Some call it “responsible real-money gaming.” Some “socially responsible gambling”. Or any combinations of these. Whichever wording you choose, one thing is clear: all gaming operators know that it is an issue that’s not going anywhere, anytime soon. And the quicker they embrace it, the better.
Responsible gaming should be top of mind for every wise operator who wants to create a safe user experience that protects players from developing unhealthy behaviors. And gain the players’ trust.
In the long run, following responsible gaming marketing practices will allow you to create long-lasting and healthy customer relationships that will allow you to retain every player and make them feel like a winner.
But how do gaming operators stay on top of today’s ever-changing marketing practices?
To help your brand play wisely, take a look at the six methods below:
1. Generate a Safe Gaming Email Cycle
Create an email cycle where you send out, for example, a monthly generic service email to all players that lists all of the tools that are currently available to them. For example, send out an educational email on the features your brand offers that contribute to a safe gaming environment:
· Deposit/loss/time/wagering limit
· Player history transactions
· Time alert/curfews
· Self-exclusion/ Self-assessment
· And more.
In terms of segmenting this campaign, you can start by simply sending it out to all active players on a monthly basis. This will help reduce at-risk player levels and those with potential – and allow both segments to adopt healthy gaming habits.
2. Set Deposit Limit Interventions
Players who haven’t set a deposit limit on their account may be at higher risk than those who have. Therefore, looking at deposit thresholds (or triggers) will help your brand ensure that when a player continues to deposit without any limit, you’ll get notified with the appropriate information and be able to intervene with the right message.
A gaming operator at Optimove who set this journey up several months ago has seen 36% of their active customer base set a deposit limit.
Furthermore, you can create a customer journey where each time a player hits a certain threshold, a new communication with the appropriate information/warning will be triggered.
3. Alter Campaigns According to Risk Levels
Due to the gaming industry’s competitiveness, leading brands strongly rely on bonuses and promotions to engage and retain players. But it is essential to use this promotional tactic wisely to maintain a high level of social responsibility.
One way of accomplishing this is by creating different player interactions based on each player’s risk level. Furthermore, gaming operators can use global risk score attributes to segment high, medium, and low-risk players. High and medium risk players should be excluded from promotional marketing campaigns that include bonuses.
4. Create Player Protection Teams
With the right resources and team of player protection experts, you should be able to identify customers who are potentially at risk easily. For instance, this will allow you to contact a player when a deposit limit may have been applied.
In this scenario, a follow-up journey/email cycle should be created and implemented to ensure that you continue to interact with the player on a personal level, according to their specific needs. Such players should also be targeted via a softer CRM marketing approach.
5. Manage Offers According to Different Attributes
Using deposit limit attributes, you can systematically and smartly manage offers – allowing you to exclude customers who already have or are about to reach their deposit limit.
For example, players who have recently experienced several losses in a row and make a deposit may be trying to win back their losses. This is often an indication of a player who might be developing unhealthy behaviors.
Another example is when a customer hits one of the predetermined limits they set up – the right thing to do is send out a safe gaming message as opposed to more offers that a) could intrigue them to play more or b) will frustrate them as they are unable to participate in the promotion.
6. Practice Safe Gaming Journeys
A good insight into potential risk triggers involves analyzing the attributes players have already set up in the system. In the future, you must use these attributes to create a safe gaming journey for players who have set any limit mentioned above to their gaming account.
This could be as simple as having certain intervention thresholds regarding the number of times a customer is hitting a limit and then intervening with information about other potential limit types.
To learn more about how to use Optimove to optimize socially responsible gaming marketing strategies, contact us.
Dafna is a creative marketing content writer and editor who produces strategic content for various online industries. With over ten years of professional writing experience, she helps brands grow and increase profitability, efficiency, and online presence. Dafna holds a B.A. in Persuasive Communications from Reichman University (IDC Herzliya).
