iGB Intelligence reports Social Gaming report | Page 16

Part 1 – SOCIAL CASINO

operator has to fight tooth and nail for new users.
This situation is the most significant barrier to organic
growth, which highlights the need to be even more
innovative with marketing strategies. And, naturally,
it means that after players are on board, effective
retention efforts, including customer support, VIP
programmes, social mechanics and sophisticated
CRM are now essential to keep players engaged. Some
industry observers argue that there is no such thing
as a new casino gamer; just the same nomadic gamer
migrating from game to game.
Above all, though, the games and content, including
gameplay, visuals, sounds and UI, have to shine.
Hughes says: “We are in the world of transient gamer
mentality as there is great choice from all the studios,
and competition from all kinds not just games.
Therefore, we have to focus on our entertainment
quality, gamer experience and trust from our gamers.”
Meanwhile, Freireich comments: “Today, far more
emphasis is placed on improving the player experience,
thereby making our investment in data science related
to their experience increasingly more important to
our business. The level of sophistication within data
science has significantly increased, which means
customer segmentation is far more accurate.”
He also suggests that like land-based gaming, social
casino will require “continual evolution and innovation”
in order to stay relevant with gamers. “In the future, we
will see continued improvement in quality and product
value within lobby and content improving the customer
offer. A strong focus will be placed on improving
customer segmentation, offers and on CRM and in-

12

game preferences. Throughout these mechanics lies
the growth.”  
With the leading incumbents having the knowhow, resources and financial clout to dominate
the space, many wonder whether a new entrant
could ever shift the balance of power. While there’s
always room for disrupters, it does appear to be a
closed shop at the top of the market. It would take
a Herculean effort by a newcomer to make a real
impact, particularly as the industry is now much
more mature and has been through a frenzied M&A
land grab. “It’s too late,” says Chahine. “We are lucky
we started seven years ago. The days of building a
company in six months or a year are over.” Likewise,
Hughes issues a stark assessment of the fiercely
competitive social casino sector: “Those still in the
casino space are chasing an evermore expensive
casino gamer through an escalation of acquisition
costs, retention stresses and a maturing gamer gene
pool. In short, it no longer feels like the ‘Wild West’ –
more like trench warfare.”
That said, he still forecasts a bright future for social
casino. “Lets be clear, gamers have been enjoying
casino and card games wherever, whenever and on
whatever they can for hundreds of years, but it took the
internet – desktop and mobile – to disrupt and grow
this aged industry. However, it will be some time before
a new disrupter comes along in my view, not even
from platforms such as virtual and augmented reality.”
Lewis-Smith is equally buoyant. “We’re confident of the
market growth forecasts of around 10% year-on-year
for the next few years,” he notes.

iGaming Business Social Media & Mobile Betting Report