Player Acquisition Channels Overview for Online Casino Operators

The primary objective of an iGaming business owner is to attract as many players as possible. The higher the number of online players on their platform, the better will be their business revenue.

 (photo credit: INGIMAGE)
(photo credit: INGIMAGE)
The primary objective of an iGaming business owner is to attract as many players as possible. The higher the number of online players on their platform, the better will be their business revenue.

But this is one aspect where most online casino operators feel stuck. With neck and neck competition in the online gaming industry, it has become tough to acquire new players. 

To help you out, here are five proven online player acquisition strategies that could come to your rescue.


Affiliate marketing

Affiliate marketing can provide online casino operators with a much-needed boost. It is an effective way to promote your gambling platform by encouraging third-party marketers to market your business: 

  • you provide your affiliate with graphics and analytics to track results
  • an affiliate promote your business via available ad channels

Your affiliates work like your own marketing team, and all you need to do is provide them with performance-based compensation. 

For starters, once affiliates join your affiliate marketing program, they start directing traffic to your website by placing your ad banners and links on their websites. 

In turn, all you need to do is compensate them appropriately following a cost-per-action approach.   


Paid search marketing

Perhaps one of the best ways to reach target players is by investing in paid search marketing. Pay per click is one effective method through which igaming operators can direct players to their casino websites and sportsbooks. 

Running paid online advertising campaigns is simple. You can hire a PPC expert, or create your own Google PPC campaign with the help of some clicks. What’s more, these campaigns empower you with crucial data and analytics that can be integrated with your future strategies. 

However, to be able to advertise your online gambling website, operators must be Google-certified. Additionally, they are also required to meet country-specific requirements. 


Social networks

Social networks have emerged to become a reliable platform for acquiring new users, customers, and online players. Although direct advertisement of gambling content is prohibited on most social networks, you can still use them to communicate with potential players. 

As far as Facebook is concerned, online gaming operators can promote real-money gambling with prior written permission. 

Add to this, connecting to the target market on question-and-answer networks like Quora could also help you in creating a buzz around your product and help you in attracting players. 

The more popular question and answer platforms that you would like to explore include Reddit, NeoGAF, AskGamblers, and Gamefaqs.


SEO

Although running paid advertising campaigns provide quick and effective results, they do not last long, and only continue as long as the campaign is live. 

To be able to attract online casino players, the best approach would be to invest in SEO (search engine optimization) campaigns and drive organic traffic. 

Optimizing your online casino portal in accordance with the best search engine practices will help you acquire top ranks on the search engine result pages.


Digital advertising network

This is a new approach that is getting fairly popular. To begin with, digital advertising networks connect online gaming operators to the publishers on which gambling ads are published. 

This way, gambling business owners can get their advertising campaigns triggered a range of similar websites with the help of a publisher’s ad server. In turn, publishers earn ad revenues.  

There are a lot of advertising networks in the igaming industry. Some of these include Venatus, AdBoosters, Bidvertiser, and Taboola. You can work with these networks on a model that fits you the best – cost per mile, cost per acquisition, cost per view of video or cost per click.


The Wrap Up

Although the gambling industry is growing at a rapid rate, acquiring new players still seems to be a matter of concern. However, gambling operators can adopt the methods mentioned above to boost their revenue.