Play data is the detailed information collected about a player’s behaviour and activity on casino sites. This includes data on game choices, betting patterns, gaming sessions (how long a user spends on certain games and the time between sessions), win and loss records, and specific actions within games.
Play data improves the online casino experience in a number of ways. Here are three of the most important ways casinos use play data to improve their sites and apps.
Improving security
Reputable casino websites, as well as having to adhere to GDPR guidelines, also ensure their servers are secure.
They manage this partly by monitoring play patterns, which can help detect fraudulent activity. Unusual deviations, such as sudden large bets or erratic play, can trigger security alerts.
Historical play data can also help the casinos know when there have been suspicious login attempts and transactions.
Casinos also monitor real-time activity, which enables immediate intervention.
These security measures are enhanced by AI, which can sometimes detect subtle patterns that humans can miss.
Casinos further enhance users’ security by using trusted payment processors. Users can make safe and secure deposits with PayPal casinos. PayPal is trusted for its robust security measures, such as SSL and TLS encryption, and buyer protection policies.
Play data is sometimes combined with biometric data (facial recognition and fingerprint scans) to further enhance security.
Personalization and customization
Casinos customize their game recommendations based on a player’s game history and preferences. These data points help casinos suggest games that match players’ interests much like social media uses like to work out if a channel and/or post is popular.
Casinos’ communications (emails and messages) are tailored to users’ preferences. Their spending habits, play frequency and session durations are measured and casinos will communicate personalized offers, bonuses and promotions. These personalized communications encourage more engagement.
Targeted campaigns improve casinos’ conversion and retention rates. Loyalty programs, based on users’ play data, are offered to frequent and consistent players.
Players are recommended certain games based on which games are most likely to appeal to them. That brings us to our next topic.
Game libraries and game development
Casinos want to cater to the needs and preferences of each individual player, and play data helps them do this.
Casinos’ libraries of games are partly determined by their data on which games have the highest retention rates. That is, which games users spend the most time on and return to the most often.
Data on these most popular games also helps casinos with their game development and selection.
Certain types of games – slots, table games, live dealer games, etc. – may be more popular, and casinos can see which genres are successful and incorporate more of these games.
Casinos look at which slot themes (such as adventure, fantasy, ancient civilizations) are particularly popular and use this data to choose similar games. The proliferation of ancient civilization themed games (based on Ancient Egypt, Ancient Rome, Ancient Greece etc.) is because casinos know these are popular.
Other popular casino games like blackjack, roulette and poker have been modified based on user data. For instance, blackjack and poker games have been refined after casinos have analyzed strategy use and the speed at which users play them.
Casinos also track which features, such as bonus rounds and progressive jackpots, draw the most engagement.
The interfaces and designs of games can be measured to help develop intuitive, easy to use designs.
Play data can also inform casinos whether a game is too difficult or easy.
Casinos may remove underperforming games if they identify games with low engagement. They can sometimes tweak these games based on data points on when users disengage.
Play data isn’t only used to improve existing games: casinos also use this data to inform the development of new games. Casinos can see what types of features lead to high engagement and incorporate similar features into future games.
Sites also use play data for beta testing. New games are released to a limited audience to gather early data on how they are played. This data informs the games’ development before a wider release.
User feedback is also sometimes used to improve and update games.
How might play data be used in the future?
As AI algorithms progress, casinos may use AI-driven recommendations to better personalize their sites.
Casinos may also develop games that are more adaptive to a user’s skill level and preferences. Play data can help sites recognize how they can change games for more enjoyable gaming.
Augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) may enhance casino games in the future. These technologies have the potential to make games more immersive and allow them to be further tailored to individual preferences.
A final word
Casinos use play data in a number of ways, with three of the most important being to improve the security of their sites, personalize their communications and recommendations, and improve their game development.
