In his opinion, implementing sports products not only doesn’t cannibalise existing revenue streams, but in fact helps protect them.

And while introducing a whole new segment sounds like a lot of work, Delasport’s Sportsbook iFrame solution makes it as easy as integrating a video slots provider.

“Plug & Play” solution

‘Most casino operators understand the need to add a sports product. Yet, there is a misconception that implementing and operating a Sportsbook product is extremely complicated’, our CEO points out. According to him, this is far from the truth. One of the key benefits of Delasport’s Sportsbook iFrame is that it is straightforward and quick to embed. For this exact reason, the team named it Plug & Play. Oren compares it to simply adding a new slots provider.

‘Another concern casino operators have is about lacking knowledge of sports, but this isn’t a fundamental requirement. Our partners gain access to a team of professional trading and risk managers who oversee the whole operation’, he shares.

Furthermore, the Plug & Play Sportsbook iFrame solution provides the perfect opportunity to cross-sell casino products to sports bettors, with cost per acquisition much lower for sports players than it is for casino bettors.

Making the Right Choice

Choosing a sportsbook iFrame solution provider should be based on several key considerations. The first ones on the list are product and coverage.

According to Oren Cohen Shwartz, an excellent sportsbook is covering all required features on the operator’s markets – from sports disciplines, betting options, mobile UX, cash-out, scalability, different odds format, multiple currencies, a variety of languages, etc.

In the case of our solution, there are over 100,000 pre-match and 70,000 live events across 125 different types of sports.  Another significant benefit is the fact the markets range from classic football and cricket to esports, virtual sports, and live tournaments.

*If you consider adding a new revenue stream to your casino operation, read more about the Top reasons to choose Sportsbook iFrame!

Another important aspect is to look for a modern sportsbook. One that utilizes the newest technologies to allow operators to differentiate themselves in their markets, with a set of unique player engagement tools. Features like tournaments, missions, levels etc. increase player satisfaction and improve lifetime value. It is crucial for operators to focus on player satisfaction as it greatly influences customer retention.

Risk Management

Another thing to consider when choosing a solution provider is the experience, particularly in terms of risk management. This can be achieved by either hiring a sports betting expert or selecting a provider with access to professional traders and risk managers.

This type of management includes the identification, evaluation, and prioritisation of risks. It might mean everything from the initial event pricing and any odds movement to limit liability to increasing the betting limits available to customers and analysing particular betting behaviours to keep track of new information.

Oren points out that Delasport’s Sportsbook trading staff covers top and minor sports in-depth. In a revenue-sharing business model, the sportsbook iFrame provider should act as a trusted partner, manage the sports product professionally, and maintain the highest margin to achieve new business goals. By doing so, there is a mutual interest in growing the business, with the provider supporting the operator in adding new features to their offering.

Final words

‘Sportsbook Plug & Play iFrame allows operators to get all the benefits of adding a sports product to their casino brand. It is quick, and they don’t need to have the know-how in sports’, Oren recaps. ‘I’m proud to say the sportsbook Plug & Play iFrame blends seamlessly to the operator’s website, it even has the same colour, fonts, etc. At the same time, the operator is in complete control over their exposure through limit configuration and reports.’

Find out more about our Plug & Play Sportsbook iFrame Solution!

The post How Delasport’s Sportsbook iFrame benefits casino operators first appeared on Delasport.

To build a successful junior developer, the company should have a clear goal for the person’s development and an action plan. We created such a plan with our Mentoring Program – “Delasport Academy“.

Since the end of 2022, we’ve been in collaboration with IT Talents, a leading company for training junior developers. Although partnering with them from quite recently, we believe that we are working with the best in the industry. Our first graduates from the academy have attested to their skills and qualifications.

The objective of the accelerated 4-months IT Talents program is to equip the trainees with the fundamental knowledge necessary for our business, as well as to retain and develop them over the long term. During their training, the graduates of IT Talents successfully overcome numerous challenges that help them grow and follow their dream of becoming successful developers in an international company.

What is Delasport Academy?

Delasport Academy is the next step after completing the IT Talent camp, where cadets who have successfully passed an interview with us come to upgrade their knowledge. The purpose of our Academy is to teach new employees the company’s work model, teamwork, and the basics that are common to all teams such as scrum ceremonies, internal processes, and more.

After the start of the course, the training in the academy runs an average of two months; the cadets’ mentors aim to transfer knowledge and they are responsible for the cadets’ successful integration into the company. In the beginning, junior developers work on internal projects, with each project starting from the basics, consisting of Back End and Front End developers. We currently have two separate teams that are being integrated into the company in parallel, and our goal is to integrate 10 newly graduated junior developers! Teams work in two-week sprints, with the most exciting part being presenting a Demo to the whole company. While there is a lot of anxiety and excitement at the same time, a job well done by both mentors and cadets afterwards undoubtedly fuels and motivates them even more!

“Behind every successful talent, there is his successful mentor!”

In addition to consolidating and upgrading their knowledge, junior developers acquire the so-called “soft skills” needed to fit into the company’s culture. Furthermore, developers with more knowledge and higher-up in the hierarchy will have to answer questions from less experienced employees. This means they will need to be ready with well-reasoned and comprehensible answers or even revise concepts and learn new methodologies on their own.

New employees bring additional motivation and are a source of fresh, creative ideas. Junior Developers often have a different approach to solving problems, i.e. they think “outside the box”.

Junior software engineers are an excellent illustration of how a person can be molded early in his professional development. Learning the way of work and applying an individual approach to each young specialist gives faster and better results over time. We believe that this is a priceless investment with a high rate of return that will continue to benefit the company’s personnel growth.

The post Delasport Academy – The Road to Success first appeared on Delasport.

Why is personalization so important?

At first glance from bettors, the online gambling industry appears to be made up of interchangeable operators, all offering more or less the same thing. And, as the industry itself isn’t too old in the grand scheme of things, the push for differentiation hasn’t been as strong as it has been in online shopping channels, streaming services, and social platforms.

