Segmentation of Online Casino Users: a Detailed Guidance

The Website Builder research shows that personalised offers are 18 times more effective than those aimed at the audience’s expansion. The statement is true for many industries, including the casino and sportsbook niche.

What is the Division of Clients

It means the grouping of players with similar requests and gaming preferences. There are many options and approaches to segmentation in the industry, but they are all aimed at qualitative and quantitative audience assessment.

Just a few years ago, almost all online casinos described the target category as men aged 18–35 with stable earnings above average who consider entertainment for money a way to have fun. Today, such a definition is used quite rarely because it provides only summarised information about players.

Modern gambling companies are trying to learn about the preferences and priorities of their clients as much as possible. For this purpose, the segmentation is used.

Why It Is Beneficial to Divide Gamblers Into Groups

Let us consider the main advantages of the tool:

1. Effective marketing. Segmentation allows operators to adjust advertising campaigns. Thanks to this, entrepreneurs can outperform competitors who think only about the generalised character of their clients.
2. Formation of exclusive offers. It is much easier and faster to do this when you already know the audience’s main requests and preferences. Business owners do not need to guess and work blindly and risk losing their precious time and money.
3. Cost optimisation. Segmentation makes it possible to create high-quality sales plans. Entrepreneurs do not spend funds on games (payment systems or advertising offers) that do not resonate with the audience and do not generate income in the short term.
4. Growth of Internet traffic. The division is a basic tool for attracting solvent customers. This can be done thanks to an advanced search for similar interests and interactions. These are themed sweepstakes, competitions, promotions, and much more. The categorisation of gamblers is the basis of targeted advertising.
5. Creation of a safe environment. Segmentation allows operators to identify users with an increased risk of developing ludomania. Already at the attraction stage, casino owners can filter out minors who must not place bets. All this contributes to the formation of a secure digital space.
6. Increase in the clients’ confidence. The provision of personalised offers with an emphasis on the protection of players indicates that such gaming sites can and should be trusted. Those entrepreneurs who care about the interests of the audience are committed to long and fruitful cooperation.

How to Segment Users: Philip Kotler's Method

Proper segmentation is one of the 7 key rules of promotion developed by Philip Kotler. The economist suggests that it is necessary to divide into groups not only consumers but also competitors, distributors, and B2B partners. The expert also calls for the market’s segmentation, searching for the most suitable niches and gaining leading positions in them.

Kotler’s method is quite applicable in the iGaming industry.

The scientist suggests grouping players according to 4 major criteria:

• geographical;
• psychographic;
• behavioural;
• demographic.

Geographical Features

Segmentation by geolocation allows operators to filter out customers from those countries and regions where gambling is strictly prohibited. Thanks to this, entrepreneurs can make sure they attract legal Internet traffic.

The territorial aspect is actively used by companies that hold permits from Malta and Curacao. They can work in the .com domain zone and attract clients from various jurisdictions. Therefore, it is especially important for them to divide the entire pool of gamblers into different groups based on geographic indicators.

Based on the information received, parameters such as the age limit and restrictions on the size of bets or the number of spins that are specific to a particular region are established..

Demographic Characteristics

This is the division of players into groups in accordance with:

• gender;
• age;
• size of their families;
• income level;
• nationality;
• job;
• language.

These aspects are the most important when analysing target audiences since the preferences and needs of customers are closely related to demographic features. A comprehensive study of parameters allows operators to divide their clients into main groups, which are then segmented depending on gaming preferences and behavioural patterns.

The younger generation tends to be more open to new genres of solutions. They like classic slots and arcades or multiplayer fishing games. Middle-aged people prefer live casinos and video poker. Users over 45 are usually fans of bingo, keno, and lottery draws.

Grouping by demographics makes it possible to filter out minors who are prohibited from visiting iGaming platforms.

Behavioural Signs

At this stage, customers are divided into categories depending on:

• knowledge in the gambling field;
• attitude toward entertainment for money;
• activity in online casinos;
• reactions to a specific genre of a product, bonus offer, tournament format, etc.

Behavioural segmentation allows operators to identify from the entire pool of potential clients those people who are most interested in placing bets. The lion's share of marketing activities should be aimed at such players since they bring good income to the business project in the short term.

The division into groups depending on behavioural patterns helps to come up with a successful strategy for attracting and retaining users. Thus, analytics shows how much time passes from viewing an advertising message (a banner or a link) to going to the website and making an initial deposit.

Psychographic Signs

The emphasis here is laid on registered customers. They have already filled out their personal information and may have placed their first bet.

The task of entrepreneurs is to group gamblers based on:

• preferred type of content;
• rates and deposits;
• intervals between sessions;
• devices used, etc.

