This is a question that all casinos are asking themselves and a very important one indeed. Like in most industries, there are managers that are convinced they know exactly what players/clients are looking for while others think it’s enough to guess. However, the ones who are most successful are the ones that make sure they stay on top of it and ask the players themselves.
Considering the fierce competition, casinos can’t afford to miss and believe it or not, the requirements to keep players happy do fluctuate over time.
Optimove Quality Research
A company that specializes in finding out what people want is Optimove. Working with some of the biggest brands in the world, Optimove does quality research, helping their clients gain a deep understanding of the customer’s behavior.
Just recently, Optimove presented a brand new study on Online Gambling and a report on Player’s preferences in iGaming Marketing, which is an interesting read. The intent behind it was to provide “Insights that increase iGaming operators’ odds for player loyalty.”
The study was based on queries from 396 US citizens, who played online during September/October 2023. All of the respondents were at least 21 years old and from households with a minimum annual income of $75,000.
Before I dive into it, a big chunk of the report covers Sports Betting and in order not to present it all at once and confuse you, I thought I will cover that part in a separate article on another day.
How Frequently Do You Visit Your Casino?
All players have their own pattern and preference when it comes to how often and what they play. There are some that have it as a daily routine while others see it as weekend entertainment only.
According to the study, the frequency of the participating players is high. In fact, as many as 85% of the online players will play weekly, while 56% will play on a daily basis. Even though a large percentage (76%) prefer sports betting, 70% enjoy casino games.
This is one of the advantages for casinos who offer both sports betting as well as casino. Some examples of this are: Vave, Cloudbet, JustBit and Stake.
The image above shows what attracts players the most. Split into 3 different categories, Sports (76%), Casino (70%) and Esports (54%).
Players Stay Loyal to Casinos Because of This One Reason
There are a lot of factors that play a part in why we like certain casinos over others. Optimove asked the respondents about the single most important feature of an iGaming operator to stay loyal? The number one answer was actually ‘Competitive Odds’ (40%), which of course is due to the strong interest in sports betting.
Other important feature worthy of mentioning are: UserFriendly Interface (23%), and Generous Bonuses and Promotions (23%).
Here Are the Top 3 Factors for Loyal Players
Ok, so if Competitive Odds is the biggest reason for players coming back, how about the top 3? Well, as you can see in the graph above, there are other important factors that also contribute to our decisions.
The responders were asked about their Top 3 reasons and considering the graph only shows 2 of them, I assume they are meant in combination with the previous question.
- Fast and Reliable Payment Methods (58%)
- Attractive Bonuses and Promotions (53%)
- Wide Variety of Games and Options (50%)
- User-Friendly Website and App (43%)
- Excellent Customer Support (40%)
Benefiting Players
Considering there are a lot of different reasons, it is all positive for players. Why? Because that means that casinos are forced to pay attention to all areas or players will move on to one of the many competitors.
Most Attractive Aspect of a Casino Site
While using a casino site, what aspects do you enjoy the most? I find that being a tricky question to answer but perhaps that’s just me. For the people who did answer, the most popular answers were:
- Promotional Offers and Bonuses (54%)
- Convenience of Online Betting (51%)
- Variety of Betting Options (47%)
- Access to Live Betting (47%)
- Social Interaction with Other Bettors (41%)
What Infuriates Players the Most?
Oh, the pet peeves of online casinos, am I right? Personally I have a lot of pet peeves and things that annoy me about gambling. On the other hand, it also varies from day to day as well as what kind of mood I’m in at the moment. How about you?
When the responders had the chance to share their most frustrating or disliked factors, the results are not very surprising:
- Slow Payout Process (58%)
- Confusing User Interface (58%)
- Limited Customer Support (52%)
Recommendations for Casinos on How to Offer Players an Even Better Product
There is clearly a lot of valuable information you can take from these answers and it definitely gives you an insight in what you can do to keep players ticking and coming back.
I will end by sharing some recommendations that should help casinos create better relationships with players. Don’t worry, I’ll keep things short and sweet.
- Easy to Navigate Websites – Having a nice, clean looking site that is easy to navigate is more effective than you might think. I really don’t like clutter and overly complicated sites as they waste your time, when all you want to do is play your games. After all, it’s about increasing the player experience.
- Promotions and Bonuses – Make visiting your site exciting by having attractive promos and bonuses. Be creative and most of all, keep coming up with new ones because it’s very insulting as a player to see there’s no efforts made in the promo and bonus department.
- Variety of Games – This is the least you can expect, right? Not everyone enjoys the same type of games so please make sure there is something there for everyone. It’s not all about quantity either as quality games go a long way. Players like options!
- Fast and Safe Payouts – BitStarz and other casinos that are known for their speed have a clear advantage. Time is money and players have better things to do than to sit and wait for a payout to go through. Players appreciate when you don’t waste their time and being able to give them their winnings faster than other casinos will definitely attract more of them.
More to Come
Besides the sports betting aspect of the report, there is also a part that covers how players look at iGaming Marketing. I will make sure to cover this in a separate article next week.
Until next time – Good luck!
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