What is Gamification?
What is Gamification in Online casinos and what benefits does it bring to Whitelabel Operators?
With a sea of online casino providers and evermore seemingly joining in by the day, standing out from the crowd and keeping hold of customers is becoming an even harder task than ever before. However, there is one aspect, that as of yet, many white labels are still not using (we have no idea why but better for us) which would not only boost engagement substantially but also increase brand loyalty – and this incredible phenomenon is: Gamification.
A quick definition
Put simply, gamification is the use of rewards to encourage customers to play more. Examples of gamification include a loyalty program, VIP programs and cashback rewards. However, they can also take the form of leaderboards, races and other competitions that can be used as a marketing strategy to encourage more players to visit a specific casino or to play certain games.
As for the benefits, gamification helps a brand to stand out from the crowd amidst a sea of competitors, to reduce churn, to increase engagement and to improve the overall player experience. Thus helping a company to meet and exceed business goals.
What does ‘Gamification’ really mean in online casinos?
The goal is to strengthen the brand identity and boost interest, to make customers loyal and happy, bring players back to the site more, and extend the player life experience as much as possible. Nowadays, gamification techniques are probably the most powerful tool that an online casino can use to boost engagement and keep players coming back, also known as customer retention.
Online casinos usually start by offering new customers an attractive welcome bonus, reload bonus, free bets and/or free spins. The concept is to create user engagement and get a customer to start and continue playing at the same online casino, but most of the time these bonuses and promotions are not enough, and customers jump to another online casino once the welcome bonuses and promotions have ended.
The Gamification strategy
Therefore, the most efficient strategy for an online casino to be different from its competitors is to introduce a gamification model into the player’s life, essentially in the form of a VIP reward system, loyalty scheme and programs, or Cashback activity – all of which boost brand loyalty for casino businesses.
All of these examples of gamification give players points every time they play a game, points that become real and tangible rewards that encourage customers to play certain slots, table games or other casino games more. These points enable customers to climb the leaderboard and win physical or cash prizes, more free spins or free bets, or get better services (for example, a personal account manager available 24/7 for VIP players). Increasing user engagement and boosting the user experience in the process.
Does iGaming Group provide Gamification Systems to its’ White label Partners?
Given what we mentioned above, it is strange that most online casinos still don’t offer any form of gamification to their customers. It is readily available information that having a gamification strategy and system on your site will differentiate you from other online casinos, boost your revenue and help you to reach your business objectives.
iGaming Group have developed a powerful Gamification tool, which white label partners can use in their marketing campaigns. We offer gamification features on all of our verticals, with an easy to use of back-office for the operator, showing all the necessary information and possibility to set up and customise the gamification system, with their own leaderboards, race competitions, points systems, and the possibility for customers to create their own unique avatar, decide on a fun name, and dress and accessorise them as they wish. Our gamification system allows white label partners to use avatar character within games to gain specific tasks or missions, providing customers with an immersive gaming experience.
Why do white labels need a gaming software gamification system?
Nowadays, online casinos definitely need something to stand out from the crowd of hundreds of similar casino sites. But the question is, what products, bonuses, tools or features make an online casino unique?
In terms of products, the majority of online casinos offer the same games from the same providers, with the same mechanics, payouts, and odds. And, because all the games are from third parties there is zero possibility for a casino operator to be different.
If we talk about bonuses and promotions, of course, it is a good tool to acquire new customers, but most of the time the user engagement is really short, with a high churn rate, which means that new players take their bonus and once they have used it they jump straight to another online casino platform looking for another bonus. As you can understand, in the medium to long term this approach is financially unsustainable for the casino operators business, and it becomes a war among poorer casino operators offering higher and higher bonuses.
IGaming Group (IGG) have invested a lot into the development of the gamification unique tool, which allows white label operators to increase the life value of their players, merging entertainment and revenues seamlessly.
IGaming Group’s (IGG) gamification system is the most powerful tool available to help online casino businesses to be unique, providing more reasons for your customers come back to your site to play their favourite games.
Players love to create their own avatar, complete set tasks to get points, to climb the rankings or boost their level, and to receive rewards along the way for doing this.
This is an incredible boost to the user experience for any player. And, from the point of view of a white label, this means a clear advantage on their rivals, a big increase in revenues, a longer player life value, and a meeting or exceeding of company goals.
It is quite clear how big the difference between an IGG white label casino with a gamification system in place, and a simple white label with no gamification are.
Slot Gamification Tournaments
One of the most powerful gamification strategies for white label casinos are Slot Tournaments. In these tournaments, users compete against one another to reach the top of the leaderboard. As well as cash prizes users are often given other rewards such as free spins. This is an innovative way to engage slot lovers, and it is not very common among online casino operators, so it is a real big plus for a white label to use it!
IGaming Group (IGG) provide slot tournaments on any device, and allow a company to offer different features on their casino site, such as:
Tournaments— IGaming Group (IGG) offer a slot tournaments solution, where players have a limited amount of money, time or spins and compete with each other for a predefined prize. Tournaments can be combined with free spins, white label operators choose to offer free spins or a cash prize pool. With correct promotion in place, slot tournaments have proven to increase user engagement significantly.
Turnover Leaderboards—Players score points based on their game activity, for example, 1 point for each 1 Euro of cash played or for each spin.
Leaderboards are a natural match for online casinos. IGG leaderboards are extremely simple in structure and offer different levels for players. The better a player does, the more points he/she gets, the faster they climb the leaderboard and the more likely they are to get bigger cash or physical prizes, or better services.
Races—The aim is to score as many points as possible within a set number of spins, with only one attempt allowed within a defined time (from a few minutes to a week or even more).
Players usually (but not always) play with their own money (using a bonus may or may not be allowed) and keep any winnings. Points are typically scored for big wins, collecting wilds, consecutive wins or even consecutive losses, and win size as a stake multiple may or may not be included. The top point scorers at the end of the tournament win the prizes – usually free spins and occasionally cash. To run this type of tournament, white label operators need to have a deal with a slot provider to run the scoring in the back office.
Final thoughts for a White Label
New casino players are looking for something innovative and different in an ocean of similar online casino sites. And, for that reason, building long term customer engagement is not easy, but as we’ve seen, with bonuses and promotions and a Gamification strategy in place, your brand will stand our from the crowd.
IGaming Group’s (IGG) platform enables white labels to easily create a customised gamification strategy and experience, to transform the customer journey from onboarding to a loyal customer. In the process, improving the user experience, boosting user engagement, and helping you to reach your business goals.
