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The future of influencer marketing in the igaming industry
Author: Anna Zhukova, Team Lead (iGaming vertical) of Famesters agency
Influencer marketing is no longer a way to promote a new mascara. Today, it is a dominating strategy for complex brands, products, and platforms. From 2016 to 2022, the average annual growth rate of the influencer marketing industry was 46.9%.
9 of 10 iGaming industry players use this channel permanently as a powerful way to connect and engage with their target audiences. It is easy to explain: smart leveraging the power of influencers can bring tremendous results already during the test launch.
Why use influencer marketing for iGaming?
By partnering with influencers who have a large and engaged audience in the iGaming community, brands can tap into a highly motivated audience that is more likely to respond positively to their marketing messages. Additionally, influencers provide a level of authenticity and trust that is difficult to achieve via traditional advertising channels, especially for those products that are not easy to promote due to legal risks. Finally, iGaming brands can leverage influencer marketing to stand out from competitors and stay on top of mind with consumers in a skyrocketing competitive market: the iGaming industry, comprising online gambling, sports betting, and casino games, has experienced rapid expansion in recent years. In 2021, the industry was estimated to be worth $61 billion annually, and has projections of an 86% growth rate by 2028.
Current situation and upcoming trends
As the iGaming industry evolves year by year, brands build their communication and expand the audience with content creators. According to the BuzzGuru research, 89% of the marketers admit that ROI from influencer marketing is higher than from other channels.
Year by year, by allocating influencer marketing budgets, iGaming brands gain the ability to expand their reach to new audiences and improve performance among existing ones. This advantage enables iGaming industry players to skyrocket. Today, we observe the rise of brands’ collaborations with micro-influencers: 77% of the brands prefer working with this type of creators. It is easy to explain: collaborations with niche creators usually bring better performance. Micro-influencers are seen as more authentic and engaging than larger influencers, that is why they can help build a more loyal and engaged customer base.
The trends in influencer marketing shaping the future of the industry are:
1. Diving deep
Influencer marketing is evolving towards a more comprehensive approach where content creators are deeply involved in promoting products. This approach goes far beyond traditional CPA deals, where influencers are paid based on the results they deliver. Today, we see creators who use iGaming products they promote regularly and at the same time express genuine excitement towards them becoming brand ambassadors. This leads to more genuine promotions because the creators provide not just the basic product information, benefits and bonuses the platform prepared for new users, but also their own unique experience. As a result, the promotions become more authentic and resonate better with the audience.
2. Long-term partnerships
More and more iGaming brands prefer to build long-lasting relationships with influencers, rather than one-off campaigns. This approach kills two birds with one stone: brands build more authentic and loyal relationships both with influencers and their audience, thus enlarge their own and attract new users. A successful approach is to build long-term relations for iGaming brand is to collaborate with influencers who already performed well and seek out content creators who are alike. Niche creators often form small communities, so partnering with such influencers can help broaden your brand’s reach by tapping into their audience.
3. Transparent messages
There is a growing emphasis on the transparency of ads. Simple promotions of casinos and betting platforms on YouTube and Instagram are forbidden, that is why the ad messages should be native and transparent. Tell about the benefits of your platform, its USP, and bonuses new users get after registration. At the same time, be clear in calls for action and use simple ones, such as ‘click here’, ‘register now’, ‘use a promo code’, and others.
Opportunities and challenges
Promotion of betting platforms and online casinos through influencers unlocks new possibilities for brands to expand their existing audience, including the opportunity to target new geos, build brand awareness and trust, and, finally, attract new players.
Let’s see how it works: an influencer showcases a bet slip or a feature they find impressive in an iGaming app or platform, along with a hyperlink in their post that leads to a casino lobby or a betting platform. This provides the audience with a clear and understandable picture of what they can expect from the app or a platform from a trustworthy creator they follow.
The success of an influencer marketing campaign highly depends on certain factors: creatives’ quality, relevant creators and their audiences. It is crucial to find influencers who have a strong performance and whose values align with those of your brand. One key aspect to consider is the relevance of your product to the content produced by the influencer. For example, at Famesters when planning integrations for betting platforms, we prefer working with influencers who create sports or entertaining content – they usually bring the best performance.
