iGaming Business magazine Mobile Gaming Outlook | Page 11

Mobile Gaming Outlook
Optimising CROSS-SELL
OPPORTUNITIES
Henrik Fagerlund describes how sophisticated use of mobile can unlock the potential
for effective cross-selling
Estimates vary, but adults are now thought to spend an average of
around two-to-three hours per day on mobile devices. That’s about
three days a month – or almost 40 days per year.
It’s a lot of screen time. And, as smartphone devices become
increasingly sophisticated, and as they tap into more and more
aspects of our lives, the figures are steadily rising.
Consumers’ expectations are heading in the same direction and
the outcome of the medium facilitating so many activities and
pastimes is a clear and marked trend towards mobile first.
Of all the gaming verticals, this is especially pronounced when it
comes to sports betting, where the mobile device is king.
It is important to keep this in mind when creating products that
are aimed at cross-selling to sports bettors. To cater for this audience
requires a deep understanding of the end user and their preferences.
At a basic level, cross-selling might work by lining up two different
products and marketing them to players, but you’re not going to
be able to do much more than hope for the best here. The rates of
conversion and long-term engagement will be low.
Reaching a deeper level of chemistry takes a considerable
commitment and level of resource but the experience will be vastly
superior, along with the value of the results.
Carefully tailored and attractive engagement opportunities that
have a genuine appeal and benefit are needed in order to get on the
radar of today’s players.
This starts by speaking and listening to players. What do they like
– and just as importantly dislike? What do they want to see in the
future, and what improvements would they suggest?
Operators understand the potential of converting sports bettors
into casino players and they are finally able do so in a meaningful
and exciting way.
Optimising sports betting cross-sell opportunities has come a
long way since the most reliable method was seen as launching a
rudimentary football-themed slot game or gifting a valued player a
series of free spins during the World Cup or major tournament.
Now we are seeing examples of true integration and that adds to
the players experience and is delivering for all parties.
The reason for this is that the rapid evolution of mobile
has unlocked all manner of possibilities for other verticals to
Henrik Fagerlund is chief product officer of
NetEnt Malta Ltd and has been at NetEnt since
2014. Henrik has 13 years of experience
working in both B2B and B2C operations in the
gaming industry. He has held top positions at
Paf and Boss Media (now GTECH).
keep pace with sports, and the innovation houses at the sector’s
leading suppliers have advanced on a similar upward trajectory.
NetEnt has demonstrated this with the launch of an industry-
first widget that allows simultaneous sports betting and live
casino action.
The Sports Betting Widget utilises unique streaming technology
and content management tools to create seamless sessions, where
operators can offer live odds on any sport, match or marketplace on
any NetEnt Live game table.
It launched with Stoixman during the 2018 World Cup in Russia
and followed a similar invention, Live Sports Roulette, which lets
players keep up to date with scores and real-time updates during
football matches while playing Live Roulette, with dealers also
commenting on the action.
Positive numbers have consistently been reported for both
products. During a promotion held on the day of the Champions
League final, aimed at utilising and promoting the Sports Betting
Widget with a small selection of key customers, total bets and
estimated game win both increased by almost 350%, compared to
the pre-promotion period.
Key to the success of these and similar immersive products is that
they are wrapped into the channel of choice: mobile.
The achievement of these types of products has created a firm
platform to build on and they are going to remain a prominent
development focus in the future.
There are really no limitations from a tech perspective as to how
creative we can be in trying to integrate sports and sports betting into
the live casino world.
The result will be a much more fluid gaming ecosystem spanning
over several gaming verticals, fuelled by enjoyable and exciting
experiences that are embraced by different types of players.
i GamingBusiness | Issue 112 | September/October 2018
91