Competitive solutions for attracting players and retaining their interest have gone toward the gamification route. Why? Because it presents the most potential, and now, more than ever, it has become technologically feasible across all operator levels.
Gamified methods of stimulating player engagement and, by default, spending include dynamism. You motivate them to do something that has quite a lot of value for them in the long run, making it fun without encouraging problematic costs.
Adding personalized structures for their entertainment is just as helpful. Rather than unifying the solutions, which has been the primary way of implementation, creating either a loop or a journey for each individual user is a clear evolution of this model.
In this article, we will tackle this reality in various ways. We’ll discuss the value of this strategy, its methods, and how it ties in with the incentivization styles that have been the norm so far.
Explaining the appeal of gamification in online gambling
Online gambling, especially in its casino gaming side, can become boring because of the repetition. Yes, the dopamine rush that you feel is constantly making you feel like there’s something waiting for the next round you play, but the mechanism of these games does not invite too much variation.
Given the fact that casinos profit the more users gamble, stimulating activity is essential. Moreover, it also needs to be in a fine balance that does not lead to audiences developing addictions. A more evenly distributed gameplay loop from a large player base is the best-case scenario.
So, with a gamified and personalized system, leverage increases because of the uniqueness of the experience that any user can have. Moreover, adding a sense of purpose incentivizes the idea of returning to play, hence the upside.
With gamification, the product that is a casino gaming platform can mitigate tedium, which is one of its biggest weaknesses. This is the baseline that has made it both interesting and desirable for the operators who own and administrate these casino platforms.
AI has opened the door for more efficient segmentation
The practice is simple in theory, even if it’s hard to do in execution. Moreover, it can be quite expensive for any operation that does not afford such overhead costs.
What AI has allowed casinos to do is to gather, organize, and filter immense sets of data. Every player is an entry that entails demographical information, playing, and spending logs. They may play slots 84% of their time, and spending 90% of their cash on them. However, when compared to other users, they are in the bottom 30% in terms of expenditures.
Based on these details, an AI model that harnesses these data points can understand numerous typologies of players and, based on pre-established formulas of incentivezation, they can generate rewards or missions that fit the preferences of said user.
With better development and training, AI can set up more and more granular solutions for more detailed player categories, eventually generating some for individual cases. As such, all of what we’re going to showcase stems from this reality.
Missions and challenges provide a sense of purpose that brings rewards
We can say that both missions and challenges operate in the same way. They are objectives that a user can get either as a personal one or as a community-wide endeavor that they can contribute to, or that apply to the entire user base.
The room for customization is immense. It can be something like spending $50 on slots in a day, completing 100 spins on a certain slot, or making 10 wagers on football at odds greater than 2.00.
As for the rewards they entail, they can include casino bonuses, such as gameplay credits, spins, or cashback. The possibilities, either tailored to player preferences or general, are almost endless, hence the upside of this gamified practice.
When a user has a clear reason to engage in a type of gaming that may fit their patterns, doing so is a motivational factor.
There’s also the idea of placing streaks as core mechanisms. Completing a mission or challenge that requires clearing a threshold for 3 consecutive days brings the player back because they have an established reason to do so.
Wheels and crabs provide easy value for both player and operator
The Wheel of Fortune or Lucky Crab elements are two of the most popular and, by this point, veteran methods of gamification across online casinos. SlotsCalendar’s bonus code database has even shown that certain promotional packages, such as welcome offers, include them within their deals.
Their upside is similar to the streaks that we discussed before. Spinning the wheel or using the crab daily provides the possibility to win something, usually yet another incentive, or just a re-try of that gamified mechanism.
Simplicity helps their case. They’re RNG-based features that, due to design choices, leave the player feeling that winning something was closer than it actually was due to the near-miss psychological effect.
It creates yet another purpose of playing at that casino daily, if only to take their chance. When also mixing mission/challenge rewards with the opportunity to spin the wheel or use the crab right away, it creates a double-whammy that helps this engagement strategy.
Omnichannel integration provides a unified front
Adding gamified methodologies is clearly fitting with online fronts, given that spending and preference data via digital activity is much easier.
However, the rise of omnichannel strategies can help with a more complex mix-up. The practice refers to creating a unified experience in which account details, privileges, and payment structures converge into one single front, regardless of whether it’s a physical or online experience.
Naturally, this is feasible only for the operators that have a presence in both arms of the industry. It’s not that hard to fathom for them. In the context of gamified approaches, it would mean creating rewards that you can apply to one by playing in another.
If you complete a challenge while playing online, you may receive a coupon that you can use for drinks in a physical establishment. If you spent a certain amount playing slots in an actual casino after buying chips with a registered card, you may get an exclusive bonus to use while accessing the online platform.
Given that the entire database of activity, together with the loyalty factor, would track your contributions regardless of channel, it can work as a way of barrier-breaking gamification.
Tiers, levels, and assigned benefits
Creating a sense of progression helps with the idea of continuity. When also adding upside in the rewards that it brings, this system becomes one of the most engaging. This is exactly why it’s the oldest of them, even if it didn’t really stagnate.
The evolution of loyalty programs in the online gambling world tracks back to the VIP invitation style. Then, the idea of turning VIP status into a mountaintop that one can climb turned the process into one with clear steps. That’s how loyalty systems entered the scene.
Each new level would bring something new. Some begin by providing casino incentives with incremental value, and then add privileges like priority withdrawal request reviewing, different payout limits, and access to higher stakes while playing.
The more granular these levels are, the more gamified they feel. They also bring a level of familiarity from the RPG video game style, stimulating interest through the power of social recognition.
As for how one would progress, it’s simple: playing. The more you spend and, usually, earn points via these costs, the higher your level, and you gain access to a new tier. If a mission also gives you a doubled point contribution when doing so, such a boost merges two motivations.
Dynamic customization based on player contribution
The last entry that we have is one that, again, hinges on AI’s ability to recognize and adapt its calculations based on real-time entries.
Some of the privileges that you would be getting may be based on contributions that you make during a set and quite short amount of time. Weekly, or daily, let’s say. Based on how much you played and spent to do so during that period, the value of a received incentive would vary dynamically.
It would mean that your tier qualification would not be in a linear, upward progression, but in a fluid one that adapts to your effort in that given period. You get something that fits your gameplay arc.
Conclusion
These are all the entries that we had for this article. The core idea is that AI has allowed the provision of solutions that work fast and operate based on details with real applicability. When they allow the system to personalize its solutions for you, it’s even better.
As such, you can see an increasing number of casino platforms that use missions, challenges, minigames, and loyalty programs that generate incentives that you may have a real and applied interest in.
Regardless of how much engagement they provide, there’s also the specter of overplay and overspending. Responsible gambling remains the only relevant linchpin that could keep these strategies legal!
