Mike Hunter of online casino reviewing platform CasinosHunter and Ayvar Gabidullin of software development firm Slotegrator share their views on some of the crucial issues around online casino gambling in 2022.
CasinoBeats: What are the key challenges connected to casino games for online casinos that seek popularity among players?
Ayvar Gabidullin: Some games are popular with the European gambling community, others with Asian players. Slotegrator’s partners include leading providers that offer a variety of content; the client will definitely find the right games for his gambling site.
In addition to integrating games into the platform using the APIgrator solution, we provide consulting support and preliminary analysis of target markets. This helps prevent game-related problems from occurring.
Mike Hunter: The popularity of slots depends on the market. We often see the same slot can be through the roof popular in one country and in the bottom of the rating in the other country.
For example, in Canada players pay attention to mechanics or features, while in Asia, the leading role can be played by the graphics and style, making it popular even with generic mechanics.
CB: What are the main challenges that casinos usually face? What can make customers like, or dislike, a new casino site, and how can this be avoided?
AG: Clients who choose a turnkey solution especially value their time. Therefore we, as developers, must recognize potential problems and, even at the stage of preliminary negotiations, find their solution. This is called a flexible individual approach.
First is the issue of adapting platforms to target markets — it is important to pre-designate locations. European and Asian players have different expectations for how an online casino should look and feel. Based on this, you need to develop an interface, implement payment instruments, choose games, and so on.
Second is the convenience of gameplay. In the process of interacting with a new user, the operator can increase the chances of his return through the presence of a mobile version of the casino, a pleasant interface, thoughtful features, the presence of user settings, and prompt support for players.
And finally, the backend of the system should be easy to use and contain only those functions that the operator needs. We try to automate processes as much as possible, for example, automatic payments, etc.
MH: From the player’s point of view as a customer, the determining factor may be the UX component. If the developer initially sets a clear and convenient location of the main navigation elements of the interface – this is at least 50 per cent success for the platform.
It is also important that the interface corresponds to the market in which the casino will operate and is convenient specifically for users in this geo.
The most common mistake in terms of UX occurs after the casino expands its geo and language versions of the site as it grows, without changing the interface of a particular language version to the end-user.
For example, in the case of translating the site from the English to Persian (Arabic) version is not enough just to change the direction of the text, you still need to change the location of some elements in the design. This is probably the main problem of large casino platforms, as there is no universal UX design.
The UI component (graphic content) also plays an important role, but here the subjective experience of the user’s interaction with the site comes into play, as some may like a certain design and some may not.
CB: Slotegrator assists casinos in identifying relevant payment methods for players to use for depositing and withdrawing. Are there any particular complications that new casino sites encounter at this stage?
AG: Many new casinos don’t think it’s worth it to acquire a licence. However, while they save money on licensing and application fees, they also ensure they’ll struggle with payment processing; 99 per cent of payment service providers won’t cooperate with unlicensed operations, and the same goes for financial institutions like banks.
It’s also critical for operators to offer the most popular payment methods in their target market. Slotegrator’s Moneygrator solution aggregates more than 250 payment solutions, supporting both fiat and cryptocurrencies and including popular options like e-wallets as well as traditional go-tos like Visa and Mastercard.
MH: I completely agree with the thesis that young casinos underestimate the benefits of buying a licence. Thus, they deprive themselves of the option to cover the maximum number of clients due to popular payment systems.
There are no exact statistics on this, but I am ready to assume that in this case, young unlicensed casinos can lose up to 30 per cent of customers per month, and this is every 3rd potential user.
I will add that even we at CasinosHunter do not accept the placement of unlicensed online casinos because, in addition to payment systems, this is a very important aspect of casino reliability and guarantee that the player will receive his reward in case of winning.
CB: What policies, tools, or approaches can make online gambling a safer and more transparent place for entertainment?
AG: A commitment to responsible gambling is good for the whole industry.
Casinos can protect their players by allowing them to “self-exclude” if they feel they’re developing a problem. They can also have a dedicated support team to help players if they need it. They should also make sure that players have free access to whatever information they need to be safe and secure on the platform.
Casinos can also use additional technologies. For example, the seamless wallet allows the player to completely restore their progress if connection to the casino is dropped mid-game. Other features can also accelerate and add extra security to the KYC process.
It’s also important to include a frequently asked questions section in the site. Here you can offer the answers to players’ most common questions about the technical, organisational, and legal aspects of your site.
MH: Online casinos are required to provide their sub-platforms with a basic set of responsible gambling tools as this can somehow help the player identify the problem and find a solution.
It is good practice to have telephone numbers or addresses of responsible gambling centres in the specific country where the player lives. Thus, the casino can comprehensively help the player to find a solution, in case they feel they need professional help.