Generally speaking, operators have attempted to offset product similarity by concentrating on price differences, which has caused their profit margins to narrow. Also, despite the general enthusiasm for the online gambling industry, the cost of acquiring new customers from competing operators has increased due to market-wide, price-based advertising tactics that include “free money” promotions such as welcome bonuses.

A pricing war is not a long-term viable strategy in the oversaturated gaming industry; true distinction should come from other areas – and one of those areas is personalization.

The picture today

As technology has advanced over the past several years, standards of personalization have been rising quickly. It has evolved from a catchphrase to a genuine source of differentiation. Today, it’s all about the player, as opposed to a while ago, when it was all about the product. However, The iGaming sector lags behind other e-commerce sectors. For instance, Netflix has seen a shift in its user base from those looking for specific films to those just watching the suggestions. There’s no reason why operators can’t offer the same, so it’s time for a change.

Recommendations and relevancy

A key component for the future of personalization is offering recommendations for games that are pertinent to a player’s circumstances and specific needs. The increase in conversion rates and transaction value is driven by relevance, especially when that relevancy is executed intelligently.

Personalization can be used dynamically, based on preferred sports, game schedules, device types (such as mobile or desktop), geolocation, time of day, and even real-time behavior.

Putting the player in the middle

Due to the rising costs of attracting new players and keeping hold of existing ones as well as the limitations on advertising, many operators are struggling to draw in and keep hold of customers. Players should always come first, and operators that have products that offer personalized experiences are more likely to succeed in the long term.

In iGaming, personalization entails knowing which market group your players fall under, what their gaming preferences are, what they’re trying to achieve, and why they should trust you as their operator. Understanding target markets and players’ behavior through data and technology creates a better foundation for iGaming player acquisition and retention methods that are more intelligent and successful.

For operators offering both Sports and Casino betting, the potential benefits of future personalization are even more alluring. For example, once an operator knows enough about the bettor’s habits on a Sports betting platform, they can create special promotions to offer them Casino experiences based on what is already known about their preferences.

A new Era is coming

So, that’s where things stand now. But what about tomorrow? Just like any other technology, the future of personalization is going to need to continue evolving alongside customer needs and expectations. For global iGaming supplier, Delasport, this evolution is already in full swing.

Known as the “MY Era”, Delasport is on the verge of something big. And, as the name suggests, it is the beginning of something long-term, where personalization is the focus, and players sit firmly in the middle of their experiences. The “MY” products, as the name implies, will give players a sense of ownership and belonging by providing only the content they specifically request. They effectively control what they see.

My Sportsbook and My Event Builder

The ‘”MY Era” starts with two products, each offering a different way for players to bring their betting in line with their interests. First up, we have My Sportsbook, which serves bettors with a questionnaire on their first time logging in. Through this, the players can indicate what their interests are in terms of sports, leagues, teams, and so on, creating a custom lobby for future logins. This means that they’ll be taken straight to the action without the need to scroll and search for their favorites. This level of convenience is especially important for mobile screens, as navigation is naturally more restricted due to the display size.

Then we have My Event Builder, which gives bettors something completely new: the chance to create their own unique custom events to bet on. They can choose two teams from completely different leagues, who aren’t even scheduled to play at the same time. For example, a bettor can create an event between a small local team and an international powerhouse, who would never play against each other in the real world. They can bet a score of 3:2 in favor of the small local team, and if that team scores 3 in their game against someone else, and the international team scores 2 in theirs, the player has won their custom bet. This essentially means that there is an unlimited combination of bets they can place, where their imagination is the only limit.

Looking forward to the future

My Sportsbook and My Event Builder are just the beginning. Delasport is working on creating a similarly powerful feature for our Casino offering, which will once again reinvent how operators engage players looking for deeper and more rewarding experiences.

As for what the future holds for personalization, it is likely that machine learning and AI will continue to lead the way. But, learning about the player is not just about gathering data over time. The “MY Era” is unique because it does the unthinkable: it actually asks the player what they want to see without making assumptions. Of course, data and analysis of betting patterns can support in many effective ways, but the future of personalization also needs to have a more human approach.

The post The future of personalization in iGaming first appeared on Delasport.

1891: The beginning

The history of slot machines starts with the New York-based company, Sittman and Pitt in 1891, with their machine made up of five drums and 50 playing cards. Costing a nickel to play, the machine quickly become popular in many bars due to the novel mechanism of pulling the lever to line up to winning poker hands on the reels. Of course, the house needed to have the edge, so two cards – the ten of spades and the jack of hearts – were removed from the machine, cutting the odds of getting a royal flush by 50%. At the time, the machine had no way to payout wins, so players would go to the bar to collect their winnings – which were often non-monetary in nature and took the form of free drinks or cigars.

1894: The Liberty Bell

Charles August Fey, an American inventor of Bavarian descent, created the first slot machines (in the modern sense) in 1894. The coin-operated machine proved a hit, prompting Fey to build a new machine (the 4-11-44) which was so successful he opened a factory to produce them full-time. In 1898 he once again broke ground by creating the Card Bell, which was the first three-reel slot machine that could automatically pay out cash prizes. Then came the Liberty Bell in 1899 which made history and iterated on previous designs, shooting slot machines into the mainstream.

Many variations followed, some of which paid out winnings in the form of fruit-flavored chewing gum.  Today’s slot machines still feature the popular cherry and melon symbols derived from those early machines, with the famous BAR symbol originally derived from an early logo of the Bell-Fruit Gum Company.

1902 – 1908: Operator Bell

In 1907, Chicago-based manufacturer Herbert Mills produced a slot machine called the Operator Bell, based on the now-famous Liberty Bell. By 1908, the machine was found in most tobacconists, bowling alleys, shops, and salons.

1964 – Money Honey

Another first in the history of slot machines comes from The Bally Manufacturing Co., who introduced the first entirely electromechanical slot machine in 1964 under the name Money Honey. Pulling the lever was still required to start the game even though the reels were entirely electrically driven, so that players could still feel familiar with the game. And, with its bottomless hopper, it was the first slot machine able to pay out as many as 500 coins. As time went by, the handle was phased out and buttons became the main method of starting a game.

