Players’ desires and behavioral changes will soon become full-fledged trends, influencing the industry market and determining its growth for years to come. The most successful teams and specialists will be those who can quickly identify new growth opportunities, analyze and test new hypotheses, and incorporate the most effective strategies into their work. You will find an overview of the key trends in the online entertainment industry, based on partner data, expert opinions, open-source information, and industry data.
Last Year’s Gambling Market
In the past year, the growth rate of the gambling market averaged 10%, in particular:
- 8.23% for Europe;
- 11.39% for Asia and the Pacific;
- 12.65% for Africa.
The market’s overall turnover was roughly $80 billion, and over the following ten years, it is expected to rise to $145 billion. A live casino, sports betting, lotteries, poker, and bingo were the top industries.
Trend 1: Prefabricated Solutions
When entering the gambling industry, many arbitrageurs use off-the-shelf software products, relying on the software vendor’s experience and working on a service model in which the vendor provides a ready-made interface for all necessary operations and industry knowledge.
Trend 2: Increase in Advertising Spending
This year, the costs of attracting new clients will nearly triple. This is due to the decreasing effectiveness of traditional banner advertising as website visitors and search engines become more discriminating. Thus, advertising should be more qualitative and native.
Trend 3: The Rising Role of Personalities
People are more likely to trust those they watch on their devices, computers, and smartphones. Bloggers, athletes, and celebrities become “brand guides” and reliable sources of traffic because people regard their idols as experts. Attracting famous personalities will be one of the most effective marketing tools for bringing a quality “warm” audience to the gambling project.
Trend 4: Rising Cost of Attraction
While the industry has grown significantly in the past as a result of the massive interest in online entertainment caused by the pandemic, online casinos will have to compete fiercely in the future for players who may switch operators due to new promotions. Operators can avoid such situations by emphasizing retention, running “long” promotions, and creating conditions in which a player “flows” from one promotion to another. Long-term achievement systems are also beneficial.
Trend 5: From Deposit to Engagement
While in the past, a casino’s primary goal was to persuade a player to make their first deposit, the most successful companies will be those that can provide a high level of player engagement. In terms of KPIs, the defining metric will be a visitor’s lifetime value and lifespan on a specific platform. The expansion of the company’s game portfolio, which includes free-to-play games, will help to accelerate this lifecycle.
Trend 6: Analyzing Player Behavior
In essence, gambling is similar to any other business. It is distinguished by varying approaches in proportion to its development and “maturation”. For a long time, gambling was based on the thesis: “The player wants a cool product, so we must improve our product (service).” However, in the future, the focus will shift away from product quality and toward user experience. After all, the visitor, regardless of the product, is looking for a pleasant interaction experience.
Trend 7: The Path To Mobility
IoT device-centric banners and creatives will be the new trend this year and in the near future. First and foremost, these are the small screens of smartwatches. The second feature is the large screen of Smart TVs. In the long run, it is possible to anticipate the emergence of creatives for any screen, whether it is a refrigerator or a coffee maker. The most important thing is to have a display and an Internet connection.
Trend 8: AI Will Be Unable to Replace Humans
People continue to doubt AI and algorithms because they are unable to analyze their actions. The neural network is not transparent to the player and automatically generates questions. As a result, in the current year, live games with live dealers will be particularly important. At the same time, based on last year’s experience, it is clear that cryptocurrency industry representatives are most interested in live casinos.
Conclusion
The gambling industry may alter the trajectory of development. There is a growing demand for instant games, security, and cryptocurrency payments. It is important to remember that, as players’ preferences change, so does the approach to promotion.
