In the rapidly evolving iGaming landscape, companies like PokerStars, 888Poker, and Partypoker, are shifting away from traditional reward programs to more personalized, gamified systems. This shift to benefit users based on their unique gaming habits and preferences is driving higher engagement and loyalty, leading to growth in the industry overall.
Throughout the digital landscape, innovation is intrinsic to the success of businesses. With console gaming slowly slipping from the mainstream radar, online gaming, or iGaming, is hastily stepping to the fore. Like all digital platforms, to maintain relevance, online gaming platforms must continue to adapt and revamp their strategies. The challenge for these platforms is achieving a balance between rewarding loyal users and engaging new ones, and as of late, tremendous strides have been made in this very space.
In the last decade, significant shifts have taken place throughout the ranking and reward systems of various iGaming platforms. Today, platfoms like PokerStars, 888Poker and Partypoker, widely recognized in the iGaming industry, have begun to steer away from traditional, predictable reward programs and have adopted more gamified versions. The goal of this transition is to boost customer engagement and loyalty through a system that caters to players’ enjoyment and play preferences.
The de facto leader of the iGaming industry, PokerStars, has spearheaded this new approach to reward programs. In 2017, the platform launched its novel reward system aptly titled Stars Reward. This dynamic system provides tailored rewards to individual gamers, creating an enhancing impact on overall player experience. Sources close to the company reveal the Stars Reward is a key player in the platform’s impressive recent user engagement numbers.
The change indicates a more balanced playing field as rewards now depend not only on the volume of play but also on recent user activities, personal gaming preferences and players’ net deposits. This departure from the standard rakeback program, an incentive model that returns a certain percentage of a player’s paid fees, is seen as a way of encouraging a wider demographic of players to participate more frequently.
Similarly, 888Poker introduced its 888Club in 2016, which uses a system of tokens and levels to encourage customer engagement. The loyalty scheme is innovative in its conceptualization of challenges that, when completed, allow users to ascend to different levels with a corresponding increase in rewards. This new strategy has reportedly resulted in an uptick of new user registrations and the reduction of player churn.
Partypoker’s recent overhaul of its loyalty program exhibits similar strides in the industry’s development. Giving players back control via a simplified cashback reward program, the new platform permits players to exchange points for cash, pushing for higher engagement and playing frequency.
What brings these reward program modifications into stark relief is a report from the American Gaming Association, stating that increased engagement led to a 3.7% revenue growth in the casino industry. While online gaming wasn’t explicitly included in these figures, it’s reasonable to deduce that a similar outcome is likely in the digital space. This fact is further supported by a study from Technavio, which forecasts an Additionally, Technavio predicts a 18.84% growth rate in the global online gaming market during 2021-2025, largely driven by new customer acquisition.
Reflecting on these changes, it’s clear that the drive towards personalized reward systems is not merely a transient trend, but appears to be the key to the continued growth of the iGaming industry. As platforms continue to innovate and adapt their customer engagement strategies, players can look forward to an evolving gaming experience, tailored to their enjoyment and gaming habits.
In the end, every step taken is a testament to how the industry listens and responds to its users, a delicate dance that defines the realm of gaming in the digital era. The players have spoken, and the industry has answered. The future of iGaming awaits with bated breath to see what comes next.
Sources:
1. PokerStars Rewards (https://www.pokerstars.com/poker/promotions/stars-rewards/)
2. 888Poker Club (https://www.888poker.com/888club/)
3. Partypoker Cashback (https://www.partypoker.com/en/how-to-play/cashback)
4. Report from American Gaming Association (https://www.americangaming.org/)
5. Technavio Report (https://www.technavio.com/report/online-gambling-market-industry-analysis)
