Gamification Trends in Online Casinos

Author: Tadas Peckaitis

Online casinos had changed a lot since the early days some two decades ago when iGaming was still a fledgling industry. Today, they offer all sorts of novelties, including mobile gaming, live dealer games, interactive slots, and much more.

However, a trend that has been changing the industry in recent years is gamification!

Gamification is a relatively new concept, which refers to adding video game experience to the elements of online casinos that are not themselves meant to be a game.

For example, an online casino might adjust how it awards players for their loyalty by adding various game-like elements to the platform to make it more engaging.

Today, we will cover the gamification phenomenon within the iGaming industry and how it has changed the way we look at and use online casinos.

How Gamification Works in Online Casinos

The world of online casinos has been changing in many ways, and the emerging gamification trends have changed the lobbies of such sites in ways that make them nearly incomparable to what we had just a few years ago.

The top iGaming operators have recognized a need for players, especially the younger generations, to be more involved with the casino itself, especially if they want to return and play again on the same site.

A study of a large Spanish online casino has shown that adding gamification elements to a casino site increases new player engagement and makes the site more appealing to the customers. This clearly showed the importance of this process, and the trend is likely to be going only up moving forward, as casino sites with gamification keep emerging.

Among the popular gamification elements, online casinos have been using leaderboards, mini-games like wheels of fortune or scratch-off cards, level progression systems, and unique player avatars to engage players and give them a more wholesome experience.

On the whole, it has worked well with the younger players, who are becoming an important customer base for online casinos as more and more players from new generations join the iGaming world.

Popular Gamification Trends

As I already mentioned, many gamification elements have been used successfully by different companies.

These are the most popular and common trends that you might see at an online casino these days:

• Player Avatars: While it may not be completely necessary, having an avatar of yourself appear on your screen as you play games can be quite engaging. Online casinos use avatars to give players a sense of connection with their online persona.
• Progression Bars: Loyalty schemes are nothing new, but gamification has taken them to a whole new level. Progression bars that show your current “level” and your progress towards the next one are a great mix of video games and online casinos.
• Experience and Missions: Gaining experience points is a common thing in various role-playing games, as are the missions or quests you need to complete. Online casinos use these to give players an experience similar to what they may be getting when playing various video games like World of Warcraft to make them feel more familiar with the platform.
• Leaderboards: Competition always generates action, and action is what the casinos strive for. By getting players involved in leaderboards that offer prizes for top performers, online casinos get players to wager more and enjoy more at the same time.
• Mini-games: Getting a chance to spin a wheel to win a potential prize once a day or scratch off some cards and possibly win a major jackpot is a great way for casinos to get you to keep coming back and a common element at many casinos these days.
• Player versus Player Play: Are you sick of playing against the house all the time? Some online casinos offer the PvP function, allowing you to play certain casino games and compete against other players to win real prizes in real-time.

Gamification in Online Slots

It isn’t just the online casinos who have realized the value of gamification, but the slot developers as well. Some major companies in this industry, such as Rival, Play’n GO, and Betsoft, have realized that making their slots more engaging will also increase customer retention rates.

A part of the gamification of slots by these developers includes video cut scenes added to the start of each session and scattered throughout gameplay.

Mini-games within the slots also add a lot of fun, taking the player away from the basic game into a completely different game, making the whole experience more versatile and engaging.

More recently, some slot developers have even experimented with the idea of FPS-like video slots, in which the player makes his way through a virtual world, shoots at enemies, and wins coins.

These games no longer resemble classic slots in any way, taking gamification to a whole new level.

How Is Gamification Revolutionizing iGaming

The introduction of gamification by online casino companies came from the realization that the same old casino gameplay wasn’t cutting it anymore and that players wanted something more.

Without changing their entire model, online casinos introduced gamification to keep players engaged and interested in playing more often and spending more time on their sites.

Gamification allows players to compete and have goals while playing, which is a very important motivation factor, especially among the young players who are used to competing on the internet all the time.

These same trends have also translated very well to casino game streams, with streamers often playing at gamification casinos and having a chance to show their viewers more than just the actual gameplay.

The new way of presenting the loyalty schemes and player rewards has made them seem less of a grind and more exciting and adventurous experience that anyone might enjoy.

With all that said, you should remember that what casinos offer is still gambling, and you should be careful not to risk more money than you can afford to lose. Just look at it like any other entertainment, rather than a way to make money, and you will be good.