The sustainable gaming customer

Customers represent gaming operators’ most valuable assets. Based on our work with various stakeholders in the gaming ecosystem and several years of customer research, we believe operators can cultivate long-term customer relationships that lead to sustained business success by adopting four tenets: trust, enjoyment, value, and protection.

The results of our most recent gaming survey are detailed in our new paper, The sustainable gaming customer. Insights into online, sports, and casino gambler preferences and needs include:

• At least half of gamblers trust operators to treat them fairly, make honest disclosures, provide prompt withdrawals and payouts, and protect their information. At the same time, tolerance for gambling advertising fell to 53 percent from 67 percent the prior year and could signal a shift in sentiment.
• More than 50 percent of gamblers select online games based on speed of play. One in five sports gamblers prefers in-play betting over betting on final outcomes.
• Sixty percent of US gamblers prioritize higher-value jackpots compared to 44 percent of UK gamblers. Big jackpots also tend to attract younger gamblers while older generations lean toward games with higher return-to-player (RTP) percentages.
• Ninety percent of gamblers have at least some awareness of common player protections—an increase from 82 percent last year. However, 38 percent of gamblers have never used them.

Maintaining a sustainable gaming industry requires all hands on deck—including operators and suppliers as well as media and sports organizations—to determine the right combination of gaming products and player protections.