Over the past week a multitude of stakeholders from across the igaming ecosystem, occupying a plethora of roles and boasting varying degrees of experience, have outlined belief, hopes and aspirations when it comes to the world of slot streaming.
As the collaboration between igaming and streaming grows ever more intertwined, many are increasingly seeing the value, and platform, that is offered and reachable, evidence of which is continuously springing up.
Fintan Costello, managing director of BonusFinder.com, becomes the latest individual to offer an assessment of the vertical, hinting that the continuous rise could bring about extra competition: “As we are an SEO driven affiliate we have not seen the rise of streamers impact our business.
“What could impact us is if the streaming audience stops using Google to search for offers but we don’t see this happening as the community is known to research the best deals.
“We have, however, seen some streamers go on to set up their own affiliate sites after becoming aware of the opportunities in the sector so more competitors may emerge in the future.”
Adding: “We have considered hiring streamers on an hourly basis but again, SEO is a more scalable and long-lasting approach in our opinion. If we were to work with streamers, we would simply pay them to play our partners’ games and either directly link to the operator site or to our own website.”
Costello then changes tack to focus upon strategies of utilising streamers and their ever growing platforms, as well as what techniques can ensure that all important differentiation: “When you use streamers as a promotional tool, the rules are the same as with any type of influencer marketing these days – the streamer needs to enjoy what he does and genuinely like the product. Ideally the streamer would therefore be a gambler in his own right.
“Quality content is always key, but exclusive promotions with a few trustworthy partners works well for differentiation. For example, if a casino streamer is also a well-known esports player, he could do a promotion where the winner can claim an exclusive trip to one of the major CS:GO tournaments with the streamer.”
“Social media plays a big part in the lives of the younger generations”
However, one key word of warning is issued by Costello who asserts that, despite the continuous rise, regulation could clamp down on streamers in a similar fashion to loot boxes: “The use of streamers is still on the rise and I don’t see it slowing down. Esports is one area that has boomed in the last few years and with it, betting on esports. It won’t take long before that audience realises there are other verticals available, such as casino streaming.
“The one thing that could significantly change this trend is regulation. I would not be surprised if lawmakers in certain jurisdictions start to clamp down on streamers as has been the case with loot boxes in video games.”
In a slight shift of topic, attention turns to marketing techniques and the potential effects of the imposition of added restrictions driven by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic: “Some countries have implemented marketing restrictions while in others the industry has decided to self-regulate and limit campaigns, especially during lockdown,” it was said.
“The focus for gambling affiliates has been to not use COVID or related messaging in marketing. Overall, the industry has taken a more cautious approach to marketing over the last few months.”
To conclude, and in-keeping with the theme throughout, Costello examines what organisations are doing to advertise to a new generation of tech savvy players: “As well as using streamers, there has been an increase in the use of social media as a tool by operators, suppliers, and affiliates,” he comments.
“Social media plays a big part in the lives of the younger generations and creates a unique opportunity as it allows companies to target potential customers on the go, directly to their mobile phones. We will see more creative uses of social media as a promotional tool in the future.”