone of their industry, as they are a crucial tool for attracting new customers. By launching enticing deals that offer bonus cash and free spins, online casino promotions have been transformative in the way that operators attract, engage, and retain existing players.
But beneath the surface, do these promotions do as much as they seem to do? Do they have an impactful influence over the way that an online casino grows its business, or are they something that’s just expected to be seen on a site, rather than being a necessity? The following sections take a closer look at the role of casino promotions and their real impact.
Hyper Competitive Market
The online gambling industry is enormous, and part of what drives that industry is new players joining, which increases the annual turnover and revenue for online businesses. But this is an extremely competitive market. Just take a look at the top UK casinos’ bonus offers curated by leading review sites like Legalbet, which analyse and compare legal operators and their rewards. You’ll see just how varied the promotions can actually be.
They range from low-deposit options to packages of free bonus cash to the tune of £1,000 and above. Regardless of the actual format and value of an online casino promotion, they are there for one purpose only, and that is to attract customers.
An enticing offer lowers the barrier of entry for new players, who can see that there is access to bonus funds. This is a psychological marketing technique because the player believes they will be playing with “house money”, which in their mind lowers the risk of putting funds into their account.
An Opening Gambit
Promotions are designed to get players past that first hurdle of signing up and depositing. They can come at a cost for the casino, as players can win something from them. But bonuses also come with a lot of terms and conditions that restrict the potential that players have to exploit them.
The clearest example of this is in wagering requirements, where a player has to gamble the credited bonus amount anywhere from 25x to 50x times in real cash before any winnings from that bonus can be withdrawn.
Even a small $10 bonus with a 35x wagering requirement means $350 in bets must be placed before any winnings can be withdrawn — and that’s often money slowly leaking back to the casino. The hook is that the gambling experience with the bonus cash will make them stick around, as they are already heavily invested.
The Important Retention Metrics
The magic of promotions for online casinos is in the retention metrics. The sign-up bonus is just there to get players in through the door, and then the real growth of an online casino revenue rests on retaining that player, which is where other types of promotions come into play.
Loyalty Programs are huge for this because they are structured in tiers. This gamified version of a promotion means that players are likely to work hard to stay at their current rewards level or attempt to push up to the next one, where the bonuses are better. These types of promotions can sustain the growth of a business, as they are more relationship-forming.
That retention then has to turn into long-term profitability, and that goal is boosted by giving players personalised experiences. With AI working behind the scenes, analysing a player’s gambling preferences, specific, targeted promotions can be directed towards them, which helps with sustaining engagement and strips away generic experiences. This personalisation of promotions can be a substantial long-term asset for online casinos.
Fighting Fatigue
One of the most interesting aspects of this is just how ubiquitous online casino promotions are. The market is saturated with competing promotions, and that can have a negative effect in that players end up not caring too much which offer they take, as they all pretty much look the same. This desensitisation is of concern to online casinos because if players tune out these offers designed to get people through the door, it can lead to a drop in retention.
A Pivotal Financial Tool
Promotions are pivotal for online casino sites, and all new casinos have to play the game by launching new customer offers or else they run the risk of standing out for the wrong reasons, in not appearing to be generous.
However, the overall growth of an online casino business cannot solely be put on the shoulders of promotions. There are a lot of other aspects like brand trust, quality of customer service, and enhanced playing experiences that factor into growth, but casino promotions are the key to unlocking all of that potential.