Amidst the Competition, How can Casinos Distinguish themselves?
Any internet-based company faces stiff competition from rival businesses. For retailers, Amazon is the Goliath standing before the locally-run shop’s David, but computer shops, video game companies and even model shops can enter what seems like an impenetrable market. The internet made buying and selling easier. The consequence of that is a saturated marketplace.
For casinos, things can be much more intense. There are a lot of operators out there, many of which come under the umbrella of other, much more powerful companies, meaning that even the smallest of outlets can have almost unlimited resources behind them. As casinos branch out into other verticals, such as sports betting and bingo, the competition becomes a difficult thing to overcome.
Of course, there’s a question to be answered. Casino websites can be complex, multifaceted beasts so how did the industry become so accessible to newcomers? The obvious answer involves regulatory barriers, which have been friendly to start-ups for a long time in the UK. Similarly, the USA’s casino and sports betting market is growing every day. New York will introduce mobile wagering in 2022, for instance.
The popularity of retail betting solutions has also taken a lot of effort out of the day-to-day running of a gaming website. Pronet Gaming, a provider of plug-and-play services that power both online and offline operations, integrates essential things like security, localisation, fixtures and results, and cash-tracking with no time-consuming installation process. In other words, the sector has become more accessible.
Aesthetic Things
The previous means that betting operators can come at least partially constructed right out of the box. This reduces set-up times and allows owners to concentrate on customer acquisition and more aesthetic things like branding. Casinos, in particular, do still have to introduce games to their site but, once again, these can usually be sourced en masse from the developers themselves.
Here’s where things get tough. Anybody who has ever played at a casino will know that operators don’t always do much to distinguish themselves from the crowd. It’s a frustrating problem, as visual elements and unique features can be as important as the welcome bonus for new players. Generic designs have a way of making customers turn around and leave.
So, what can a casino do to get a head-start on the competition? Gamification is one of the more popular ways of distinguishing an operator. Despite the popularity of conventional video games, related things like scoreboards and unlockable rewards are still rare at online casinos, which makes their use seem special to the more achievement-oriented crowd. Inevitably, it all depends on how much a casino is willing to reward its users.
Overall, though, the key to distinguishing a product (of any description) is to provide something that players can’t get anywhere else. For casinos and sports betting websites, this can incorporate design elements, unique bonuses, interactive content, and/or more simple things like enhanced personalisation. Believe it or not, customers love it when businesses remember their names, and this is reflected in repeat visits.