"Are you spending more but earning less?" - With the rising cost of customer acquisition and shrinking profit margins, this has become a core dilemma for many iGaming operators. Dirk Camilleri, Chief Product Officer at iGP, points out that the industry's sustainable growth no longer relies solely on acquiring new customers but rather on tapping into the potential of existing players through effective retention, engagement, and cross-selling strategies to activate their value potential.
From Acquisition to Retention: Growth Starts with the "Second Touch"
It's common to attract players at a high cost only to lose them after the first round of experience. Most losses are not due to a lack of interest but a lack of effective follow-up touchpoints. Camilleri emphasizes that retention is the core of sustainable growth, but traditional bonuses and emails are no longer sufficient. Operators need mechanisms that drive behavioral changes, systems that create expectations and gamified experiences, and scalable, easy-to-deploy campaign tools.
Engagement Mechanisms: From "Filling Content" to Lifecycle Driven
The key to enhancing engagement is not "more content" but the "right mechanisms." For example, iGP's "Lucky Wheel" can be triggered automatically based on deposits or gaming behavior, providing players with a branded reward experience and giving operators full control. This mechanism has become a core part of their retention system.
At the same time, scalable cross-vertical progressive jackpot systems are increasingly valued. iGaming Deck is about to launch a related solution that supports operators in operating unified brand rewards across different products without the burden of heavy infrastructure or financial responsibilities, empowering large-scale CRM activities.
Understanding Players for Natural Cross-Selling
Guiding players from sports betting to casinos or vice versa should not rely on hard selling but should design smooth transition points. Low-friction mechanisms such as lucky draws, multi-tier rewards, and instant reveals can create a seamless experience, guiding users to explore more products.
For example, triggering casino jackpot rewards after sports betting or participating in event-related draws after casino deposits respects player behavior and enhances product interconnectivity, reducing user churn.
Winning with Efficiency: Execution is the Real Moat
When all operators are doing similar things, differentiation comes from "who does it faster, more accurately, and more automated." Intelligent mechanisms must be deeply tied to the brand and user behavior, not just stacked surface benefits. A truly efficient system should be quickly deployable, cost-reducing, and enhance the lifetime value of users.
Looking at Growth Again: The Value is in Your Existing Users
The next growth opportunity is not about "who to bring in" but "how to tap into those already here." Those who have registered but not retained, only play a single product, or ignore reward mechanisms are actually the easiest incremental conversions. What operators need to do is not to drive traffic again but to provide new incentives, mechanisms, and journeys.
Summary: The future competition in iGaming is not about "who attracts the most new users," but about "who can afford the cost of retention and who can dig out value from existing users." The tools are mature, and the mechanisms are available; the only difference is whether you know how to use them.