The psychographic feature makes it possible to analyse the gaming habits of the audience. Based on the data received, operators can build a customer retention strategy, write a purchase plan, and increase the level of players’ loyalty.

Such segmentation helps to see and evaluate the reaction of specific user groups to:

• addition of new games;
• launch of seasonal missions and tournaments;
• changes in the website’s design;
• organisation of thematic quests;
• expansion of the bonus program, etc.

The knowledge gained allows business owners to adjust most online casino components. These are not only slots or table entertainment but also settlement methods, verification tools, rewards, VIP offers, and much more.

Audience Division by the Amount of Payments

The most valuable customers are those who regularly replenish their accounts on the website and play. For this reason, segmentation by deposit size is rapidly gaining popularity in the field of GameDev development.

This approach will also be useful for modern platforms due to the active diversification of the product range and the addition of diverse content, such as arcades, fishing, crash solutions, and mobile games.

Marketers distinguish 3 types of users depending on the amount of money they spend in the online casino:

1. Whales. They transfer large sums and play at high stakes. Such people make up a small percentage of the audience but generate a large share of the platform’s revenue. The task of operators is to develop a flexible reward system for these clients and provide them with as many individual bonuses and exclusive solutions as possible.
2. Dolphins. They make average-sized payments and often act chaotically: these gamblers can play well for a week and then not enter the site at all for 1–1.5 months. This group can be divided into several smaller segments depending on the frequency of visits and the size of deposits. Personalised newsletters and the distribution of bonus offers via email and social networks are the best ways to retain such clients.
3. Minnows. They deposit small amounts of money, and their share of total income is often insignificant. On the other hand, these users make up the majority. In this case, entrepreneurs need to focus on quantity, not quality. They need to attract as many players to the portal as possible by distributing small bonuses (additional spins, cashback, and free access to tournaments).

Segmentation by the sum of deposits plays a crucial role in affiliate marketing. When trying to appeal to gamblers from the Dolphins group, it is possible to use both the CPA and RevShare schemes to pay for the partners’ services.

Work with Whales and Minnows should be based exclusively on the RevShare method. Otherwise, operators will not receive part of the profit from high rollers or will pay too generously to attract the Minnows group.

Segmentation Tools

To obtain information, various sources are used:

1. The analytics. They record a variety of customer actions, from visiting thematic sites to viewing pages in a specific online casino. Detailed data on the actions of players on external resources will be provided by the Google Analytics and Apple Search Ads applications. The CRM module will help entrepreneurs determine the behavioural patterns of already registered clients.
2. Social network statistics. This includes viewing thematic groups, joining communities, and searching for content. Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok have their analytics tools. It is also possible to use external specialised programs, such as IronSource and Snap. They are presented in free and paid versions with advanced settings.
3. Survey. These are short questionnaires about the interests, preferences, and requests of gamblers. They can be posted on the website or sent by email.
4. Attribution data. This is technical information, for example, the parameters of the device used to log in, the way to install the application, or the VPN used.

During the audience segmentation, it is important to take into account privacy and restrictions in terms of niche standards. Most often, business owners focus on GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) adopted by the European Union.

Representatives of the GameDev industry, among other things, use the CCPA (California Consumer Privacy Act), given the high profitability of the IT sector and the entertainment development sector in the US.

Common Mistakes When Grouping Customers

The division of users is not the most difficult task, but it is quite possible to fail here. Most experts recommend performing such a task in dynamics: review the cluster criteria from time to time and update previously received information.

Let us consider the most common mistakes:

1. Wrong definition of segments. This is too detailed or, on the contrary, a generalised selection, incorrect choice of criteria for grouping, etc. As a result, the data obtained have low relevance and do not reflect the real situation in the market or a particular casino.
2. Partial use of information about gamblers. Having detailed analytics in hand, operators often focus only on basic factors (for example, age or gender). This approach reduces the effectiveness of attraction and retention of clients. Owners of iGaming startups spend a huge amount of money on marketing, but their income remains the same.
3. Lack of re-segmentation. It is mandatory when changing the company’s vector of development or diversifying its activities. Re-analysis is the best way to update information about the target audience.

The Main Things about Segmentation in Gambling

• The key advantages of the tool include increased marketing efficiency, the development of personalised offers, and cost optimisation. Entrepreneurs can create a safe environment and build trusting relationships with clients.
• Philip Kotler's method is the most common approach to segmentation. It involves grouping users depending on demographics, place of residence, behavioural and psychographic patterns.
• The audience is often segmented by the total amount of payments. Operators distinguish high rollers, average visitors, and those who play often but with minimal bets.
• Owners of iGaming platforms use analytics, statistics from social networks, competitor research, attribution data, and other tools.

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