Maintenance of the Users’ Interest: the Best Practices in Casinos

Retention of clients is always cheaper than attracting new players, so this issue is becoming increasingly relevant.

About the Concept

It is a set of measures aimed at keeping the existing client base and stimulating repeat interactions with products.

Such tools are actively used for the long-term provision of services, such as:

• acceptance of bets in an online casino;
• management of a bookmaker’s office or poker room;
• binary options trading.

Let us consider the key metrics that help to keep casino visitors engaged:

CRR

This is the player retention rate. It shows how effectively the company interacts with regular visitors.

To calculate the indicator, you need to divide the difference between the number of players at the end of the period and new users and divide it by the quantity of persons at the beginning of the time interval. The metric can be expressed as a coefficient or as a percentage.

CRR is calculated for a week, month, quarter, or year. It is best to monitor this parameter in dynamics. It will help operators understand how successful their efforts are. An increase in the indicator confirms the effectiveness of the chosen strategy, while a decrease means the need to reconsider the interaction with the gamblers.

CR

This is the churn rate. It reflects the percentage of customers who have stopped being active on the digital platform during the specified period. For example, if the CR is 10% per month, this means that one-tenth of clients have stopped visiting an online casino in one month.

The metric evaluation in dynamics helps entrepreneurs understand how often people refuse to place bets on the entertainment site. If users leave often, the brand’s profits are declining.

To calculate the indicator, it is necessary to divide the number of players who left during the selected period by the total number of gamblers at the beginning of the reporting month (week or quarter).

A sharp increase in the coefficient signals the ongoing negative processes within the digital casino, such as:

• a decrease in the level of technical support;
• a reduction in bonus programs;
• interruptions in the platform’s operation, etc.

According to the Paddle online publication, the average churn rate in all industries is 2–8% per month. The parameter depends on the company’s age: the older it is, the less often clients leave. For young startups, CR can reach 24%, and online casinos older than 5 years have a stable churn of 2–4%.

LTV

This is the customer’s lifetime value. It determines the average sum brought by a player for the entire period of interaction with the entertainment resource.

The metric is used to understand whether the costs of acquiring and retaining gamblers are justified.

Why It Is Essential to Maintain the Interest of Users

Entrepreneurs should monitor retention indicators for the following reasons:

Increased Loyalty

iGaming brand recognition is formed in 4 directions:

1. Player satisfaction. This is the main driving force that works in all business areas. If people like the product, then they are unlikely to break the connection with the operator that provides it and switch to another platform.
2. Customer delight. The wow effect is achieved thanks to a balanced bonus program. It has room for large wins and small prizes. A mandatory condition is support for jackpot series. The expectation of a huge reward pleases most casino visitors.
3. Expenses for switching to another website. The audience’s decision to leave leads to losses for both business users and fans of betting. For example, the points in the loyalty system that have been collected for several months may “burn out”. Entrepreneurs should unobtrusively mention what clients will lose when switching to another digital portal.
4. Relationship management. This is a focus on long-term interaction with players through discounts for regular visitors, increased cashback, and other options.

Revenue Growth

The Harvard Business Review online publication provides the following information:

• attracting each new user costs 5-25 times more than retaining an existing one;
• an increase in the retention rate by 5% will make profits grow by 40%.

The selected approach plays an important role in ensuring the financial stability and effectiveness of iGaming projects. Keeping the existing clients interested directly affects the long-term liquidity of the business.

Attraction of new users is always associated with higher costs. These are marketing and advertising expenses, payment of salaries to managers, settlements with affiliates, etc.

Improvement of the Image Indicators

Loyal customers promote enterprises by performing the following actions:

• leave positive comments on thematic platforms;
• provision of valuable feedback;
• recommendation of the resource to friends and acquaintances;
• the company’s protection in crisis situations;
• help with levelling out any negativity.

Such clients contribute to the target audience’s expansion. In this case, the word-of-mouth works quite well. People recommend the entertainment platform as a reliable and safe place to place bets.

Retention Strategies in Online Casinos

Let us consider the most effective tools in the market:

Bonus Payout

Operators offer incentives for:

• registration;
• logging into the website;
• participation in a specified number of sessions;
• testing new slot machines, and other actions.

A good effect is given by the accrual of bonuses for each entrance to the system (through a desktop site or a mobile betting application). This motivates people to visit entertainment platforms more often.

