THE ONLINE casino industry, which includes slots, bingo, Slingo, and live games such as poker and roulette is on the rise.
According to the UK Government website revenue from iGaming sites was set to rise by 8.4% year on year in 2022.
While this is great news for betting game developers, this doesn’t mean that slot developers can sit back and relax as revenue rolls in.
Quite the opposite: providers need to evolve and change to retain customers.
The time to innovate is when you’re ahead, to keep people coming back.
Companies are expected to reinvest their revenue into marketing efforts to retain customers, and one of the industries that do this exceptionally well is the iGaming industry.
With so many providers fighting for a market share, albeit a growing market share, innovation, evolution and diversification are constant features of the industry. How do they do this so well, though?
Diversifying Their Offering
Online casinos are not just a place to play online slots and maybe traditional casino games; they’re changing all of the time.
Did you know you can now get live-hosted games such as Blackjack in your living room?
The providers recognized the need for personal contact within the industry through 2020, and that saw a sharp rise in dealer-driven games.
That doesn’t just mean traditional casino games either; they’re got special game show-style events, complete with themes and concepts that you won’t find in a casino.
They’ve taken one niche, dealers, and then added a new dimension.
That continues with their games as well; standard online slots are found amongst Jackpot slots, Megaways, even Slingo, all slightly different and diverse.
Leveraging Popular Brand
Part of the market demand has to do with what customers like to see in the product or service.
If a developer takes something known outside of their site, even outside of online gaming, and uses that in conjunction with an online slot game, it’s likely to result in additional interest from players.
For example, the branded slot titles on Foxy Bingo include Deal or No Deal Slingo and The Naked Gun; a TV show and a film which don’t seem to have any connection.
However, they are recognisable brands which act as a hook for players.
Since players recognize and enjoy these titles outside of the slot/Slingo context already, they’re more likely to play the games related to the titles.
You can often see the same in a wider mobile game context; shows such as Stranger Things become popular, and mobile developers latch on, producing games around the title.
It’s called brand association and it’s commonplace across the world of digital media.
Providing Optimal Player Experience
There’s an app for everything these days: from ordering food to taking driving lessons, nearly everything is possible from your mobile device.
Slot developers have kept this in mind, and most slot games are available from your mobile.
However, developers need to make sure that their games are easy to play – even with a smaller screen.
Players are more likely to keep playing their favourite games on their mobile devices if they’re easy to play – in other words if the player experience is positive.
That also applies to the UX (user experience), from arriving on the site to navigating the list of games. Developers are always looking for ways to make that interface easier.
Whilst the market for slots and iGaming looks promising for these next few years, developers still need to put effort into retaining their customers.
These are just a few of the many ways they manage to do so.
