How to Effectively Target iGamers in 2024

Posted by Harry Kane on Saturday, April 11, 2020

Advertising is a fluid art, and one that constantly shifts and updates according to a number of different factors.

These include everything from the market in which you operate to the regulatory framework that governs it, and each of these factors must be given careful consideration if you’re to create effective and holistic campaigns.

Still, not all of these factors have been created equal, and arguably the single most important consideration is the behaviour of your target market. Make no mistake; unless you can meet the real-time needs and expectations of your customers, even the best-laid marketing plans can fail to deliver.

In this post, we’ll look at how iGaming brands can effectively target players in the current UK market, particularly in terms of understanding what customers expect from operators.

1. Prioritising Wellbeing Over Profit is a Clear Differentiator – For Now

Ultimately, the iGaming market in the UK is a competitive space, and one that’s home to a growing number of similar and like-minded operators.

Make no mistake; these firms are competing for an ever-dwindling market share, and in this respect creating a unique selling point or key differentiator is increasingly important for operators.

Fortunately, the current regulatory and legislative climate in the UK is presenting a golden opportunity for operators, as while it may currently be impacting turnover and squeezing profit margins, it’s also creating a gap in the market for responsible gambling ambassadors with a clear focus on their customer’s wellbeing.

Operators such as Mr. Green and GVC (the parent company for Ladbrokes) have already blazed a trail in this respect, which is arguably why the latter has survived the worst of the fallout following the recent 6% RGD hike and the controversial FOBT cap (which is thought to have slashed operator revenues by around 56% overall).

Ultimately, it’s clear that operators who are willing to prioritise customer wellbeing and the principles of responsible gambling over bottom-line profit will ultimately claim a larger market share as the iGaming landscape continues to shift.

Interestingly, more than 75% of players supported the ban to one degree or another, with 56% strongly agreeing with this course of action despite any inconvenience that it may cause to them.

This suggests that the vast majority of customers are fully supportive of measures aimed at regulating the market more stringently and adequately safeguarding underage or vulnerable players, with brands that embody such values likely to grow sustainably in the future.

However, this is likely to become the norm in the industry over the coming decade, so brands must act now if they’re to establish themselves as trail-blazing ambassadors within the space.

2. Think Long and Hard About Your Bonus Offerings

Adopting a responsible gambling outlook should be all-consuming and impact on every area of your operation, otherwise there’s an argument that you’re not doing it correctly!

This also applies to the structure of your welcome bonus and recurring promotions, which have remained a source of controversy during the last few years.

A collaborative report produced by the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) and the CMA explored this further in 2018, revealing significant issues with the transparency of welcome bonuses and the withdrawals process as a whole.

One of the key findings was that operators were imposing unclear and unfair wagering requirements on their customers, by forcing them to play through large amounts of cash in order to withdraw bonus winnings (including their initial deposit amount).

While rules have since been imposed to create far greater transparency, the bonus landscape remains largely unchanged, and there’s undoubtedly an opportunity for operators to steal a march on their rivals and by creating innovative offers that contribute to a fairer online experience.

Rather than offering high-free value free bets or deposit matches which come with prohibitive wagering requirements that enable you to make back your money back in a short space of time, for example, you may want to consider creating a smaller bonus that’s completely free of wagering requirements.

This provides a simple and transparent promotion that makes it easy for players to calculate their risk and potential reward in real-time, enabling them to gamble far more responsibly in the process.

This type of measured bonus is becoming increasingly appealing as the market continues to evolve, with a growing number of brands minimising their wagering requirements or choosing to do away with them entirely.

3. Invest in the Safeguarding of Players

We referenced GVC earlier in the piece, with this firm having taken huge strides to live and breathe the concept of responsible gambling in recent times.

One of the key measures taken by the brand has seen them invest in a multi-million pound research project with Harvard University, aimed at exploring problem gambling behaviour and identifying potential safeguarding solutions going forward.

Make no mistake; the UKGC has struggled to source in-depth data sets since announcing its core strategic objectives through 2021, thanks largely to its relative lack of budget and the size of the market.

By using its own resources to collate key player data and identify impactful resolutions to problem behaviour going forward, however, GVC is simultaneously carving a unique position in the market while also creating a responsible gambling approach that can sustain other brands and the industry as a whole going forward.

Ultimately, investing in actionable responsible gambling measures that actively contribute to a safer online experience for players changes the perception of iGaming operators for the better, while creating a unique and positive marketing hook that captures the imagination of customers nationwide.

Even on a fundamental level, customers are more thoughtful and discerning than ever before, while their exposure to industry related news continues to grow with every passing year.

As a result of this, iGaming operators must rethink their marketing approach drastically in 2020, specifically by looking to promote their brand on the back of values and identity rather than its core verticals and bonus offers.

This will appeal directly to the rising number of knowledgeable and thoughtful customers who prioritise their experience over monetary considerations, while potentially helping you to target new players and a larger market share in the process.