Industry News
“Against All Odds” – Will sound be the key to future winnings for betting and gaming brands?
Max De Lucia, Co-Founder and Client Director of specialist sonic branding agency DLMDD.
There are few brands and businesses across the world that haven’t been in some way affected by the current global climate. But as lockdown restrictions are eased and marketplaces begin to return to their “new normal”, betting brands and their marketers now have an even greater issue to navigate.
With momentum gathering in the UK Parliament for a “total ban” on all gambling advertising, brands need to think fast about the role they play in consumers lives and how they can communicate if traditional media channels are further plastered with red tape.
However, as many of you reading this will know, these aren’t new challenges. A ban on gambling advertising during live sport came into effect in the UK from August last year, restricting advertising within a “whistle to whistle” period beginning five minutes before the start of a match and ending five minutes after. These limitations will have already forced marketing departments to think very carefully about how to gain competitive advantage and win attention in these moments. However, and somewhat surprisingly, no brand has dominated when it comes to sound.
Think about it – I can reel off the names of every betting and gaming brand out there in the market, and you’ll instantly be able to tell me what they look like; what colour the logo is, what the slogan says and which celebs they use in their ads. But what do any of them sound like? Well, nothing.
This seems bonkers to me. Earlier this year, Marketing Week highlighted a powerful learning from IPSOS’ marketing study ‘The power of you’. Put simply, the research shows that the use of distinctive sonic cues can have 8.5x the power of visual stimuli. So why is sound so untapped across the sector?
Let’s be frank, underneath the visual brand and the corporate slogans of any betting organisation are odds and chance. You might get slightly better odds and slightly better chances by shopping around but at the end of the day, odds are odds.
As punters, we make our choices on the brands we associate with based upon how we feel about them. And music and sound offer the world’s most powerful shortcuts to human emotion if we know how to handle them right. If expertly managed, they can fulfil every part of our pleasure and reward psychologies garnering effects that can only be rivalled by good food, love and drugs.
What is particularly unique about betting and gaming is that their audiences want and demand to feel something about the brand they’re playing with. This is quite unlike most other sectors and industries. Do I want to feel something about Shell? I’m sure their Brand Director wants me to but no, quite frankly I just want to fill my car up with petrol from the nearest station to me and get the hell out of the forecourt as quickly as possible.
Conversely, emotion is at the forefront of the experience of all bettors and gamers and it’s the responsibility of the brands and their audiences to manage and control how that emotion manifests itself in a safe manner. If all parties get it right, music and sound have the ability to heighten the entire consumer experience at every moment that an audience interacts with their chosen brand.
Historically, the betting and gaming industries have looked at sound through a fairly primitive lens; famous psychological studies have highlighted the use of music and sound in slot machines that reinforce the sensation of ‘winning’ with jubilant sound effects, flashing lights and winning coins dropping down on metal surfaces.
It doesn’t take a genius to work any of that out and along with questionable morality, this doesn’t exemplify the true power of music and sound. When it’s done right, we allow music and sound into our minds. They can stay with us forever and evoke our emotions at the flick of a wrist.
In a world and an industry where the way the consumer feels is the difference between them choosing to play with brand X over brand Y, the first player in the market who can cement their identity in music and sound will have the odds sounding firmly in their favour for many more moons to come.
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The latest AskGamblers Complaint Service report for 2024 has officially been released. The comprehensive report highlights the most important accomplishments and records of the AskGamblers Complaint Service team for the previous year.
In 2024, The AGCS team (formerly known as AGCCS) managed to return $6,890,547.11 to players. Over 7259 players turn to AskGamblers, submitting complaints against 1114 casino brands. Out of all the accepted and processed complaints, the team had a 68% resolution success rate. One of the notable milestones that reached was returning a total of $70 million to the members.
Dijana Radunović, General Manager at AskGamblers, said: “It’s amazing to see the trust players put in us year after year, and we’re able to repay them by helping them recover their funds from operators or solve other related issues. We’ve had another successful year, with a few records broken and amazing milestones achieved and we can’t wait to see what lies in store in the years ahead.”
