Since the first online gambling site started operation in 1996, the iGaming industry has grown by leaps and bounds. Currently, the market has a size of 46 billion US dollars in the US in 2019 and is projected to hit 94 billion US dollars five years later. Boosted by the emergence and integration of new technology, the global gambling market will reach a projected $565.4 billion in the next 2 years.
With big growth comes big data
The growth of the iGaming industry is undeniable. It comes with an enormous volume of data at a fast pace. The size of the industry now makes it pertinent for a proactive iGaming business to squeeze as much juice as it can from the dynamic and vast data volume available.
For any business, data is nothing without data analysis. Making judicious use of the wealth of dynamic information is almost impossible without big data analytics. The question for an online gambling business remains how to make the best use of this large volume of data, analyze it for its customers' satisfaction, and of course, business growth.
Customize the Gaming experience of the players
No matter if you prefer playing roulette, poker, blackjack or some less popular card game like 3 card brag for which you can see a good guide here, we must agree that we all love the experience of personalized service. It gives us the impression that we matter and the business we patronize cares about us. Personalized service is an effective way of enhancing the gaming experience and overall satisfaction of online players.
Big data aids an iGaming business in tracking, of course ethically, the playing pattern and previous customer experience to provide customized excellent gambling services to make the players stick around. Big data also has the potential of using different parameters and factors to modify odds in real-time.
Bonuses and offers are one of the attractions of online gambling. Analyzing data helps online gambling businesses to understand the players' preferences and motivations. The analysis gives insight into attracting new players and keeping the old ones by providing them with unique offers, excellent customer service and an overall excellent gaming experience.
A key to fighting gambling addiction
Gambling addiction is one vice the many holds against the gambling industry. The growth of the iGaming industry means an unprecedented increase in the number of gamblers and the rise in problem gambling.
Gambling addiction disrupts the finances, jobs, social life, sanity, among others, of the affected persons. For iGaming companies to show they care and earn a long term trust of the customers, they need to do more than having "gamble responsibly" at the bottom of their websites. A real effective measure against gambling addiction is an effective marketing can on its own. The question is how do iGaming companies identify and fight customers' gambling addiction?
Big data with advanced analytics is the answer to identifying addictive behaviors in customers at the early stages. Admittedly, it is most likely to detect addiction problems after it is already in motion. Combining it with other technologies such as machine learning and artificial intelligence can assist in very early detection. A UK software company, BetBuddy, has set an example of how these technologies can be combined to nick the bud of gambling addiction before it becomes a thing with its PowerCrunch application.
More productive marketing strategies and campaign
A marketing strategy and campaign in the online gambling industry without customer profiling cannot be said to be effective. Keeping the customer happy and coming back is as important as getting new ones on board. That requires marketing to them on an individual scale. The only limit to the player's insight that can be picked up with big data is the iGaming business's creativity.
The magic of big data is as potent on an individual scale as identifying and tailoring marketing messages to a demographic. Facts and figures are readily available in analytical form. It cut out the marketing team's work as existing techniques developed with data can be applied to relevant demographics. For example, an online casino can offer a specific bonus and free play on some games depending on the age, gender, location, etc., instead of generic tips that may not be attractive to all.
Also, big data will come handy for an online gambling site to spy on its competitors, see what they are up to, what games visitors are playing most and so on. Used right, this sort of information will give any website a competitive edge in the market.
Final thought
The online gambling industry is one of the fastest-growing industries on the internet and also highly competitive with iGaming companies needing to bring all the Arsenals at their disposal to get a share of the market. One thing is evident with all the growth and competition, a company taking advantage of a technological tool like big data increases its chance of boost in profit and overall competitiveness in the market.