1976 – 1978: Fortune Coin

The next milestone in the history of slot machines came from Fortune Coin, who created the first video slot in 1976, manufactured in Kearny Mesa California by the Las Vegas-based company Fortune Coin. Using a modified Sony TV for the display, the game was first seen in the Las Vegas Hilton Hotel before it finally got approval to go statewide from the Nevada State Gaming Commission after some modifications and protections against cheating. After that, electric slot machines were seen all over the strip, raking in large amounts of cash and ushering in a new era of slot gaming.

1986: The progressive jackpot

Progressive jackpots were first introduced in large casinos in 1986, with the first progressive slot machine being Megabucks, which was developed by International Game Technology(IGT). The winnings increased every time a player did not hit the jackpot, creating a winning pot that had no limit. Then, in 1987 a lucky player made history on his own but winning the very first progressive jackpot to the tune of $4,988,842.17.

1996 onwards

When WMS Industries Inc. released “Reel ‘Em” in 1996, it marked the next significant turning point in the history and development of slots. It was the first video slot to have a bonus round on a second screen, where the bonus game was played on an entirely separate screen when the bonus round was initiated. This, and other features contributed to the continued growth of slot machines – to the point where they made up a significant portion of a casino’s revenue and occupied much of the available floor area.

Online Era

In the 1990s, the era of online casinos started, ushering a new age in the history of slot machines. It was initially met with a great deal of opposition and skepticism from both regulators and gamblers, with authorities being concerned that it would encourage other illegal activities in the black market, such as money laundering. Then there were the gamblers themselves, who could never have imagined online slots having the same enjoyment factor as the physical game.

The Temple of ISIS and Microgaming

There is speculation that the first online casino was created in 1994, however, there is no concrete evidence on the Internet as to which casino this was or whether it still exists. What we do know is that Cryptologic and Microgaming, two major players in the online gambling software development market, worked together to form the first major online casino in history. The first slots game was called Cash Splash, which was from Microgaming.

Since then, there have been hundreds if not thousands of slot games being created. They are easy to develop as random number generators had already been around for some time. And, with the ongoing evolution of technology, developers could create slots with better graphics, sound effects, unique bonus features, and large payouts.

2005: Mobile Slots

In 2005, the history of slot machines took another turn, as slots on mobile became a reality, with Pub Fruity being the first Java casino game, featuring a vibrant display that emulated a classic pub fruit machine. However, winning in these slots did not net any real cash, only virtual rewards.

The first iPhone was first released in 2007, followed by the App Store in 2008, opening up a whole new world for both developers and consumers. Although online casinos had been around for a decade at this point, the prospect of mobile gambling was a true evolution. With the app store, developers could create games and market them directly to consumers, prompting the Android Market place to follow suit.

Around this time, casino websites started offering downloadable games, and as long as you downloaded the file straight from the casino website, you could play slots that were optimized for mobile devices on your phone. This was also the first time that players could make deposits to mobile slots.

2010 onwards: Metagames

To further enhance gaming experiences, developers began to build sophisticated metagame features to support slots and engage players for longer. With metagames, players could enjoy a larger variety of unique challenges, rewards, and gaming options, creating a better distinction and adding value for dedicated and returning audiences.

One of the most groundbreaking metagames in history was the Red Tiger Daily Jackpot, introduced in 2016, and since improved with the addition of an hourly jackpot. The mechanics were elegant and smart, introducing jackpot capabilities on any game as a metagame, with a short-time jackpot guaranteed.

Pragmatic daily drops, introduced in 2020, would offer random prizes during a win. Then there were other notable meta games, including Quickspins tournaments, launched in 2018, and Poker Stars Races,

2016: The rise of Megaways

The Megaways engine, which was released by casino game developer Big Time Gaming (BTG) in 2016, had a revolutionary impact on the slots vertical. It thrust the studio into the public eye and attracted major casino content creators. The slots engine (also known as a random reel modifier) was impactful because it changed the number of symbols that land on each reel during a spin, resulting in thousands of different ways to win. The Megaways games got player attention because of the chance (even if it was the slightest) win x100,000 over the bet, while the multiplier changes in every round. Megaways took the industry by storm, putting themselves firmly in the history of slots. As a result, today offers many new titles to choose from, from a range of industry-leading developers.

Today, and tomorrow

Thanks to the development of web and mobile-based casinos, younger players are playing more slots than ever, and while developers have brought the classics to modern times, they must keep innovating to maintain player engagement or risk losing out.

With almost 27,000 video slots produced so far and about 100 new ones released every month, the competition is tough. But, this rivalry pushes video slots providers to push boundaries, coming up with new mechanics, and adding meta games like tournaments, missions, surprise prizes, short-time jackpots, and more.

The history of slot machines is far from over. Technology is always evolving, and the continued improvements in mobile devices and Internet speeds paint a strong picture for slots, which will continue down their own path to the future. New and exciting games are always in the pipeline, and as technologies such as 5G, virtual reality, and wearables become more mainstream, customer experiences will be more engaging, easy, and sophisticated. We see a bright future in the world of slots and look forward to seeing what tomorrow brings.

The post History of slot machines: From mechanical to mobile first appeared on Delasport.

The world of online gaming is fiercely competitive, meaning that operators must provide the best user experiences to create a loyal player base for the long term. Customer retention is just as important as acquisition, especially when you consider the costs involved with acquiring new iGaming players in a highly competitive market.

In this article, we’ll explore strategies that operators can employ to attract more iGaming players and ensure they remain engaged for the longest possible time.

“How-to” strategies for player attraction and retention:

Promotions and offers
Make your promotions matter
Customer Relationship Management
Special events
Gamification
Cross-Products Approach
Responsible Gambling
Work with the right partner

Promotions and offers

Through promotions such as free spins, tournaments, missions, or special bonuses, players can be informed of exciting features and have the incentive to take part. But, to master players’ engagement, it is important to know what motivates them in the first place.