The post Players Reclaim Close to $7M Through AskGamblers Complaint Service in 2024 appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
SlotsCalendar, a leading name and tastemaker in iGaming, has announced the second edition of the SlotsCalendar Awards. Winners will be announced during the iGC Malaga event in May 2025.
These awards are rapidly gaining significance in the iGaming world as SlotsCalendar’s steady growth, success, and player-centric mentality represent the community’s interest.
Players have approximately a month to vote between the 10th of April and the 12th of May.
For its 2025 edition, the SlotsCalendar Awards Gala returns to the iGaming Club Conference in Malaga, happening on May 28th. The Awards categories for this year are as follows:
• Game Studio of the Year
• The Slot Everyone’s Talking About
• Star Slot in the Making
• Casino of the Year
• Excellence in Bonus Variety
• Industry Standard in Responsible Gambling
• Live Casino of the Year
• Best Sports Betting Platform
• Best New Casino
• Best Crypto Casino
While the idea of iGaming Awards is not new to the industry, the SlotsCalendar Awards are unique for a simple reason: winners are voted by players from the entire iGaming community.
The uniqueness of these awards makes them particularly important in iGaming. Placing the decision-making strictly in the hands of the player is a fundamental shift in the iGaming community.
SlotsCalendar CEO Viorel Stan said: “It’s truly an honor and a privilege to see how our SlotsCalendar Awards have evolved. Last year’s inaugural edition was a crowning achievement for us. It proved how vast and involved our community is, creating a level of engagement that made us incredibly proud. Being able to return to the iGC and reward some of iGaming’s luminaries in the name of the SlotsCalendar Community is beyond gratifying.”
The post SlotsCalendar Announces its Second Awards Edition at iGC Malaga 2025 appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
DigiPlus Interactive Corp. (DigiPlus) has won seven honours – including five coveted gold awards – at the 2025 Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards. This milestone places DigiPlus among the most awarded companies in the region this year, spotlighting its strategic growth and transformative impact across digital entertainment, social development and investor relations.
The Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards are the only business awards Programme that recognises innovation across all 29 markets in the region. Widely regarded as the world’s premier business awards, the Stevie Awards represent a prestigious recognition of business excellence.
DigiPlus bagged five Gold Stevies for ‘Innovative Achievement in Growth’, ‘Innovation in Investor Relations’, ‘Excellence in Social Impact Companies’, ‘Innovation in Annual Reports’ and ‘Innovation in Corporate Websites’. The company also clinched Silver and Bronze Stevies for ‘Achievement in Product Innovation’ and ‘Innovation in Brand Renovation’ respectively.
At the core of these wins is DigiPlus’ commitment to innovation and digital transformation. From redefining the player experience through localised and immersive content, to launching a refreshed brand identity that resonates with a more connected and tech-savvy user base, DigiPlus has embraced a future-forward mindset. The company’s calculated investments in big data, cutting-edge technologies and stakeholder engagement have not only fueled business growth, but also opened inclusive pathways to digital participation through its social development arm, BingoPlus Foundation.
“This momentous victory at the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards affirms DigiPlus’ emergence as a true powerhouse of innovation and progress, reshaping industry boundaries and redefining digital consumer engagement on a global scale. Through consistent growth and business performance, DigiPlus reaffirms its unwavering commitment to creating long-term value,” said DigiPlus Chairman Eusebio Tanco.
Winning entries in the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards undergo a rigorous, multi-layered evaluation by an esteemed panel of judges composed of business and industry leaders across the region.
“The 12th Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards received an impressive array of outstanding entries. This year’s winners have clearly shown their dedication to innovation, and we commend their resilience and imaginative efforts,” said Maggie Miller, President of the Stevie Awards.
The post DigiPlus Bags 7 Wins at the 2025 Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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