8 Surefire Ways to Increase and Retain Engagement on iGaming Websites

Author: Sebastian Scheplitz

There’s no question that iGaming is constantly growing in terms of profitability and customer base. The competition keeps getting hotter as more players make the jump from physical to digital casino experiences.

And iGaming operators who can go the extra mile to attract, engage, and satisfy players into becoming long-term patrons are set to get the bigger slice of the proverbial pie.

As demographics and consumption habits change, so do marketing trends and technologies. 

But some things about how to attract more players to online casinos and how online casino brands can increase player engagement over time don’t change.

Here is a summary of all the strategies that we will be discussing in detail later:

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As we’ve mentioned in the video, customers need to be engaged to keep the market going, and iGaming operators need to constantly remain on top of their game to retain the next generation of players.

Here are eight tips to increase player engagement for your online casino or sports betting website:

1. Flawless iGaming Translation and Personalized Localization

iGaming has long been a global industry. That’s why the best iGaming websites have multiple ways to adapt to the needs of users from around the world for a superior experience that will keep them coming back.

Since user experience is everything, a tailored experience adapted for players covering different countries and languages can mean the difference between a casino player conversion and a miss. 

People like it when they can communicate and receive instructions in their native language. It’s one of the best ways to attract online gamblers and retain them.

Besides, multilingual iGaming content enhances your brand’s profile, SEO performance, and attracts more players.

Quite frankly, translation and localization when launching iGaming services and campaigns in new markets are no longer just “nice-to-haves”.

Rather, both are vital strategies that every iGaming brand needs to employ to stay competitive in the fast-growing industry – especially when you’re trying to win over new customers in emerging markets.

ACTION ITEM: Every iGaming brand that takes pride in serving the international market needs to invest in quality translation services. That means retaining the services of human translation that can read through the highly contextualized iGaming lexicon and adapt it to the local flavor and milieu of your target market’s native language. 

No matter how advanced machine translation tools have become, they still have a long way to go in recreating the nuances of the written or spoken word and adapting messages to local audiences.

2. Engaging Content on the Blog

Good iGaming content is written for readers instead of just Google rankings. Any individual well-versed in the world of online casino content knows that the sector is infamous for haphazardly-written FAQs, guides, and fundamental content. 

Some content is simply run through Google Translate and republished without regard for grammar, readability, or context. 

Worse, some even come across as purely having been created for SEO rankings.

But people prefer to read content that engages. That gives a personal touch to your iGaming brand. One that makes them feel that “connection” with your brand. 

Therefore, before putting pen to paper, ask yourself who the primary audience for your content is. That would be your existing and would-be patrons. Or secondary audiences that might be able to influence another would-be member of your primary audience.

There’s no shortage of platforms from which today’s audiences discover content. It could be from social media, email newsletters, links from other websites, and search engine results.

Therefore, it’s essential to strike the right balance between well-written and informative texts and search engine optimization.

ACTION ITEM: Content is king, and its quality is dependent on investing in the right talent. It might cost a little more to hire experienced iGaming translators and writers, but the final results are definitely worth the investment. Today’s audiences are more discerning than ever when it comes to consuming their content, which is why quality content is a must.

3. Creating a Solid Community Around Your Brand

Community is the lifeblood of an iGaming brand’s success because having a group of people committed to using and patronizing your platform makes them vital partners to deliver exceptional online gambling experiences.

Excellent customer service, multiple communication channels, and an online social media community or forum contribute to a greater sense of identification with the brand. Community-building is a constant effort worth its weight in gold. It’s a crucial element of success in the digital era.

However, there isn’t a single clear-cut format to build a community from scratch, so a good idea is to see how leading iGaming companies do it themselves and then take the best parts and adapt them to your own needs.

ACTION ITEM: Setting up an online casino forum for members to participate in is a great idea to begin building an organic community for your iGaming brand. Think of it as setting up a second home for players to share experiences, strategies, make online friends, and interact with your brand. Social media is also a key linchpin of community-building, and with it comes investing in marketing campaigns across various platforms. 

4. Offer a Wide Selection of Games

Games take center stage as far as attracting customers is concerned. Online casinos should therefore increase their variety of games to make sure they cater to each gambler of every persuasion.

Apart from live dealer games, potential customers look for a balanced mix of slots and table games, such as baccarat, poker, blackjack, and roulette. Customers also want to see a wide array of variants for every game. Therefore, a great selection of games is ultimately one of the most effective customer retention strategies for online casinos. 