• Bonuses granted according to user activities like cashback on losses need to be adequate to the personal wagering pattern. For example, if a player usually wagers a €5 bet, granting 10 free spins of €1 will not be attractive.
• The mechanism of tournaments and leaderboards that run for a week or weekend should be based on points from win-to-bet multipliers and not on bets or wins. In this way, players who join the tournament late can still have the chance to win by being lucky to get a big multiplier over their bet. This mechanism also flattens the bet size allowing each player to play with their comfortable wagering size (except if a minimum bet is defined).
• When granting a bonus as a trigger to user action(s) it is better to grant the bonus immediately in real-time to ensure the best player experience. It is discouraging for a person to complete the requirements for a bonus and then have to wait to receive the award.

Make your promotions matter

Whatever promotions you end up choosing, you need to make sure that they are meaningful and not just there for the sake of it. Today’s players have never had more choices and will most likely be comparing your offering with the competition to see which has the best offers and promotions for new and returning players. To really stand out, you will need to be more creative, more generous, and more genuine in your approach to create a truer sense of value.

For instance, think about your high rollers that have a high source of income. They are likely to make up a considerable proportion of your revenue, so it’ll be in your interest to keep them engaged with your business. Competitors will likely be targeting them with special offers, so retaining top valued players be a priority. Consider giving them incentives and privileges that are separate from those offered to general iGaming players, such as tickets to events, special gifts, bigger more effective bonuses, and more dedicated customer service.

Promotional activities that involve cross-selling can also have a significant impact by raising awareness of your other products, platforms, and services. For example, if your business offers both online casino and sportsbook facilities to players, you’ll typically have two distinct sets of customers who prefer one or the other. By using cross-promotional strategies you can encourage them to explore other forms of iGaming to increase revenue streams and player retention.

Customer Relationship Management

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) platforms are tools used by many iGaming companies to retain their most important players to maximize long-term revenue and ROI on marketing investments. By creating deeper relationships between the business and players of all ages (including Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, and even Boomers), you’ll be able to understand more about their needs, spending patterns, and preferences.

Building up a robust CRM system can make a real difference to your bottom line in the long run as it can be used to store and arrange various aspects of customer behavior, such as their game preferences, average bets, win rates, deposit amounts, and other datasets. Then, by aggregating and segmenting based on these different data sets, your team can go ahead and deliver promotions, offers, and relevant communications for more targeted and tailored experiences across the board.

Today’s technology allows progress from traditional communication channels such as email and SMS to push notifications and real-time engagement. This capability facilitates higher contextual and relevant personalized offers, resulting in more efficient retention.

Special events

Events are a powerful retention strategy that can be used to encourage players to keep on playing. By giving iGaming players special rewards based on completing certain tasks or reaching new milestones you can keep them engaged outside of the regular games they are already enjoying.

Events can come in many different forms depending on your marketing goals and branding. From offering ticket-based tournaments through to seasonal events such as Christmas, New Year, Halloween, and other important calendar moments, you can keep users interested and depositing all-year-round.

Gamification

Achievements, leagues, and tournaments let users feel like they’re part of a community while also encouraging healthy competition, resulting in a genuine sense of accomplishment when specific goals are met.

Gamification’s positive psychological reinforcement provides players the joy of overcoming the system, completing a milestone, or even unlocking a special feature. Even a minor fanfare when they reach a specific number of bets or their registration anniversary might make them feel like they are a part of something and that the operator is paying attention to them.

Gamification in online gambling can foster stickiness (repeated visits and interactions), rewards, retention, loyalty, and can even train players on the usage of a specific product or platform. These tools typically include missions, tournaments, badges, levels, points, and community leaderboards.

Cross-Products Approach

In a sports and casino operation, between 5-10% of the players are betting on both products. Conducting retention activities like the above on both products at the same time guarantees a higher level of engagement. Traditionally, casino players enjoy enhanced gamification and engagement features, far more than sports bettors. Having a cross-product approach retains not only casino players and sports bettors separately, but also mutually.

Responsible Gambling

All the above information, tips, and techniques must of course take responsible gambling into consideration so that bettors and players can remain safe from any overdoing. That’s why any player engagement activities must adhere to different regulations per market that observe responsible gambling.

Work with the right partner

The iGaming industry and available technologies are changing all the time, so it stands to reason that operators and their suppliers must change with it. With so much competition out there, retention has never been more important. By considering the above approaches you’ll stand a better chance of standing out amongst the competition. After all, attracting new iGaming players is just half the battle: keeping them is where the challenge lies.

Study your competition, get to know your customers, and don’t be afraid of exploring new ways of working. With decades of experience behind us, the team at Delasport is here to help you achieve the above.

The post How to attract iGaming players and retain them [Updated] first appeared on Delasport.

The iGaming space is just one of many industries which have needed to keep pace with new challenges and opportunities that the millennial market brings. But what are Millennials looking for from their online operators, and how can companies make sure that they deliver on such complex expectations?

Coming up:

Who are Millennials and Gen Z?
What do Millennials and Gen Z want from their iGaming?
Better gamification
Better mobile experiences
Better digital security
Short-form and micro-content
More Esports

Who are Millennials and Gen Z?

As defined by the Pew Research Center, Millennials are born between 1981 and 2006, and anyone born since 1997 can be considered as part of the so-called ‘Generation Z’. Today, Millennials are mostly in their adulthood years with families and careers yet are considered as the generation who saw the rise of the Internet and smartphone.

Millennials and Gen Z players have developed a unique perspective because of their experiences in both online and offline environments. And, unlike previous generations, they are not particularly keen on land-based casinos which means that operators must provide superior experiences for other touchpoints, especially digital.

What do Millennials and Gen Z want from their iGaming?

Internet gambling has sharply risen in popularity over the last decade, fueled in part by the ongoing epidemic in recent years. And, because casino games are now available to be played on both mobile and desktop casino platforms, accessibility has never been easier or more convenient. Here are some things for operators to consider when it comes to giving Millennials  and Gen Z-ers what they want:

Better gamification

Because Millennials and Gen Z audiences have grown up playing video games, operators must develop experiences that share characteristics with video games to stay current and competitive. The iGaming gamification should provide better graphics, deeper gameplay loops, and threshold features such as missions, badges, and achievements that will go a long way to bridge the gap between recreation and online gambling.

