Important casino and sportsbook platform provider Soft2Bet has experienced significant growth in 2023. As the year draws to a close, the company has looked into the trends that are likely to dominate the iGaming sector in 2024.
Gamification will expand further in 2024 and become hyper-localized
One relevant technology is increasing its influence in the industry. Gamification features will keep on expanding in 2024 and Soft2Bet will continue to customize them to players’ preferences in their individual markets. Gamification will also grow in popularity, as it becomes even more localized and captures more of consumers’ attention and screen time.
Why gamification is important in iGaming?
Over the last couple of years, “gamification” has been a term widely used in the online gaming and betting sector. There are a number of reasons for this, but going back to the social casino craze of 2012-2013, it is strongly linked with social and casual gaming and the ability to extend player values through engagement and gameplay.
The social gaming craze may have calmed down from those heady days, but the companies active in that sector continue to generate substantial revenues through micro-transactions, in-game advertising or secondary marketplaces. In other words, this is what gamification represents.
How does this apply to iGaming and how does Soft2Bet harness gamification?
The short answer to that question is that the company has integrated social engagement and gameplay features, localizing them to specific countries and regions into their real-money gaming products to create the Soft2Bet Motivational Engineering Gaming Application (MEGA), a gamification engine.
Global gamification continues significantly growing, while MEGA features have generated very strong financial and product-performance results. It’s also important to remember the huge amount of work that goes on behind the scenes to make this happen.
As Yoel Zuckerberg, Chief Product Officer at Soft2Bet, explains: “In practice, this translates into our tech, development, marketing or CRM teams spending many man-hours integrating all of those elements into our products’ gameplay. This has meant hours of painstaking technical work developing a fully integrated solution that is seamless, secure, tailored and geo-targeted to players’ habits and preferences. This work is paying off and has enabled Soft2Bet to grow faster than ever in 2023.”
IGAMING TRENDS FOR 2024
1) The Era of Mobile Gaming
The mobile gambling market is expected to reach over USD 150 billion by 2030, and around 70% of online betting revenue comes from mobile gambling. With the addition of innovations in personalization and gamification on mobile apps, mobile gaming will only accelerate its growth in 2024. iGaming brands must be focused on staying ahead of the curve, bringing the most exciting and engaging mobile gaming offerings to players in its new and existing markets around the world.
2) AI will become even more integrated and inform new features
As AI continues to progress and advance, companies such as Soft2Bet will prioritize discovering innovative ways to harness this technology. By effectively employing AI to analyze data, it becomes capable of pinpointing crucial trends and detecting shifts in player preferences. These insights can be directly applied to enhance the platform’s features and elevate the overall user experience.
3) UI, UX enhancements combined with player behavior analytics will be key drivers
Player behavior analytics will have a key role, and being up-to-date with the latest technologies and innovations will be crucial for iGaming companies hoping to see success in 2024.
4) Responsible gaming initiatives will take center stage
Soft2Bet has always been committed to responsible gaming and predicts that other companies will continue to increase investment in this field, especially as they enter new jurisdictions with new regulations. The industry will introduce more innovative, proactive, and user-friendly responsible gaming tools and solutions in 2024.
MEGA DRIVES SOFT2BET’S SUCCESS
Motivational Engineering has been key to Soft2Bet’s success in 2023 because it enables the provider to deliver quality products that are highly personalized and localized to the markets they operate in. This trend will continue in 2024. The company will keep providing tailored offerings to their casino players and sports betting customers: City Builder features for the casino-focused players, while sports bettors can engage with solutions like Sports Stadiums.
Uri Poliavich, founder and CEO of Soft2Bet, added: “As we move into 2024, the key to succeeding in our industry lies in adapting to evolving player preferences, harnessing cutting-edge AI, advanced motivational engineering techniques, and ensuring a seamless user experience. At Soft2Bet, we are fully equipped and committed to meeting these challenges head-on. With our innovative and hyper-localized MEGA solutions, advanced analytics, and a strong emphasis on responsible gaming, we’re poised to not only adjust to the changing landscape, but also to lead and define it.”
BIGGEST ACHIEVEMENTS AND FUTURE EXPECTATIONS
Soft2Bet’s EBITDA grew by more than 300% in 2023, driven by Motivational Engineering Gaming Application (MEGA), their unique gamification technology. The company also obtained ten new licenses in seven different countries, including Sweden, Italy, and other major markets.
The effectiveness of the MEGA technology was also demonstrated by the growth of the Betinia brand in Denmark and Sweden, the two leading Scandinavian markets, where GGR increased by more than 65% and by more than 50% of the player base engaged with gamification. In addition, deposit amounts were 50% larger and 30% more frequent, and average revenue per user (ARPU) rose by more than 70%. These achievements have been recognized by company’s peers with different awards and nominations.
Martin Collins, CBDO at Soft2Bet, commented: “For 2024, we look forward to furthering our innovation and motivational engineering offerings while expanding our reach across the globe. The next year will be a pivotal one, both for our company and more broadly for the iGaming industry. We focused on propelling these exciting new trends as we continue to disrupt and drive the industry forward.”