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Real-time marketing for online casinos

Ayvar Gabidullin
March 4, 2024
7 min
8127

It’s easier to keep a customer than to find a new one. But all too often, operators wait until a player has left and then try to get them to return with a barrage of emails and text messages. Real-time marketing, on the other hand, creates a level of personalization once reserved for VIPs, keeping players engaged instead of trying to win them back.

Aside from your product, the three keys to online casino and sportsbook success are promotion, promotion, promotion.

Online gaming and betting platforms need a steady stream of new players to be converted into longtime depositors in order to be consistently successful. But that presents two problems — where do the players come from, and how do you convince them to stay?

The challenge comes with additional complications. Marketing strategies for online casinos and sportsbooks are usually impeded by strict advertising regulations.

Authorities in many markets ban or restrict TV and radio ads for betting and gaming during the day, among other measures, and have a raft of requirements they have to follow. Ads that portray gambling as a way to strike it rich, that associate gambling and alcohol, and that hint at underage gambling are usually not allowed.

Instead, online platforms use other tactics to reach their audience:

  • Search engine optimization boosts the site’s ranking in search engine results pages.
  • Social Media marketing helps reach players where they are.
  • Email campaigns maintain a relationship with site visitors and keep them informed of special offers.
  • SMS marketing is one of the most direct avenues of communication casinos have with their players.
  • Affiliate marketing drives huge volume of traffic by offering players high-quality content and directing them to partner casinos.

But these only handle phase one. When it comes to player retention in the era of increasing personalization, another strategy is becoming more and more important: real-time marketing.

What is real-time marketing?

Real-time marketing is a promotional strategy that uses an up-to-the-minute approach to treat customers individually, according to their needs and behavior at a particular time and place. The main idea is to find the most appropriate offer for each particular customer.

Often based on current trends and customer feedback, RTM is a fast, fluid, and dynamic way to keep your brand current and vital.

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RTM can take a few different forms, based on the company’s business model.

Sometimes brands interact with customers through social media or participate in viral trends. E-commerce businesses notify customers when their order has shipped, let them track its status, and follow up to check satisfaction.

While they’re responsive to world events and take place instantaneously, RTM strategies don’t have to be made up on the fly. It can be more effective to design campaigns ahead of time and employ them when the right time comes.

With every step forward technology takes, real-time marketing gets a little more effective. With the rise of social media, information about target audiences and their preferences has become readily available and easily accessible, meaning that marketers are now able to use that data to create tailored promotional strategies for products that potential customers might like.

How can online casinos use real-time marketing?

In the world of iGaming, real-time marketing mostly comes into play when users begin to interact with the brand on its site.

Data collected in order to comply with KYC measures can be used to personalize the casino experience and make it more enjoyable for the player. High-quality platform software will enable operators to segment users in order to provide personalized experiences based on their playing history.

High-quality online casino platforms will often have a flexible frontend. This often means that operators can change the appearance of the frontend to suit users’ tastes once they register and begin playing. For example, if a player mostly spins the slots, then the homepage can have a list of slots when they log in.

Converting new users into depositors

RTM can help casinos convert new visitors into depositing players.

First-time visitors can be greeted with offers of welcome bonuses or free spins to encourage them to try their hand at casino gaming or sports betting at low personal risk. But messaging doesn’t have to be limited to just on-platform. Visitors who register but don’t deposit can receive offers by text message or email.

Tailored offers

Individualized treatment lets every player get a taste of the VIP life.

Receiving personalized offers lets players know that the casino values their patronage, giving them a reason to keep coming back. This is at the core of RTM; creating offers that players want instead of trying to sell them on one they may or may not be interested in.

A player’s history can indicate which automated offer they should receive. Slot players on a losing streak might get a bad-luck bonus. Football bettors can get a special offer if a popular event like the World Cup is coming up. You can also look through players’ past interactions with the site to get an idea of what they might be interested in.

In addition to focusing on increasing engagement, event-triggered marketing can also help provide customer service. Instead of leaving players to their own devices when something goes wrong, a message could pop up when they have a failed deposit or otherwise need technical support.

Cross-selling

Operators can use RTM strategies to interest casino players in sports betting and vice versa.

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In order to create a tailored notification, operators should analyze the customer’s average bet, their favorite casino games, and many other features. Then, punters can be offered a bonus of several free spins if they deposit and play in the online casino, while casino players can be offered a 100% match on their first sportsbook deposit. Real-time marketing tools help to personalize the cross-sale offer for each player, with the potential to predict other preferences in the future.

Additionally, both casino players and sports bettors could, for example, be cross-sold on virtual sports or even esports.

Cross-selling can also take place at a more granular level. Imagine a punter watching the livestream of a football match they have money riding on. During the halftime break, they might get an update for odds on another football match, or even a rugby game. A casino player might see an offer of a few free rounds of blackjack in the middle of a slot spin.

Live updates

Jackpots and changing betting odds are two areas where real-time marketing can come in handy. Notifying players when the jackpot reaches a certain level keeps the rising prize on their minds and might encourage them to try the slot in question.

Long gone are the days when bookies stopped taking bets when the kickoff whistle rang out. Now, in-play betting keeps punters’ levels of excitement up throughout the entire match. Sportsbook operators can notify dedicated bettors of fluctuations in betting odds that happen throughout the match.

Real-time marketing solutions

Our Turnkey Casino solution is equipped with everything you need to implement real-time, event-triggered marketing. With adaptive web design, player segmentation tools, email and SMS software, a bonus system, reporting tools, and a CRM system, everything you need to create a personalized gaming or betting experience for your players will be at your fingertips. Get in touch for a consultation to find out how we can help you launch your online casino or sportsbook project.

Ayvar Gabidullin
Ayvar Gabidullin
Business Development Manager
Ayvar has over five years of experience managing B2B and B2C sales departments in the online gambling industry. He started his career working in customer support for online casinos and grew to become the head of a department offering tailored services to VIP players. He joined Slotegrator with a strong focus on our company’s products and deep knowledge of what players need. His passion for the industry leads him to keep expanding his knowledge every day.

Comments

  • H
    Henry Fritz
    October 16, 2019
    It's a great concept for a customer retention strategy.

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