Better mobile experiences

To earn the attention of Millennials and Gen Z consumers, operators have had to invest in holistic responsive design and customization of their products. This extends to ensuring that the gamification aspects of the experience remain intact and seamless across laptops, mobiles, and tablets, with resolution and graphics quality to match the horsepower that these devices can afford. For Millennials, having the mobility to access their games wherever they are is often a dealbreaker.

Better digital security

Today, digital security is a given, but for Millennials and Gen Z players, it can be a real sticking point. Growing up with the Internet and proliferation of data collection and exploitation, they will be more sensitive than ever as to how their information is used and stored. This also extends to payment methods with better confidentiality and security of transactions. As such, more and more casinos are starting to look at how they can adopt cryptocurrency payments into their offering as they are considered more secure and confidential than credit cards and bank accounts.

Short-form and micro-content

Casinos are competing for players’ attention, time, and spending power with many other forms of entertainment. Millennials and Gen Z audiences have short attention spans and are often multi-screening and streaming content while they handle other tasks at the same time. By creating iGaming platforms to deliver short-form and fast-access content streams, operators can ensure that they provide the kind of experience that today’s players are looking for. The ongoing pandemic has only accelerated this behavior with even higher proliferation of streaming content to the point where it’s not unusual for someone to stream games while playing other games, dipping in and out of highlights, making bets, and discussing it all in real-time over social media.

More Esports

Esports is one of the verticals with the most potential and interest for Millennials and Gen Z players. For them, video games have been a large part of their recreational lives with the ongoing generational leaps in PC and console gaming. The worldwide Esports industry was valued at just over 1.08 billion in 2021 (up about 50% from the previous year) and is expected to continue to expand in tandem with technical and societal advancements. To ensure that the millennial and Gen Z market has as much choice as possible when it comes to how they bet, operators must create more space and infrastructure for Esports to have the same experiences as mature online sports betting.

*If you want to learn more read about the History and Evolution of Esports.

How Delasport is helping operators cater to younger players

As one of the leaders in iGaming software technology, Delasport has long been aware of the importance of the millennial and Gen Z market, and we have made sure that our products and services keep this demographic in mind.

Our Esports offering is one of the best in the market, and the casino games (such as Jetx) often have high-quality graphics and strong connections with traditional video games. This connection is augmented by our extensive gamification, offering Esports and Sports bettors engaging experiences that include missions, tournaments, achievements, points, and much more.

If you’re looking to advance your millennial offering, get in touch with our team and we’ll help to get your operation in front of the right audiences.

The post What do Millennials and Gen Z want from iGaming? first appeared on Delasport.

Integrating gamification with sports betting, online casinos, and related activities is something of a no-brainer, but what may be less obvious is how powerful a tool it can be to retain players and cross-sell between products and services. But what are the tools available, the benefits they offer and how can operators ensure they are taking the optimal approach?

Coming up:

Gamification tools for iGaming
Why should operators add gamification tools?
Why gamification is good for players
Cross vertical gamification
Understand the customers
Choosing gamification rewards

Gamification tools for iGaming

Gamification in online gambling is generally used for stickiness (repeated visits and interactions), rewards, retention, loyalty, and training players on the usage of a specific product or platform. The tools used can include:

Missions: Specific actions that the player needs to perform to accumulate points, which can be a general activity (such as logging in, depositing, responding to a notification) or product-specific, which directly relate to specific betting activity.

Levels: An artificial ladder that indicates player progression throughout their journey, with milestones and targets to unlock better store purchases. These can be themed, such as evolving from Trainee to Golden Boot winner in football-related online gambling games.

Badges: Medals that the player can earn for an activity, more suited to providing additional flare and to help with storytelling.

Points To indicate player progress, level-up thresholds, and to be used as a currency in iGaming stores.

Store: An area where players spend their currency points. Items sold here can be gameplay-related or tangible in other beneficial ways.

Communication channels & activity: An overview of the journey a player has been through on your online casino or sports betting platform, with the milestones and actions they have achieved on the way.

Tournaments: Competitions involving 2 or more players, all participating with the purpose of reaching the top of the leaderboard by achieving the same goal and earning a prize.

Why should operators add gamification tools?

If operators can add features that are interesting and entertaining for players, they will naturally spend more time with the products and return for more. This allows operators to offer other products and services to gain players, who will be more inclined to try them out based on the trust and familiarity which has already been established.

However, it is crucial that this engagement process is informed by data and analysis so casino and sportsbook operators can select the promotional methods to assure long-term success. One other major importance of gamification in iGaming is that while campaigns and marketing efforts are usually limited in duration, gamified environments can be leveraged to attain goals over much longer periods of time.

Why gamification is good for iGaming players

Tools like achievements, leagues, and tournaments make players feel part of a community and promote healthy competition, so it creates a real sense of satisfaction when certain milestones are reached. The numbers we see at Delasport speak to this, as we saw an increase in player engagement of circa 85% month to month from 32,000 completed missions to nearly 59,000 just a month later.

As discussed in our list of expected iGaming trends in 2022, the positive psychological reinforcement from gamification gives players a thrill of beating the system, passing a milestone even triggering an exclusive feature. Even a small fanfare when they pass a certain threshold of bets or an anniversary of their registration can make them feel like they are part of something, and that the operator is giving them proper attention.

Cross vertical gamification

Players should be given as many ways as possible to enjoy and gamble. For instance, in the right circumstances, sports gambling players can enjoy a few spins of roulette during half-time – and the same goes for online casino players who might want to have a punt on a major sports event that happens to be going on.

Through gamification in iGaming, those betting on sports can be given special awards or badges when they cross over to casino games – or vice versa. To help support this, operators will need to identify the players most likely to do this and give them the proper incentive to follow through.  In addition, with a holistic approach, an operator can offer players points in a tournament across verticals, allowing them to use them on their favorite casino games and sports events.