User verification always ends with positive emotions from the received reward, which increases attachment to the casino. Incentives can be paid daily or several times a day.

Loyalty Programs

These are cumulative systems consisting of several levels. Upon reaching previously agreed results, the gambler's status is updated and he gets generous prizes. These may be increased cashback, access to premium tournaments or series, as well as branded gifts from B2B partners and sponsors, etc.

Most digital portals offer the following loyalty layers:

• Member;
• Bronze;
• Silver;
• Gold;
• Platinum.

The desire to reach the highest level motivates casino visitors to play more and harder. They visit the platform more often, spin the reels, place bets, and participate in various promotions.

Multiplayer Entertainment

This category includes:

1. Mini-rounds. They can be launched at intervals between the main sessions or while the reels are rotating. The key task of the tool is to add variety to the gameplay and reward valued clients. Therefore, users always receive a gift, even the smallest one (for example, a x2 multiplier for the next win).
2. Tournaments. They are held among selected categories of customers (regulars, newcomers, and VIPs) and have a solid prize pool, as well as incentives for the Top 10 winners. The desire to take a leading position in the final table and take the reward for first place motivates people to place bets more actively.
3. Seasonal missions. Such options also contribute to increased retention. Gamblers see how much their opponents have won and start wanting to get the main prize as well. Special tasks can be dedicated to popular holidays (Christmas or Halloween), the change of seasons (beginning of summer or winter), and the release of new entertainment from famous providers.
4. In-game events. They have a limited time and help players get unique elements (badges, emblems, access levels, or skins of the main characters) by completing various quests.

Referral Programs

In this case, customers need to invite friends and receive such rewards as cash prizes, bonuses, loyalty points, new locations in entertainment, and other privileges.

Today, all tested slots contain the option of inviting acquaintances from social networks and finding like-minded people who also like to place bets. A referral program can be implemented at the operator's discretion. Its presence has a positive effect on audience engagement and reduces the churn rate.

Joint Interaction

The category includes several tools:

1. Chat. It is possible to make a general one or create several of them for active users, beginners, and VIP visitors. There are ready-made sets of emoticons and phrases for quick interaction with opponents. Clients get pleasant conversations and find new friends, which increases their loyalty to a website.
2. Personal correspondence. It can be organised between several users or between a person and a casino manager. The purpose of the tool is to quickly inform about current promotions, share experiences, communicate, and have fun.
3. Gaming clubs. These are communities of like-minded people that are formed within the framework of online casinos. The benefits of such an option are very different, from gaining access to exclusive tournaments to increasing the percentage of cashback.

Retention Strategy: What to Pay Attention To

The main nuances that are worth considering:

1. Player profiling. Preliminary segmentation of the audience will simplify its retention and increase the effectiveness of the selected strategy. Such users are always shown in the loyalty program. Regular and VIP clients receive a higher status compared to beginners.
2. Modern design. Any activity should look good, contain gamification elements, and include settings for interaction with the platform. Dull colours, uneven lines, or sharp sounds demotivate people.
3. Convenient navigation. This is the presence of logic in all components of the retention plan. If, for example, a gamer has fulfilled the requirements specified on the website, then he should automatically get a bonus or be assigned a loyalty system level without the need to verify the account again. Any failures or inaccuracies cause confusion and reduce trust in the digital portal.
4. Tracking the results. Thanks to this, it is possible to see the strategy’s effectiveness and understand which method was more or less successful. To conduct analysis, operators focus on a variety of parameters but the main 3 metrics are CRR, CR, and LTV.

The Main Things about Gambler Retention Tools

Key aspects that project owners need to take into account:

• Client retention is of great value to entrepreneurs. This increases audience loyalty, profit margins, and the brand’s image indicators. An effective strategy reduces marketing and advertising costs.
• Among the popular tools, we can highlight bonuses, organisation of multiplayer entertainment, and social interaction. Loyalty programs and referral systems also have a good effect.
• Operators need to conduct preliminary segmentation of players, develop a modern design of activities, and take care of convenient navigation. All this makes the selected tools even more efficient.

We also provide the following useful services:

• integration of games;
• assistance in obtaining a licence;
• preparation of a business plan;
• security software connection;
• VR casino development, and much more.