The importance of casino player loyalty in times of economic crisis
One of the gambling industry problems in the world and in Romania has become overcharging. Therefore, punters will probably become fewer and will have to be kept in casino floors if operators want to survive. The importance of retaining the loyalty of casino floors players is very important in times of economic crisis.
Finding and bringing in customers is notoriously harder than keeping the ones you have. Loyalty programs will be very important in the next 2-3 years when probably due to the loss of purchasing power due to double-digit inflation and high interest lending conditions, with ROBOR and IRCC of almost 10%, the gambling hall customers will be dwindling. Those who cross the threshold of the casinos will have to be kept in the fluff.
casino player loyalty
Rewarding of non-winning raffle tickets
By rewarding the non-winning tickets from various marketing campaigns (especially sweepstakes) to those who participate in the promotions of the gambling halls, it keeps alive the interest of players to come to the operators’ locations. After all, they can’t all be winners, but going home with a prize as a lucky looser has its charms, and often brings more joy to the winner.
We have noticed that as many Romanian operators as possible use this method of player loyalty. Some of these loyalty programs have turned into successful marketing campaigns offering players the same rewards they can get in a regular campaign: money and cars.
Loyalty – brand attachment
Stowe Shoemaker, dean of UNLV’s William F. Harrah College of Hospitality and an expert on loyalty marketing, says that “while loyalty itself is about creating the right business practices that create a preference or attachment to the business, a rewards program makes this possible by incentivizing customers to identify themselves” (Review Journal).
Operators need our personal data to improve our casino experience. So, we get loyalty card points or cash prizes from them in return for providing our data – what slot we like to play, what our favorite game is, what times of day we come most often or on what days, etc, and with all this data and more the casino/gaming room enhances our day when we are in their locations.
Loyalty of non-winners
In general, the loyalty cards that are used on the Romanian gambling market highlight how much that player has played in a particular casino floor being rewarded by points offered on the card and by passing the various levels of cards until you reach the VIP card, let’s say, which is the maximum possible, creating the possibility of redeeming these points in money and then, of course, play again in the casino floor and winning extra time for fun at the favorite machine. But I haven’t seen cards that show how good a player you are. For many customers ego-scratching would be more successful than a regular points card loyalty scheme. Having a card to prove how good you are at slots hasn’t been invented yet. I know, it’s better to reward non-winners than to encourage those with skill, but it would help the casino to show that it can reward those with skill as well. Of course, playing roulette or slot machines is a game of chance, it’s mathematics and you can’t compete with that. But there are more and more games where you can reward skill, for example in live games you can reward the best black jack player or someone playing a slot machine that tests their memory to find out where certain symbols are, etc. Of course, even these “skill based” games have a software that controls all the action, so we are not talking about too much involvement of the players in winning, as much as the feeling of it.
Nongaming loyalty
Some gaming venues allow rewards to be spent on non-gambling products and services, such as perfume or headphones or memory sticks, etc. You use the card during gaming sessions at the slot machines or betting terminals in the gaming room and accumulate points on the loyalty card that are used in the operator’s loyalty program to redeem for products in that marketing campaign. Many customers enjoy the thought of receiving a physical gift from the casino that they can keep as a memento of their time there or use in their daily lives.
The use of technology in casino player retention
Technology allows casinos to be in direct contact with players in real time. Therefore, gambling operators can ask their customers to download an app on their mobile phone that will allow casinos floors to stay in constant contact with their customers. Of course, that app must comply with current consumer data privacy laws in force in areas where there is applicable consumer data privacy legislation, such as GDPR across the EU, or must generally respect customer privacy. That app uses a set of notifications, allows the location of the customer within the property (if it’s a casino-resort) and give the gaming operator the possibility to identify when to offer specific rewards at a given time. For example, if they are a new customer they may receive a welcome reward, or you may notice if they are away from the casino for a period of time and give them a bonus to bring them back to the machines.
In some situations, behavioral analytics software can be installed on slot machines that examine real-time player behavior to identify when a loyalty incentive might keep a player engaged.
This software can track a player’s credit balance, bet size or frequency. When there is a sign of discouragement, the software can distribute an incentive, such as a free game, or alert a member of staff to ask the customer if they need anything from the bar, for example.
Loyalty programmes as a way to promote responsible gambling
Loyalty programmes can also be used to promote responsible gambling measures among players. In doing so, you can use this time when you are trying to retain your customers and educate them in the spirit of responsible gambling. Loyal and responsible customers are every operator’s dream. You can do this very easily through loyalty cards and generally player behaviour tracking software by analyzing your customer’s play. You know through the loyalty programmes you run and the KYC (Know Your Customer) measures if some of your players are prone to compulsive behaviour and you can track their progress and integrate them into the responsible gaming programmes that we run successfully.
Specifically, by giving players an accurate record of their spending behaviour over a period of time, as well as the riskiness of their play, it has been shown that you can reduce future spending and keep your player on site longer without causing them inconvenience. Showing the player that you care about them, that they can trust you leads to mutual trust and long-term loyalty. So, use loyalty programs and turn them into player empowerment programs and empower you as an operator to society.
Conclusion
The importance of casino player loyalty programs in times of economic crisis is huge because they will allow the gambling industry to survive the overtaxation and the tough economic conditions that are expected in 2023.
In a future episode we plan to address the issue of player loyalty to their preferred online casinos.
Sources: reviewjournal.com, “Loyalty programs in the gambling industry” by Dr. Michael J.A. Wohl, Carleton University