Understand the customers

The mechanisms underneath gamification must be intelligently balanced in order to attract and retain iGaming players, maximize the quality of the experience; all while still maintaining a favorable ROI. It’s not as simple as adding new features to a game and hoping for the best: it must be carefully planned, adjusted, and supported by insightful data.

The approach is also important, as a number of people who place bets often do so to be entertained, rather than making an income. As such, gamification should enhance their reason to play, but not be the main draw. Instead, gamification in iGaming should only elevate the entertainment factor and not overpower the gameplay.

A final note on customer awareness is to properly understand the different values different players offer to an iGaming operator, and that the appropriate mechanisms and awards are in place for them. For instance, a higher-level casino player may spend ‎€50K per week and should therefore have better rewards than another player who spends €10 per week.

Choosing gamification rewards

Having real insight into your customers is crucial when trying to understand which rewards will be the most appealing to which iGaming customers. One of the best ways to do this is to keep things ‘fair’ is to demonstrate that the house is paying out and that both sides can win (where the business gain, is naturally, the lion’s share).

It goes without saying that online gambling Operators must deliver on what’s promised and give the reward to winning players – or risk a serious loss of trust. It’s usually best to give the reward on the spot in the form of achievement or milestone.

A few other aspects of rewarding will depend on your customer profile and targeting. For instance, when it comes to scheduling, you can:

• Give the reward at the end, for instance, if they have done a certain action or triggered a certain number of times, like a deposit.
• In the beginning, where the customer already knows the reward is there, but they must complete certain actions first. This is not the best approach as it can feel a little ‘carrot and stick’.
• Progressively, where the reward is given according to the player’s progress throughout their levels. For example, collecting pieces of a puzzle where the collection of a final piece releases an award.

You can also incorporate different types of reward, such as fixed (known from the start), randomized (from a pool of options), or surprised (given without expectation).

It’s time to up your game

Gamification in iGaming is a great retention and revenue tool for operators, but it’s not easy to implement. Understanding your customer is the key. The mechanics (journey, gameplay, rewards) should be personalized and applied upon player segmentation. Your player should be able to easily see the value when they ask the ‘what’s in it for me’ question’ and should clearly understand the journey to achieving their reward.

Knowing that you need gamification in your iGaming business is only half the battle. What about the implementation and maintenance of such an undertaking for your sportsbook or online casino? If you want to take your iGaming operations to the next level but need support, Delasport offers the technology and experience to make it happen. With decades of experience in the online sports betting and online casino industry, we know what it takes to gamify and succeed. To find out more, get in touch with our team today.

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And, that interest has grown in within the gambling industry, with the total amount waged on Esports matches expected to grow to $16 billion over the coming years. Join us as we take a brief look into the history of Esports, their meteoric rise in competitive circles, the demographics that drive them, and what the future holds for this ever-growing phenomenon.

The Esports journey at a glance:

What are Esports?
A brief history of Electronic Sports
How Esports generate revenue
Esports as an iGaming vertical
Esports demographics
Esports trends we expect to see in the future

What are Esports?

At its core, Esports are a type of tournament in which professional gamers compete individually or in teams. While organized multiplayer video game contests have existed in some form for decades, they have hit the mainstream thanks to substantial advancements in gameplay, streaming platforms, interactive gaming, and organizational play. And with this gain in popularity, investment has followed suit.

There are varying types of Esports tournaments today, which include:

• First-person shooters (FPS) events such as Halo, Call of Duty, Fortnite, and Apex Legends.
• Sports game events like FIFA, Pro Evo Soccer, Madden, and NBA2K.
• Multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) events such as Dota 2 and League of Legends.
• Fighter game events with games such as Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, and Super Smash Bros.
• Other events including card games and real-time strategy games.

A brief history of Esports

The first video game tournament

The Nintendo World Championships, held in 1990, were the first major video game event where thousands of gamers competed for high scores in Super Mario Bros, Tetris, and Rad Racers. While the $10,000 prize fund on offer doesn’t compare to today’s big wins, it was the first of its kind and set the groundwork for much larger competitions to come.

Multiplayer online games

While the early tournaments were simply based on high scores, multiplayer games pitted players directly against each other in real-time – with Capcom’s Street Fighter trailblazing the competitive fighting genre. Then came the cult classic FPS titan, Doom, in 1996 which was the first online multiplayer shooting game, followed closely by Quake; and by the early 2000s, games like Halo and Call of Duty were among the most popular games in the world, both casually and competitively.

Going major league

In 2002, MLG (Major League Gaming) began to host heavily marketed tournaments for a range of game genres, and in 2006 they became the first-ever televised Video Game League. Just like with conventional sports, rivalries were formed, storylines were created, and teams grew their supporter base.

Similar growth was also happening in Asia, with a strategy game, Starcraft (published in 1998) becoming a competitive scene in its own right. Just like in the US, professional teams and players began to materialize, and with their corporate sponsorships, promotional partnerships, and the concept of full-time competitive gamers becoming normalized.

Streaming

The rise of streaming accelerated the growth Esports, resulting in more choice and easier access for fans and viewers. It also gave content creators and professional gamers their own channels within wider platforms, meaning that they could create content directly for their fans without having to depend on media partners and television producers.

The growth of streaming directly also resulted in the development of competitions across different genres (not just sports or FPS), and competitive micro-communities arose in games that would have otherwise been left to obscurity.

Developers become partners

The success of the Starcraft league in Korea, as well as MLG’s own tournaments, demonstrated to video game developers that there was a substantial market to be tapped when it came to making their games. As a result, heavy hitters such as Call of Duty and Halo began to introduce specific competitive game-types within their retail releases, with ranked systems, leaderboards, and more. Not only did this raise the stakes for casual players, but it also gave streamers a more competitive platform to climb and conquer.

Twitch comes out top

While MLG was the first to create Esports Leagues, it was Twitch’s introduction in 2011 that let the niche go from a passion to a vocation for the best players. By managing and streaming their own gameplay and tournaments, players could build entire careers around streaming gameplay and make a name for themselves on the scene. As a by-product of such exposure, game studios quickly discovered the need to keep pace with the demands of both the players and their viewers by keeping fresh content in the pipeline, with continuous improvements to graphics and gameplay loops.

