Svetlana Kirichenko: How to promote an online casino – marketing trends and insights for 2023

I see 2023 as a breakthrough year, especially after the gambling industry saw such significant growth in 2022. On top of that, the market is expected to grow at an average annual rate of 11% until 2030. What does this mean? Rapid growth will attract more enterprises to the industry, which translates to increased competition. That means 2023 will present marketing experts with some challenges, but that’s a positive phenomenon – new challenges always give you a boost.

To promote online casinos in 2023, I recommend focusing on tried-and-true strategies, like:

• Affiliate marketing, which drives a huge volume of traffic by offering players high-quality content and directing them to partner casinos. Affiliates are able to give online casinos a good reputation.
• SEO optimization, which boosts the site's ranking in search engine results pages. SEO is also an important part of the overall marketing strategy, and a great tool for understanding the target audience.
• Social media marketing, which helps reach players in a wide range of player segments worldwide.
• Email campaigns, which maintain a relationship with site visitors and keep them informed of special offers.
• Case studies, where happy customers will leave positive reviews on player forums, which they’re likely to do if you offer them high-quality game content, fast tech support, and professional customer service.
• Generous bonus policies, which increase registrations and build player loyalty.

A variety of payment services and fast withdrawal, which is necessary in an era when players have their own preferences for payment methods.

What other approaches work for promoting online casinos?

Here are a few examples I’ve seen from Slotegrator and other iGaming companies.

• Mutually beneficial partnerships. These can be collaborations with sports, movie, and music industry stars. Partnering with the right influencer can change the public perception of your brand and increase interest in your casino. One great example is Snoop Dogg’s latest partnership with crypto casino Roobet, where the legendary rapper will act as the company’s "Chief Ganjaroo Officer." As for Slotegrator, we have an upcoming promotional campaign in conjunction with Jamie Daniel, who won our lottery at ICE London 2023 to win a free platform from us (which is already in development).
• Dazzling graphics and design. Gambling is a sensory experience, with the right sights and sounds heightening player excitement. A casino’s frontend design should make a striking first impression that encourages players to stay. Paying careful attention to graphics and animation will go a long way to catching players’ attention. Before partnering with a game provider, we carefully example the visual quality of the content they offer. As for ourselves, in May 2023 we’re planning to share a 3D video roll for our APIgrator solution.
• Unique brand identity. Your positioning and brand voice can create a unique advantage. Every aspect of your business is an opportunity to differentiate yourself from your competitors. The tone of voice in your posts and newsletters should distinguish you and reflect the values of your audience. Remember, your players are unique people with their own values, so they shouldn’t feel like they’re receiving a traditional batch-and-blast email campaign, which brings us to our next point.
• Personalization. Like all other modern industries, online casinos use AI and machine learning to analyze vast amounts of data and create personalized recommendations and offers for players. For instance, online casinos can suggest games based on a player's preferences, past behavior, and playing history. Tailored recommendations and special offers have become one of the fastest ways to players’ hearts.
• Virtual Reality (VR). Virtual reality casinos can offer an immersive gaming experience that simulates a real-world casino environment. For example, SlotsMillion, an online casino, offers a virtual reality casino that allows players to interact with each other in a virtual environment. The casino offers a range of games, including slots and table games, and players can even chat with each other while playing.
• Embrace innovation. There are plenty of futuristic innovations on everyone's lips: AI, NFT, ChatGPT, cryptocurrencies, and many others. Don't be afraid to incorporate them into games. For example, Aviatrix features a crash game where players can purchase the in-game avatar as an NFT. Many processes involved in running a casino can be automated using AI, such as registration, banking, bonuses, collecting business intelligence data, and so on. Similarly, AI is a great help in the areas of security and safer gambling. Casinos can make use of the latest technologies to ensure that they are complying with the latest regulations and to help them detect suspicious or dangerous behavior.
  
  Don't limit yourself to bitcoin in terms of payment systems – over anything that can make life easier for your players. Communication is another area where automation can boost retention. Maintaining contact with players is much easier when casinos use AI to create templates for emails, SMS messages, newsletters, and notifications using placeholders and other features of HTML editors. You can also explore how you can integrate the Metaverse. It won't be long before everyone is there, but you can give your players the opportunity to be there first. Gambling innovations are taking root very quickly, and they are like another hidden bonus that your players can get first.
• Local targeting. At first, it’s really important to identify your target market, and after that you need to dive into researching your audience’s habits, preferences, and, of course, favorite games. Every country has its own ratings and favorites. When you understand your audience, you can more clearly target your ads.

Separately, I would like to note that smartphones have become our main tool for everything. Up to 50% of enquiries from new customers, according to Slotegrator's analytics department, specifically relate to the mobile platform for online casinos. More and more, casinos need to adapt solutions to function smoothly on mobile and work with bloggers and influencers in order to attract digital natives with a mobile format. Younger players like to have everything they need on their smartphone, and they’re not about to make an exception for gambling.

Expanding interest in stream betting is also relevant. Industry experts predict that this trend has a bright future. This solution has the potential to increase players' confidence in esports in general, as well as to make the format of stream games more popular.

At Slotegrator Academy, we have a video presentation – How to launch a top online casino in 2023 – that discusses marketing.

Image credit: Casino Guru