However, alongside opportunities come challenges. First, it can be difficult to find influencers that are experienced in the iGaming industry and are ready to take the risks: if a creator is caught in promoting iGaming, they get a strike from a platform, after 3 strikes the platform bans their account. Second, it is better to make sure you target the right audience. So it is better to identify them first. The ‘golden’ and the most desirable audience for iGaming brands is usually solvent males above 20. As for creatives, it’s essential to highlight any unique information or bonuses your platform provides. It’s also crucial to emphasize the expected action several times, at the same time this call-to-action should be clear and easy to understand.
Emerging technologies and their use for iGaming brands
The development of technologies does not stand still. One of the technologies to use for influencer marketing of iGaming brands is virtual and augmented reality: create immersive experiences for the audience, allowing them to see the creator in a ‘real-world’ casino or sportsbook. This can be especially effective for online casinos, which often struggle to replicate the excitement and atmosphere of a physical casino.
Another technology to be used is artificial intelligence (AI). On the one hand, AI could analyze data about the influencers’ account, including audience, the engagement rate, number of comments and others. Some AI, like BuzzGuru, help get a clear picture of competitors’ influencer marketing strategies, including paid and organic mentions, lists of influencers involved, videos links released and budgets spent.
On the other hand, AI can assist in creating more engaging ad messages for the audiences, as well as developing tasks and briefs for creators, diversifying scripts and thus making every single launch unique.
The importance of analytics in influencer marketing
As an agency, we stake on a deep analysis of current campaigns. This approach always helps understand the key audience and provide recommendations for further launches – by cutting off non-working solutions, we easily increase the performance on the go. By going deeper into creators’ analytics such as audience data, engagement rates, average views and reach, in addition to previous launches’ performance for the similar products, we are able to make a clear estimation in order to squeeze the maximum possible outcomes.
Besides, the industry is growing very fast and we’re always learning. The reality shows that even small changes in strategy can affect the whole launch significantly and only a proper analytics and the ability to overview things from the subtle side gives the luxury to absorb the newly came information.
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BetBlocker Launches the Scheduler – Reimagining Blocking Software as a Harm Prevention Tool
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As part of Safer Gambling Week, harm prevention charity BetBlocker today announces the launch of its revolutionary Scheduler tool.
BetBlocker, which provides blocking software to help people manage or restrict their access to online gambling services, is unique in adopting a charitable model for this type of support, and facilitating users accessing protection both free of charge and anonymously.
Traditionally, blocking software has been a crisis management tool, facilitating users restricting their access to gambling services once they’ve already experienced an unsustainable loss.
The Scheduler tool looks to engage users earlier in their journey, before a crisis has occurred, creating the option for players to plan ahead and build a bespoke block to protect them when they need protected.
The new feature supports users to manage their access to gambling is a way that promotes healthier and safer engagement, allowing them to build out a weekly profile, or customise blocks on individual days.
Want to make sure your bills are paid? Block the week after pay day.
Get carried away with In Play betting? Set your block to switch on during match time.
Staying up too late playing on work nights? Set yourself a curfew.
This feature is placed perfectly to support users after GambleAware’s findings last week, that over 5 million people in the UK want to reduce their gambling. BetBlocker’s Scheduling feature is targeted at supporting exactly that need.
BetBlocker’s Founder and Managing Trustee, Duncan Garvie expressed his enthusiasm for the project:
“To date, blocking software has really only looked to offer support after things have gone too far. It’s critical to provide that support for the people who need it, but it would be far better for everyone if we could reach people earlier and prevent the crisis occurring in the first place.
BetBlocker is proud to innovate and be unique amongst blocking softwares in offering harm minimisation functionality alongside our traditional crisis management support.
Our Scheduling tool looks to meet users where they are, redefining blocking software so that it is no longer a binary choice between blocked or not blocked. In taking this step forwards, we’re hoping to engage an entirely new audience, and reach users who are not yet ready to embrace complete abstinence. There is potential to see a huge reduction in gambling harm across society if we can intervene earlier and support people to embrace lower risk behaviours.”
The post BetBlocker Launches the Scheduler – Reimagining Blocking Software as a Harm Prevention Tool appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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Impact of an increase in Machine Games Duty (MGD), on the land-based casino sector, investment, and economic growth
Reading Time: 4 minutes
This summer the DCMS brought forward into legislation a much needed modernisation and deregulation package. The reforms comprising more proportionate gaming machine allocations and the ability to offer sports betting promised to support the UK land-based casino sector, enabling (£) tens of millions of investment, and contributing to the Government’s growth agenda.