Recent major tournaments

Even though Electronic Sports events as we know them have only been operating for a few decades, their prize pools are already comparable to those of conventional sports. For instance, the League of Legends World Championship in 2011 had a prize pool of $2 million dollars, which was the largest in history at the time. Then, only eight years later the Fortnite World Cup broke records for both total and individual prize pools, with a total prize pool of $30 million. To put this into perspective, one player, known as “Bugha” took home over $3 million in prize money – compared to the 2.3 million dollars taken home by Wimbledon 2021 winner, Novak Djokovic in.

For the tenth year in a row, Valve’s annual Dota 2 global championship has shattered the record for Esports prize pools. While the tournament offered a total prize pool of $1.6 million in 2011 and 2012, it has been the most successful example of crowdfunded prize pools in Esports history since 2013.

How Esports generate revenue

In some ways, the ecosystem resembles conventional sports, with spectatorship, teams, media rights, advertising, and event sponsors. The game licenses are owned by the publishers, with streaming companies Twitch and YouTube as the favored media platforms.

Sponsorships provide for a significant percentage of revenue. Advertisements, media rights, game publisher fees, and merchandising are some of the other money generators, as well as ticketed live events. Esports teams have owners, franchises, sponsorship deals, financial awards from tournament victories, and more – just like regular professional sports teams, all of which contribute to their yearly income and total valuation. When the epidemic passes, Electronic Sports leagues will most likely restart their attempts to grow their viewership by conducting live gaming.

Esports as an iGaming vertical

Esports is gradually catching up to other popular online betting activities and trends in the iGaming business. According to Statista, the market value of eSports increased by 50% between 2020 and 2021. The ongoing global pandemic has certainly had an impact on this adoption rate as it was more difficult for sports bettors to get live sports activity to gamble on – resulting in them turning towards Esports to fill the gap.

Another reason for the uptake is how accessible the games are. As Esports gamblers tend to be on the younger side of the wider gambling demographic. Odds are that they have already been playing these games themselves for some time, and therefore have a good grasp of the mechanics and risks. This results in them feeling closer to the action and being able to make more informed wagers.

*Find out more about What do Millennials and Gen Z want in iGaming.

The availability of quality data from Esports has also contributed to its rise in iGaming circles. By producing a large amount of low-latency data in real-time, this kind of gambling is a great fit for any operator or player. This is because the competitions are already run off a machine, meaning that the games can calculate, offer and distribute vital game data within seconds. With this increased volume of instantaneous data, operators will be able to provide customers with better and more accurate odds, resulting in an enhanced and more engaging betting experience.

Esports demographics

According to Statista, Asia-Pacific (APAC), North America, and Europe are the top three Esports markets, with APAC accounting for over half (57%) of global eSports viewership back in 2019. Meanwhile, North America hit $641 million U.S. dollars in 2021 from sponsorships and advertising, with Europe projected to reach 670 million euros as of 2023.

One of the fastest-rising regions is Latin America, which hit $18 million in revenue in 2019 and is now projected to exceed $42 million by 2023, as per PwC estimates.

The global Electronic Sports audience peaked at 474 million people in 2021. More spectators are likely to tune in in the coming years to see their favorite games being played by some of the top gamers in the world. Globally, over 577 million people are predicted to watch eSports by 2024.

Esports trends we expect to see in the future

Continued growth of mobile.

After years of PC and console titles dominating the market, the low barrier of entry for mobile gaming has captured millions of global Esports fans. With the addition of 5G technology and more powerful mobile device specifications, we expect to see the upward adoption trend continue.

Sports and eSports intertwine

Esports have always drawn sponsorships and attention from sports brands due to their young demographic. At the same time, conventional sports have certainly influenced the community in several ways, including the focus on sponsorships, merchandising, and cross-promotion between real-world and digital competitions.

Co-streaming

Streamers, game developers, and advertisers are becoming more collaborative due to the mutual benefits they can all enjoy. While streamers raise their profile from gaming sessions, developers can advertise their games, and brands can get their products in front of more relevant consumers. We expect to see even closer collaborations between these stakeholders as time goes on.

More games

The gaming industry, in general, is constantly growing, with new AAA titles costing millions of dollars always around the corner. Many of these games will find their way into the Esports realm, with new entrants such as Valorant, PUBG, and Rainbow Six.

iGaming investment

As it continues to become part of the mainstream, iGaming operators are going to invest a lot more into their betting infrastructure to let their players get in on the action. Just like with sportsbooks and other traditional iGaming platforms, Esports broadcasting and gambling is going to see a lot more interest from operators, leading to higher adoption rates and player counts.

Esports gambling operations become their own entity

Electronic Sports, as an industry will begin to grow at a faster rate as more and more regions, regard it in the same way as sports betting and online casinos. A current example has already happened in New Jersey, as an online gaming and gambling company has been approved to begin accepting bets within the state – the first of its kind. The Director of the Division of Gaming Enforcement in New Jersey has accepted a transactional waiver for Esports Entertainment Group, meaning that the online gaming operator may now accept any Esports-related wagers from New Jersey residents.

Join the winning team

As one of the leaders in iGaming technology, Delasport has long been aware of the importance of Electronic Sports and has integrated this vertical within its product and solution offerings. As such, we offer the best Esports betting coverage in the industry, with action-packed Esports titles such as FIFA, DOTA2, CS:GO, NBA 2k, and League of Legends.

Together with our coverage, we offer Esports as turnkey, iFrame, and white-label solutions with:

• Quick and smooth integration (standalone plugin)
• Seamless wallet integration Esports scoreboard.
• Uninterrupted video streams and live events.
• Hundreds of available markets with easy navigation.

If you are interested in growing your own Esports iGaming offering or want to know more about how we can be part of it, get in touch with us!

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Influenced by the ongoing global pandemic, together with new player expectations, behaviors, and emerging technologies, here are the iGaming trends we expect to see in 2022.

