Businesses across the world have taken a pummeling during 2020, and while some are struggling through, others are falling by the wayside. Some companies haven’t only managed to get through what is hopefully the worst of the pandemic, they have also managed to grow.
One industry that is coming through the past year or so in a healthy shape is the online casino industry. They have gained more customers than before and more websites are springing up to give consumers ever more choice. While the pandemic caused the US casino industry to lose $12 billion in revenue the online counterpart only grew.
The Unstoppable Rise Of The Online Casino Brandspurng
Of course, many of the people swarming to online casinos are simply the same people who were gambling in brick-and-mortar establishments, but the pandemic isn’t the only reason why these businesses are successful. They follow many sound practices that other businesses could learn from.
They employ vertical integration
Although not every online casino does this there is a large number who do. Vertical integration is where a business owns and controls its suppliers, distributors, and if applicable, its retail locations.
This means that overheads are cut, quality is easier to manage, and processes – in theory – become more efficient. Netflix and Apple are examples of businesses that employ this strategy. Instead of paying huge sums for licensing existing movies, they realized they could produce original content under their own banner for less and own the rights fully.
Online casinos also use vertical integration to a degree by producing their own games including variations of poker, blackjack, and slot machines, all hosted on their own VPS servers.
They use a mobile-first approach
Google considers mobile compatibility and optimization as very important when it comes to SERPs. In fact, Google now rates mobile versions of websites before it considers the desktop version.
The reason for this is because of how people access the net. It is believed that up to 90% of internet uses will visit websites with a mobile device rather than a laptop or PC. This is a trend that can also be seen in emerging countries where smartphones are more readily available than computers.
Online casinos optimize all their games including slots and poker rooms to be played on mobile phones and tablets. Unlike multi-player online video games, casinos are much less CPU and memory-intensive so they suit mobile devices already. Any business that doesn’t treat mobile devices as important as online casinos do, risks sliding down the SERPs, especially since Google Core Vitals has come into play.
They use the lower overheads to give bigger returns to customers
The return to player, or RTP, in slot machines online can be significantly higher than ones found in land-based casinos. The reason for this is that businesses based online usually have much lower overheads than traditional companies.
The key here is that a casino online chooses to give some of this extra profit back. This creates trust and grows loyalty to the brand. In a market that is ever more competitive, these are areas that all businesses should be concerned about.
They offer more payment methods than most businesses
While millions of people shop online every day and understand the convenience and benefits of doing so, many only pay with debit or credit cards. Of course, e-commerce platforms such as Amazon offer a variety of ways to pay; these mostly involve cards and some bank deposits through third-party sellers.
Online casinos consider ways to make their customer’s lives more convenient and one of these areas is payment methods. It is not unusual to find over twenty payment options in an online sportsbook or casino. These might include e-wallets, debit cards, bank and wire transfers, and cryptocurrencies.
Bitcoin and cryptocurrency are being accepted more and more for online gaming and gambling. Where you might struggle to use crypto in many online retailers, there are even bitcoin bingo sites now. This is perhaps not surprising when you consider how online casinos use technology.
Online casinos embrace change
Some would say there is an almost unstoppable rise in online casinos, and this may be partly due to them using technology to keep moving forwards.
Whereas some companies stick rigidly to old tried-and-trusted techniques to keep going, online casinos look to the future. Virtual reality and AI are being employed more and virtual sports are becoming bigger too. Instead of being restricted to live games, schedules, and seasons, consumers can now bet on virtual football, virtual horses, and virtual MMA, if they wish.
They use live casinos to try and make a more realistic casino experience in the player’s home and as VR moves forward there will be the option to visit a 3D fully-realized casino through a headset.
They employ great customer service
All businesses should be aware of how important customer service is these days. In pre-internet days consumers relied on TV shows to warn of poor service, newspaper or magazine articles, and word-of-mouth. Any business ignoring customer service now can have its reputation damaged through social media, Google reviews, or online articles in no time at all.
To consider how important customer service is you have to consider that 97% of people said they would tell others if they received great customer service, and 70% would spend more money too. However, nearly 60% would move to another supplier if they received poor customer service.
Online casino companies are fully aware of this and indeed the casino industry as a whole has always known the importance of customer service. Land-based casinos comp their guests with rooms and food, online casinos give out loyalty bonuses and free slot machine spins.
Summary
From vertical integration and control of their entertainment & games, through convenient payment methods to customer service. Online casinos consider not only how to make a profit but how to attract players and keep them.
They give out high returns, loyalty bets, advertise the jackpot totals, and bonuses, introduce new forms of entertainment such as VR, and provide a safe and secure environment to play in. Security is also taken very seriously in online casinos and is just one more area that some other businesses might want to emulate.