When introducing the measures in the House of Commons in June, DCMS Minister, Stephanie Peacock MP, set the scene:
“The Government is focussed on economic growth…this package of measures will unlock additional investment up and down the country” and “will put the casino sector back on a stable footing” “We expect a number of venues to be modernised and refreshed…we also
anticipate this capital investment will be spent across the country not just in London…allowing this historic sector to thrive.”
And when introducing the same measures in the Lords, the Gambling Minister, Baroness Twycross said:
“Since being appointed, I have visited casinos and witnessed the contributions that they bring with jobs, tax revenues and support for the night-time economy. The sector generates £866 million in gross gambling yield each year, with up to 50% of this paid in gaming duty.”
The Minister went on to add that the modernisation measures are estimated to increase GGY by £53million to £58million.
The BGC casino group couldn’t agree more with Ministers.
This is why we are deeply concerned that all of this progress could be wiped out, at a stroke, if there is an increase in MGD, from the current rate of 20%, in the forthcoming Budget. An increase in MGD would fundamentally undermine the sustainable footing which the new policy reforms placed the sector firmly upon.
For example, Rank Group plc (Grosvenor Casinos), the UK’s largest licensed operator of casinos, has reported that 12 of its 50 venues were loss-making in the 12 months to June 2025. These casinos have been kept in operation in the expectation that their financial performance will be improved by this summer’s legislative modernisation.
By illustration, an increase in MGD from 20% to 25% would make a third of the Grosvenor casino estate unprofitable. As well as offsetting all of the benefit Grosvenor expected to gain from the land-based policy reforms, it would not be possible to sustain loss making venues, with up to 20 casinos being forced to close. For the remaining casinos, the planned investment case, announced at £60million per annum for the next two years, would become unaffordable.
Investment committed in light of the new policy reforms
With the new policy reforms industry embarked on a programme of substantial capital
investment to upgrade existing casinos and develop new venues. Great news for the sector,
our customers, and the Government’s growth agenda.
The promised stability enabled confidence for operators to make commitments for UK-wide
investments. Operators have collectively announced or confirmed investment of £300
million, including:
- Rank Group plc investment of £60million per annum for next two years, to capitalise
on casino reforms - Genting Casino £40million new casino at the Trocadero in London’s West End
- Genting Casino Westcliff £10million refurbishment in Southend-on-Sea
- Rank’s Grosvenor Victoria Casino £15million refurbishment and expansion in London
- Bally’s £3.7million, securing 170 jobs, first UK land-based investment in Newcastle
- Hippodrome £1.5million new Sports Book venue in London’s West End
- Other multi-million pound redevelopments of casinos in Brighton, Bolton, Coventry,
Leicester, Liverpool, Manchester, and Reading.
An increase in MGD will inevitably lead to a reversal of these steps forward, plus casino closures and job losses. Operators will be forced to cancel investment plans and look to cut jobs as growth plans falter. The investment plans above would not see sufficient returns (and
may even lead to losses) with a direct and material negative impact on company financial performance across the sector. Current investment plans will cease, and future investment won’t happen. Overseas investors will be deterred, seeing the UK market as high risk for investment. And tax yield from the sector would reduce.
At 25% MGD, casino industry analysis shows that up to 40 casinos would close, with the loss of up to 3,500 jobs – equating to a third of the whole industry.
BGC casino group Budget submission
In our Budget submission (full copy attached) we set out for the Treasury the economic contribution of Britain’s land-based casinos and the significant challenges already facing them, which would only be exacerbated by further tax pressures.
More broadly, the sector is still recovering from the damage caused by the lockdown measures of 2020 to 2021. In the year to March 2024 (the most recent period for which data is available), customer spending (gross gaming yield) in Britain’s casinos was 22% lower than in the year to March 2019 – a 43% reduction in real terms.
At the same time, casino operators are experiencing significant cost pressures. The sector employs around 11,000 skilled (and often personally licensed) people and so is particularly sensitive to wage inflation and this year’s rise in employer National Insurance Contributions (which together will impact the sector by between £25m and £30m a year). Additionally, with the Treasury’s convention of duty revalorisation in abeyance since 2022, operators continue to suffer real-terms increases in gaming duties.
In conclusion, I am at pains to stress, that any proposed increase in MGD in the Chancellor’s budget, would lead to the closure of a large number of casinos and the loss of thousands of skilled jobs, as well as risking planned UK-wide investment in the sector.
The post Impact of an increase in Machine Games Duty (MGD), on the land-based casino sector, investment, and economic growth appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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