2022 iGaming trends at a glance:

Market growth and regulation
Sports Betting as a must-have product
Gamification and video game elements
Video streaming
Consolidation M&A, leagues, and global media companies’ involvement
Esports trend gains traction
Mobile betting trends
Smart TV, augmented reality and VR

Market growth and regulation

According to H2 Gambling Capital, the online gambling global market size has already passed 70€bn a year and is expected to pass 90€bn in 2025. In 2021, 73% of the total market GGR was generated from regulated markets – an iGaming trend that is expected to continue as more and more are regulated. Governments are rightfully and actively seeking to find new revenue sources, and even more so due to the ongoing pandemic’s effect on economies. By forming regulatory bodies and legalized gambling activities, governments can collect revenues from gambling tax and licensing, increased employment, and decrease illegal betting all at the same time.

Sports betting as a must-have product

According to H2 Gambling Capital, the global sports GGR consist of 49% out of the total iGaming revenues. We expect to see a clear iGaming trend with the sports share growing even more than the other products. And not because of the football World Cup this year – but mainly because the U.S. is predominately a sports betting market.

The online gaming market in the US is valued at 2B USD and is forecasted to grow and reach 8.5B USD GGR by 2025, representing CAGR of over 15%. More than 25 states have already legalized mobile sports betting and 14 more are in process, while only six states have legalized iGaming (casino): Connecticut, Delaware, New Jersey, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.

On sponsorship deals, we also expect to see more involvement in iGaming from leagues. For example, we have already seen The Premier Lacrosse League announce an agreement with DraftKings, BetMGM with Ladies Professional Golf Association, and PointsBet with the Colorado Buffaloes college team. Sports betting will also further become a must-have product as current casino operations may lose players to those who have discovered betting on sports, never to return. In addition, the CPA (Cost Per Acquisition) fees for sports players are lower than for a casino, with the bonus of some players still being successfully cross-sold to casino (mainly live Casino).

Gamification and video game elements

While video games in the traditional sense and iGaming have many differences, many elements from video games have been making their way over to iGaming as a sturdy trend. All with a focus on better visuals, more interactions, more mission-based gameplay loops, and more themed / role-playing mechanics. Companies like Green Jade, Skywind Group, and Spribe are experimenting with arcade-like games. For instance, Skywind’s Fly Jet is a real money fly-and-shoot game where players fly through five different locations and fight bosses to chase massive cash prizes. Another example that has gained large traction is Spribe’s Aviator, a social multiplayer game that originated from the video game industry.

To truly stay ahead of the competition and trendy at the same time, developers will need to continue improving the visual fidelity of their games to match the screen resolutions of today’s more sophisticated smartphone devices to provide more immersive experiences.

Video streaming

In 2006, Google identified the future of video streaming and acquired YouTube for 1.65B USD. In 2007, Evolution Gaming started to stream roulette live dealers, introducing the concept of enjoying gambling experiences from the comfort of home, while retaining important social interaction.

The ability to play casino games remotely while interacting with a genuine live-person dealer has turned out to be considerably more exciting than anyone could have expected. Logically, it became a must-have iGaming trend because live dealers, after all, not only provide a more authentic and legitimate gaming experience – they create a deeper connection with the players and can even foster a better sense of trust between operators and players.

In live streaming, we will see more and more studios trying to get a share of the growing market, including companies such as Skywind Group and EGT. Other expectations include the continuation of the localization trend where studios produce local games like Andar Bahar, and the continued adoption of Show games that have been popularized by Evolution Gaming – as we can already see from Pragmatic Play with their very first Show game, ‘Mega Wheel’.

Consolidation of M&A, leagues, and global media companies’ involvement

iGaming companies are looking to increase their market standing, with some looking to acquire technology companies to own the software and control their own destiny – while others are looking to quickly expand to existing and emerging markets by acquiring companies that already have access to licenses and knowhow in local regulation requirements. We have already witnessed 888 acquiring William Hill’s European business, Fultter acquiring The Star Group, Draftking’s acquisition of SBTech and we will see more M&A activities in the U.S. online betting industry.

We also expect to see more involvement in iGaming from leagues and media companies following leagues like the NFL, as well as media companies such as Fox and Sports Illustrated looking to take a piece of the action.

Esports trend gains traction

There are now more options to gamble on Esports than ever before and this will continue to be a developing iGaming trend in 2022. Once considered as a niche market, eSports are now attracting a rising following – to the point where some TV channels stream Esports-focused channels as part of their bundles, creating an even wider appeal. This is especially prevalent for generation Z, who already play these games for recreation. According to NewZoo prediction, the Esports market share will grow to $1.8 billion by 2022.

The increased sophistication of traditional video games has also added to this trendy rise. Better graphics, more complex mechanics, and deeper gameplay loops can make for more competitive and engaging experiences. Gamers from all around the world can now wager on games like FIFA, League of Legends, Dota 2, Valorant, Overwatch, Fortnite, and others across console, PC, and even mobile platforms.

Mobile betting trends

The trend of mobile betting will continue. In all markets over 50% place bets on mobile devices, and in some markets, it has already reached 90% of overall transactions. With 5G speeds becoming the norm, gaming on smartphones has never been easier or more seamless. Some operators are even offering welcome packages exclusively to mobile. In the Apps category, we may see Google and Apple opening more markets for Mobile Betting Apps.

Smart TV, augmented reality, and VR

Technologies such as AR, VR, and Smart TV applications are still in their early adoption phase in the mass market and are even more in their infancy when it comes to iGaming and online casinos. However, we do expect to see them gain traction and become a real gambling trend in the coming years as the technology becomes more affordable and accessible to the average consumer.

Conclusion

The iGaming industry has come a long way and has evolved from niche beginnings to become one of the world’s largest and most profitable industries. The rivalry in the online casino industry is also fiercer than it has ever been, with many online casinos going to great lengths to differentiate themselves.

Ultimately, every operator’s purpose is to attract gamers. While bonuses, promotions, awards, and customer service are all great motivators, staying on top of the latest technological and social trends will be essential for their survival through 2022 and beyond. So, make sure you keep a close eye on the latest iGaming trends in order to stay on top of your game!

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