Game quality is also essential – no potential repeat customer will spend an iota of time on a website with a poor selection of games, or worse, poor-quality games. Therefore, every iGaming operator should ensure that graphics, audio, rendering, and user experience are as high-quality as possible.

ACTION ITEM: Attention spans are shorter and players are becoming increasingly informed. Therefore, iGaming sites that don’t offer a satisfactory library of game titles risk losing players who might want more variety and diverse gambling experiences. So expand your game inventory and categories so there is always something for everyone to enjoy on your website.

5. Attractive Promotions and Bonuses

Segmenting regular patrons and crafting messaging to suit their needs has been an effective bread-and-butter iGaming marketing strategy that works.

The abundance of data from past promotions, loyalty and VIP programs, and whatnot allows iGaming brands to tailor even more relevant and exclusive promotional events for their best players.

Practically anyone with a passing interest in sports is instantly within the target demographic, making for new betting opportunities for niche sports and new segments. 

Reach out to your loyal patrons with customized messaging for incentives and giveaways that show your brand’s appreciation for their patronage and make them feel a vital part of your success. 

ACTION ITEM: Often, one of the most effective ways for iGaming brands that don’t quite have the same name recall as the established ones yet is to offer one-of-a-kind online casino promotions and bonuses to attract prospective players. 

Therefore, combining tried-and-tested strategies (such as deposit bonuses, free spins, cashback, and offers on using certain payment methods) with newer tactics involving real-time or niche campaigns, or cryptocurrency support are essential practices for any iGaming brand worth its salt. 

6. Marketing Campaigns That Spark Conversations and Curiosity

Creative promotional campaigns have long been an essential determinant of an iGaming operator’s success. From tried-and-tested affiliate programs, email, and social media campaigns, to guerrilla iGaming marketing strategies, operators employ a wide array of techniques to achieve this end. 

More recently, one of the best marketing strategies for iGaming operators is real-time marketing. It requires rolling out tailored, precise-to-the-minute updates on social media to proudly say “You heard it here first!”

This also means some ad campaigns aren’t planned months before the launch but rather curated as users interact with media assets.

Real-time marketing is thus fast becoming an industry-leading strategy to attract and retain new and existing players. The odds of achieving a positive result increase exponentially when both approaches are paired with the right balance.

ACTION ITEM: One of the most effective methods to spark conversations is by setting up an email newsletter. Newsletters are a great way to build an email database that has the potential to deliver a good ROI on your outlay since they only cost server space. 

If you are looking for an extra dose of inspiration, check out our article on 10 creative sportsbook marketing campaign ideas or a compilation of some of the coolest iGaming marketing campaigns in recent history.

7. Proper Display of On-Site Content and Assets

The perfect online casino or sports betting website isn’t the one that looks the spiffiest, the shiniest, or the one with the most bells and whistles.

iGaming operators need to pay particular attention to how on-site content and assets are displayed for optimal UX because different players have different priorities.

Some players want to get started as quickly as possible, while others enjoy exploring the site to find bonuses and promotions. The latter tend to examine web design elements more carefully than the former. 

iGaming operators need to ensure that their sites drive traffic directly to where people wish to play. Online players demand the most responsive, most immediate experience they want when playing, whether they have plenty or little time to play.

Making informational resources readily available is just as important as making it easy for users to deposit, withdraw, play, bet, claim rewards, and seek customer support. You need to allow users to onboard themselves as smoothly as possible so they can play right away.

Any other spanners in the works can and WILL ultimately blunt that desire to play. And that’s NOT good for business.

ACTION ITEM: Consider auditing your iGaming site to see if it is optimized for a seamless user experience. The last thing users want to do is to be weighed down by endless pop-ups, 404s, and ambiguous features.

8. Err on the Side of Brevity and Consistency

It could be tempting to let creative juices run free when it comes to marketing communications.

However, from an iGaming perspective, it might be appropriate to keep things as precise and clear as possible in emails, such as including a CTA wherever necessary to facilitate the required action as quickly as possible.

Also, it’s important to keep the tone and style of your messaging consistent. Make sure that it corresponds as close to the offer as possible regardless of the language. No BS.

Remember the three L’s: localize, localize, localize.

ACTION ITEM: Create a certain set of standards for every piece of content you publish and adhere to it. This goes for web pages, blogs, video content, social media, and everything in between.

Opportunities are abundant when engaging players the right way–and there’s no better time to start than now. Once you figure out the right balance that makes the most sense for your iGaming site, the possibilities for your brand are limitless.

Header Image Source: Photo by cottonbro from Pexels