Written by :
Published on :
The online casino market is an incredibly busy and noisy place with hundreds of platforms, apps, games and formats competing for players' attention. While advertising and sponsorship build brand recognition and market positioning, when push comes to shove, it is promotion that gets people through the door. Whether that door is virtual or physical, promotion is key to any successful marketing strategy and is one of the core Ps in the marketing mix. The other Ps are Price, Place and Product if you are interested.
We are so used to seeing online promotions and inducements to try a service or product that we might miss out on a fantastic experience just because it hasn't promoted itself to get our attention. Online casinos are no different. When online reviewers rate and compare different platforms, one of the areas they consider is the bonuses and offers available to players.
We wondered whether there was anything new or innovative, or whether online casinos were just churning out more of the same. We sat down with expert reviewer Roy Brindley from Online-Casinos.com to get an overview of the best bonuses and thoughts on where they are going.
Welcome to Gambling911, Roy. Before we go into detail on how online casino bonuses are evolving, could you tell us a bit more about the platform you work for and what your role is?
Sure. I am Roy Brindley, and I work for the independent review platform Online-Casinos.com. We provide expert information and recommendations for players worldwide and offer detailed casino reviews for 44 countries. The site is an international project, and we have team members with expertise in the gambling industry and in regional markets. We do not adopt a 'one size fits all' approach, and our content is tailored to each market. After all, someone playing in Canada does not want to know about UK casinos (unless they are planning a visit, of course).
I am one of the authors on the site and come from the viewpoint of a professional gambler and commentator. I’ve been described as a ‘math head’ as I love using figures and stats to beat the bookies at their own game. Number crunching is in my blood, and I can spot a bogus bonus a mile off (but more of that later).
So, is it possible to innovate in the world of bonuses and promotions, or are the sites just churning out the same mechanics with different headline offers?
To be honest, I think it is a mixture and very dependent on the market in question. In the markets that have recently become legal, everything is new and exciting for players, so there is less need for anything more complicated than great welcome bonuses and simple promotions to try and ensure loyalty.
However, in more mature markets like the UK, players feel they have seen it all before, so having something innovative can be the difference between attracting customers and losing them. Many players have found their favourite site and need something extra special to persuade them to try another. Players in mature markets are also sceptical about massive headline offers, knowing that, when they drill down into the wagering requirements, the offer might not be so attractive after all.
Is that something that you advise players on?
Absolutely! Bonuses can be so confusing – some of them really do act like the 'big I am', but when we test them and put them through their paces, they turn out not to be so hot. Online casino bonuses are easy to find, but not all are worth claiming. Two headline offers can seem identical, but if they have different conditions, they are not actually alike at all. They can have all kinds of limitations, from how quickly you need to redeem them to which payment methods can be used and which games they apply to.
Wagering requirements can fool people, too. In the UK, there is now a 10x cap on bonus wagering, but no wagering v 10x can still make a huge difference to how much a player needs to stake before being able to withdraw their winnings.
Interesting that bonuses have to be tailored to different markets. Many people might not be aware of that! So, what are operators doing to make their bonus offers different from the competition?
What we are seeing is evolution rather than revolution.
With so much competition, we are noticing that UK sites are now offering no- or low-wagering bonuses. UK sites, in particular, routinely offer no-wagering free spins with cash payouts.
Generous no-deposit bonuses. We used to say that no-deposit bonuses were like hens' teeth (impossible to find). That is not the case anymore. It is not just that there are more of them; they are also much more generous, and Paddy Power and Betfair both offer 50+ no-deposit spins.
Are there any new mechanics rather than just tweaks and changes?
An interesting trend is hybrid bonuses that span multiple game types. Platforms are trying to get players to broaden their horizons and try different verticals. We have found cross-play incentives, such as poker credits that unlock spins, to increase cross-platform engagement.
One of the changes we, along with many players, have been noticing is the increase in personalised bonuses and offers. While welcome bonuses tend to be pretty standard, once you are registered, AI gets to work, and tailors bonuses to players' preferred game type, risk profile, the time of day they play and how frequently they deposit. This is possible due to CRM automation and algorithms interrogating the data.
Mission prize tournaments are also innovative – the iGaming experience itself is being gamified. Operators are offering multi-game tournaments with prize pools of up to £5,000 ($6,700) if a player plays '3 different slots in one day', for example.
Why are these changes happening?
It mostly comes down to market saturation and regulatory pressure – certainly in the UK. However, it is also about opportunity – the technology is making what was once impossible a reality. Personalisation, in particular, is a great way to change behaviour. Just addressing them personally isn't enough; offers tailored to personal choice are hard to resist for most players.
Loyalty is becoming an increasingly important driver of the overall market. Sites are looking to decrease churn and delight their regular customers.
- B.E. Delmer, Gambling911.com
