It’s all about community spirit

Giorgi Tsutskiridze – Chief Commercial Officer at SPRIBE, says operators must stock their lobbies with games that deliver social interaction if they are to engage the next generation of players and future-proof their businesses

If operators want to future-proof their brands and businesses, they need to focus on engaging Millennial and Gen Z players. Why? Because this demographic often represents the largest audience cohort in the majority of markets from the UK to LatAm.

In the UK, for example, more than 30% of gamblers are aged between 35 and 44 while in Brazil, Millennials make up more than 34% of the population and 50% of its workforce.

These players are the next generation of online casino customers, but their preferences are different to those that have come before them. And not only in terms of the games they play but in how those games are played, especially when it comes to interacting with others.

This has seen operators stock their lobbies with non-traditional content in a bid to provide the entertainment this audience is seeking. This includes things like mines, dice, hilo, plinko and of course crash games.

But offering these games alone is not enough. To really engage this hard-to-reach but lucrative demographic, they need to be wrapped up in deeply social experiences that allow players to connect with others and enjoy shared experiences.

This needs to be baked into the gameplay itself, which is why the crash format has been such a runaway success. These games are simple in nature – Aviator takes the increasing curve format – and, more importantly, multiplayer.

Keeping the game simple makes it easy to understand with players unwilling to waste time and money learning a new format. In addition, by giving players control over when to cash out, they have a sense of ownership over the outcome.

This is hugely important to Millennials and Gen Z players, many of whom grew up with connected video games where they had ultimate control over their destiny.

The multiplayer element is a must, too. This creates a community around the game with players able to post their scores on the real-time leaderboard and compete with others. This really cranks up the competitive spirit inside all of us.

But multiplayer formats and live leaderboards alone are not enough to provide the social interaction next-gen players are seeking and this is why we include a chat function in Aviator.

This is where the community really comes together with players sharing big wins, strategies and general banter about the game. We’ve also built a promotional feature, Rain Promo, that allows players to share free bets within the chat – making it “rain” down for other players.

Another highly effective social interaction feature is group bets, which we recently rolled out. The idea behind this is to encourage players to join forces with their friends and compete for a share of the “community wins”.

Joining group bets is super easy – players can see active groups or friends who are about to place a bet and then join in if they like via a single click. The feature has been integrated into the game interface so it’s really accessible and easy to use.

Once in a group bet, all participants share the outcome which means the game’s payout is divided among the group based on the amount each player has bet. This delivers social interaction in spades and also brings another strategic element with players discussing when to cash out collectively.

While savvy operators will look to games such as Aviator to acquire Millennial and Gen Z players, they are incredibly effective when it comes to retention, too.

The community these games foster encourages players to return time and again. Not only that, but players share their wins and engagement on other channels such as social media which in turn drives customer acquisition.

It must be remembered that Millennials and Gen Z have grown up with technology at their fingertips and are very accustomed to interacting online through social media and multiplayer mobile gaming. This has made them value experiences that can be shared and are communal.

This is the opposite of what online casinos have traditionally offered, with most players in solitude and simply hitting spin and waiting to see if they win. The rise in non-traditional content hitting game lobbies suggests operators understand this and have reacted to the change in preferences.

But that alone is not enough. Ultimately, operators need to offer games where social interaction and community spirit are at the heart of the player experience. Those that do will be able to acquire and retain players at the scale needed to future-proof their brands and businesses.