In the second episode of our SlotBeats Spotlight, we asked our experts how they can replicate the success of its land-based experience with slots to its online audience.
How can the US successfully emulate the land-based slot experience for an online audience?
Jesper Kärrbrink: When a (casino) market opens up the first players to move online are normally the land based players who already are familiar with playing slots. If we look at the UK, Sweden, Denmark, Germany etc, we can see how these players favor the kind of games they played land based in casinos or in video lottery terminals.
At the same time this is not a 100 per cent rule, players tend to test different games and today the US players will have more and better games to choose from than when online gaming took off in Europe.
Vladimir Pavlov, Pariplay: Fundamentally, all markets started as retail only. Land-based slots have been around for decades, whereas online slots have only been on the scene for the last 20 years.
The US market is unique as online slots are still a novel concept and only a small percentage of the population has been exposed to them so far. The American Gaming Association estimates that 44 per cent of Americans visited a casino in 2019.
However, that percentage probably drops to a single digit if we talk about online gaming. The opportunity for casinos and providers alike is to tap into this cohort and establish their brand and games with them before looking to grow. Traditional land-based providers are believed to have an edge, as casino goers are already familiar with their games, but we see some native digital providers already performing very well too.
Jeff Millar, Evolution: By recreating the great customer experience for which land-based is rightly famous. Americans, whatever industry they’re in, have a talent for entertaining and creating an experience.
We’ve already witnessed first-hand the incredible marketing push that has been put behind the online industry in states where it is regulated. To succeed long-term, operators now need to deliver a consumer experience that is better than their rivals if they are to retain them.
For example, operators need to identify their VIP slot players, from both land-based and online channels, and treat them with an elevated level of service.
