This presentation was originally developed for the Global Interactive Gaming Summit and Expo (GiGse) 2014 and was presented in a panel on player acquisition by Nicky Senyard, CEO of Income Access Group.
GiGse 2014 Recap – Day Two
Day Two has come and gone – it’s hard to believe that we only have one more day left of GiGse! Yesterday was even more action-packed and successful than day one. The highlight was definitely the panel on player acquisition strategies through digital marketing techniques during which Nicky, our CEO, gave a presentation.
The main topics of discussion included the regulated market landscape in the US, marketing opportunities and hurdles, the effect of social gaming on real-money gaming (RMG), what else the US market offers, and what advice we can heed from the EU market.
Yesterday’s panel offered insights on how operators and affiliates should be approaching the US market. Of note was the important role that social gaming and other alternatives within the iGaming space, namely horse racing and fantasy sports, will play. The key, however, is to combine innovative digital marketing techniques to acquire customers and increase CRM.
Other interesting presentations included a talk by Frank Pracukowski of Foxwoods Interactive, who compared the story of Blockbuster and Netflix with the current reluctance of land based casinos to evolve within the digital space. Today there will be panels on lotteries, the legislative progress in California and a full slate of social gaming offerings at the Social Casino Summit - an exciting day all in all!
2. 1. Market landscape in NJ, NV, DE
2. Marketing opportunities and hurdles
1. Impact of social gaming on RMG operations
2. US gaming market as a whole – alternative product offerings
3. What can we learn from mature European market?
TOPICS OF DISCUSSION
3. 1. Considerations of each market:
• Legislation – impacts on marketing, content, market growth
• Geolocation, content, and payment processing – limitation on market
growth
• Population – impacts on appetite for market entry and saturation
• Taxation – profitability and growth
• Marketing – ability to create a balanced marketing ecosystem
MARKET LANDSCAPE
4. MARKETING HURDLES AND OPPORTUNITIES
2. Marketing hurdles and opportunities:
• Massive impact of online marketing on a digital business
• In launch of NJ market, regulation did not foster a robust online marketing
presence
• Size and critical mass of the NJ, DE and NV markets have limited the growth
and entry of key digital groups, including Google and affiliates
• A healthy marketing ecosystem involves a balance between above-the-line
mass-marketing activities and digital below-the-line niche marketing
activities
5. MARKETING HURDLES AND OPPORTUNITIES
2. Recommended marketing ecosystem:
• Mass market (above-the-line):
TV | Print | Radio | Billboards | Ad networks (online and mobile)
• Targeted (below-the-line):
SEO| PPC| Social media| Affiliates| Email/content marketing
6. MARKETING HURDLES AND OPPORTUNITIES
2. Above-the-line activities:
• Strengths:
Properties are currently working with their land-based agencies
Ad agencies are actively participating in above-the-line activities and leveraging their
experience in the land-based market
Above-the-line activities build general awareness for the market as a whole
• Opportunities:
These activities are not targeted and have not proven to be cost-effective for the online
market, and can benefit from complementary below-the-line activities
Improving brand consistency between land-based and online operations
through the use of digital below-the-line activities
As online display becomes more targeted, it more closely resembles below-the-line activities
7. MARKETING HURDLES AND OPPORTUNITIES
2. Digital below-the-line activities:
• Strengths:
Digital marketing channels provide the ability to target specific users with specific preferences
Recent changes in licensing requirements are encouraging digital marketers to enter the market
Digital below-the-line activities create new marketing real estate to reach targeted audiences
Digital marketing channels offer the ability to clearly track and measure ROI of marketing spend
• Opportunities:
Digital below-the-line marketing, previous to the NJ regulatory changes, did not exist
Digital activities have not happened due to the initial regulatory environment
Google has not been an active participant in the market as of yet and is unlikely to
enter until a critical increase in opportunity
Optimizing specific content related to regulated online gambling still presents a significant opportunity
8. 2. What can support a balanced ecosystem?
1. Regulation that fosters below-the-line digital marketing activities, including affiliates (third-
party marketers)
2. Regulation that encourages email marketing and supports current property database
marketing activities
3. Creating a legislative environment that is practical and allows for optimal traffic flow
4. Approval of interstate compacts to generate pooled liquidity
5. The significant growth opportunity for the US regulated iGaming market as a whole will
support the development of a balanced marketing ecosystem
MARKETING HURDLES AND OPPORTUNITIES
9. 3. Relationship between social casinos and RMG:
• Social casinos and social gambling opportunities are becoming more and
more impactful to the marketplace
• Social casinos offer the casino experience without a requirement to deposit,
and no ability to cash-out
• Social casinos exist both within social platforms (such as Facebook), as well
as online (web-based) and via mobile (iOS, Android)
• These offerings have positive impacts to both regulated and non-regulated
states in the US
IMPACT OF SOCIAL GAMING ON RMG OPERATIONS
10. 3. Relationship between social casinos and RMG:
• Regulated states
• Social casinos are partnering with real-money operators and offering a co-branded
experience to players outside the regulated jurisdiction
• Non-regulated states
• Social casinos provide an alternative digital offering opportunity to brick-and-mortar casinos
that cannot presently offer a real-money iGaming experience
• Social casinos are being used as a marketing acquisition channel to bring
new customers to the property
• Brick-and-mortar casinos have an additional platform through which
they can engage with their customers
• Social casinos can act as an additional revenue source, by offering
the same familiar games to customers while they are away from the property
IMPACT OF SOCIAL GAMING ON RMG OPERATIONS
11. US GAMING MARKET AS A WHOLE
4. Impact of alternative verticals in the iGaming space:
• Horse-betting platforms
• Horse-betting has been prevalent in the US for a number of years
• Key operators such as Twinspires (a Churchill Downs company) and Draft Kings
• Real-money operators have not expressed interest or felt impact of horse-betting offerings
in the market
• Fantasy sports
• Fantasy sports platforms have also had a presence in the US market for several years, with
Income Access clients including BetAmerica and FanDuel
• Real-money operators are focusing on providing a casino and poker
experience to players
• Low regulation is presenting opportunities for growth in the
fantasy vertical
12. 5. What experience can we take from the European Market?
1. Growth takes time
2. Importance of cultivating a balanced marketing ecosystem
3. Significance of regulating a single vertical (such as poker)
4. Understanding digital customer behavioral preferences that drive growth
5. Market entrance can be successful with strong branding, content and product
6. Transparency and cooperation between digital operators, regulators, marketers, and
suppliers
7. Benefit of effective regulation in maintaining a safe and sustainable market
8. Benchmarking data and metrics
WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM MATURE MARKETS