SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
Operators must become significantly more savvy with the implementation of customisation and personalisation techniques that can have a significant influence on success by driving a 40% or higher difference in players’ lifetime value, says Oleksandr Feshchenko, Deputy CEO & CRO at GR8 Tech.
However, should igaming incumbents not want to risk players seeking more engaging experiences elsewhere, they will need to keep pace with the experiences and expectations witnessed across other sectors, such as digital spaces that include social media and e-commerce.
“Personalisation is important for maximising the effectiveness of both acquisition and retention,” Feshchenko says when pressed on if personalisation is the next frontier that could enable the industry to soar to new heights.
“Operators who are good at tailoring their product and content to different segments of their audience spend less on attracting users and generate more revenue within their existing user base.
“Personalisation is closely tied to technological advancements, which is why it’s becoming the next big thing in igaming. With the rise of advanced data analytics and AI, operators can now get a much clearer picture of player behaviour.
“By understanding patterns and preferences, they can offer tailored marketing, recommend games or betting options, and create promotions that are more likely to catch a player’s attention.”
“…personalisation also means creating solutions tailored to users’ specific needs and technological limitations”
Consistent evolution is certainly not uncommon across igaming, with various aspects of the online gaming space in a constant state of flux.
However, for GR8 Tech, a desire to continuously improve experience for players, as well as offering operators additional tools to meet changing demands, is led by steady investment into new technologies.
“For us, personalisation also means creating solutions tailored to users’ specific needs and technological limitations, especially in markets like Africa, where challenges like low bandwidth, device constraints, and market saturation persist,” Feshchenko explains.
“By optimising our high-performance platform through a lightweight frontend for our African client Mojabet, we reduced load times from over 10 seconds to an average of 1.5 seconds, resulting in a 12% improvement in user conversion from registration to the first deposit.
“Customised homepage filters and AI-driven recommendations have further boosted retention rates from 10% to 25% by simplifying navigation and catering to regional betting preferences.
“Our AI recommendation models sort all content on our platform by the probability that a player is here to bet on a specific game.
“…models are also personalised, so each player sees different content in the lobby based on their previous activity”
“This way, when players visit our client’s platform, they immediately see what’s most likely to interest them. The models are also personalised, so each player sees different content in the lobby based on their previous activity.”
Additionally, microsegmentation forms a critical component of the GR8 Tech operation. This sees all CRM content, such as bonus campaigns, gamification quests, achievements, tournaments, notifications, SMS and emails, become targeted at specific player types.
These microsegments can be created in the back office by combining rules that include player profile attributes or behavioural metrics calculated by the company’s platform, such as ARPU, number of logins in the last 30 days, and top five sports.
“The same microsegments can be used to target different versions of pages in the CMS – for example, one main page for casino-first players, another for sports-first players, and a third for newbies registered within the last two weeks,” Feshchenko continues.
“These segments can also be used to customise product features, such as items in the sports menu or the availability of cashout.
“We can even target different pricing and RTPs to specific player microsegments on our platform. For example, we can offer more favourable odds to hardcore players who place hundreds of bets each month.
“…reliance [on external partners] can make personalisation not only more complex and costly but practically unfeasible”
“By winning over these players, our client operators can benefit from significant turnover, offsetting the slightly lower margins on each bet compared to average casual players.”
Despite a steady stream of positives when it comes to personalisation solutions, implementation of additional layers comes with its own set of challenges. Feshchenko adds that this primarily concerns the sheer size and complexity of a sportsbook and casino platform.
This, he notes, can be a mammoth task, especially for those that rely on external partners for core modules like sports, casino, CMS, CRM, payments, or affiliate marketing.
“In some cases, the reliance can make personalisation not only more complex and costly but practically unfeasible,” he says.
“That’s why we choose to develop everything in-house, allowing us to implement unified segmentation and personalisation capabilities across all parts of our highly efficient platform.”
Personalisation and customisation can also help when it comes to issues such as tackling harms. This is set to take centre stage within the UK this month when the annual Safer Gambling Week takes place on November 18-24.
“Through tailored recommendations … AI boosts engagement responsibly, reducing exposure to unsuitable games or high-stakes offers”
This again boils down to segmentation, driven by machine learning, which permits clients to apply stricter risk settings and restrictions for potentially risky or fraudulent players, while keeping gameplay simple for casual users.
“Through tailored recommendations, bonuses, and promotions personalised to individual player profiles, AI boosts engagement responsibly, reducing exposure to unsuitable games or high-stakes offers,” Feshchenko continues.
“By analysing player behaviour in depth, our AI system detects potentially risky actions and applies preventive measures specific to each user, rather than relying on generic restrictions.
“In fraud prevention, our personalised AI systems monitor nuanced behavioural anomalies, such as unexpected betting patterns or account inconsistencies, to help identify early fraud tactics, including multi-accounting and arbitrage.
“By customising security responses to each player’s typical behaviour, AI-powered systems enable precise, real-time interventions, like flagging or restricting suspicious actions.”
Inevitably, talk naturally shifted to looking at what could shape the future when it comes to personalisation. Perhaps unsurprisingly, one popular theme was placed under the spotlight.
“Customisation will likely focus on hyper-localised experiences tailored to regional preferences”
However, as AI personalisation becomes more effective, Feshchenko warns that smaller platforms and operators will find it increasingly difficult to compete with larger enterprises as they have less data to train their models, and fewer users to test their effectiveness.
“The maturity of personalisation capabilities will become crucial for platforms, as their commercial impact becomes clearer to operators,” he concludes
“Customisation will likely focus on hyper-localised experiences tailored to regional preferences, device capabilities, and user behaviours.
“With growing market competition, operators will need modular solutions that adapt to local infrastructures and preferences.
“GR8 Tech’s high-performance platform is designed to meet various demands, offering operators the flexibility to implement personalised and adaptive solutions that enhance user engagement across diverse markets.
“While pricing remains a primary factor in operators’ choices, personalisation capabilities that can drive a 40% or higher difference in LTV have a significant influence on platform success.”
