Online Gambling Industry: Profiling Casino Players

Fortuna audaces iuvat — Fortune favors the bold. Evolution honed the human psychological profile to encourage feeling bold, taking risks, and feeling excited during the hunt for big rewards. Online casino marketing taps into those primal hunter-gatherer instincts, providing casino players with an environment where they can:

- test their skills

- experience uncertainty

- feel in control of their fortune

Additional refinement of casino marketing to target females and promote e-sports betting led to 2023–2024 growth from $540.27bn to $580.38bn (7.4% CAGR). The next gambling market quantum leap might come via augmented reality and virtual reality technologies. Online casino players may also like using cryptocurrencies and branded video games.

Сasino Target Market

Defining subsets of gamblers’ profiles using a multidisciplinary approach provides exceptional insight into their needs, motivations, and expectations. Robust research and statistical analysis of the underlying data will reveal hidden archetypes and highlight emerging behaviors. Casinos that precisely define their target market can offer highly customized services to a captive audience that will pay any price.

Inefficient audience targeting and generic marketing messages are the bane of online casinos. If not discovered and addressed early on in the casino development process, the casino is doomed to failure. Having any number of stellar gambling games is not enough; without defining the game target audience for each, online casino players will quickly get frustrated and bored.

In addition, casinos should strive to polish any feature that causes frustration in gamblers. Casinos developed with this mindset will feature various streamlined quality-of-life improvements that help gamblers have fun, such as:

- language choices

- different payment options

- betting budget management

- help and FAQs

- mobile app

- sturdy, transparent, and fair betting process

Profile of the Modern Casino Player

Online entrepreneurs must ensure their online gambling marketing addresses two specific player profiles:

- fun gamblers

- profit gamblers

Fun gamblers are affluent and relaxed. They are eager to spend and are interested in a seamless experience that presents minimal obstacles to their enjoyment. This group is concerned with licenses and legality.

Profit gamblers are anxious and addicted to gambling. They are hesitant and impulsive, agonizing over combinations and payouts before betting on a whim. This group desires a favorable offer or a bonus of some kind. 

In addition, online casino players have different regional archetypes:

- Nigerians and Kenyans adore European soccer. The US favors convenience, especially through iGaming. Almost 40% of men 25–34 play games targeted at children.

- In Asia, China bans almost all forms of gambling but the Philippines cater to Chinese gamblers. Indian players relish betting on cricket. 80% of all gambling in Asia is via slots, with Asian symbols instead of diamonds, 7s, etc.

- Australia, Canada, and Europe favor blackjack and roulette. Canada casino stats show that each user on average generates $220 revenue for the casino, with the most favored gambling type being lottery. Europe has 700% more active players than LATAM and 1,700% more than Asia.

- Behind the data soazerbaycandakazino: CIS (former Soviet Union states) has a 1–2% conversion rate in Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, and Armenia. Main gambler attributes are men 25–45 with average income and interested in dating, social media, and online gaming. 

- LATAM bets on national leagues’ soccer. Other favorite games are slots, soccer, and roulette. In Brazil, women represent over 60% of the users. Payment for deposits is more convenient to work with.

The Target Audience of Online Casinos

The 2020 pandemic discouraged in-person gambling and started the trend of online casino growth that continued through 2023 and is slated to continue in 2024. Grand View Research estimates the global gambling market value at $63bn and the 2023–2030 CAGR at 11.7%. Increased internet penetration, such as through the deployment of 5G networks and 5G-enabled mobile devices, is presumed to promote online casino growth. 

The 45–54 age cohort represents one of the largest online casino demographics, with a 48% participation share. However, the 16–24 cohort contributes only 31% of online casino players. Overall, 70% of all gambling revenue came from mobile devices, reinforcing the need to prioritize mobile apps and mobile-optimized games.

Europe leads the market in terms of size and regulatory affordances. Sweden, the Netherlands, and Germany have the strongest regulatory frameworks for gambling, leading to increased issuance of online gambling licenses in the region. Asia and the Middle East combined participate with a 27.8% share in the global gambling market, representing a tantalizing market where growth is limited by strict legislation.

LATAM and Africa represent the two most prospective online casino markets. LATAM has a 1.3% market share and a favorable legal outlook as LATAM nations increase access to online gambling. Africa has a 1.1% market share and a trend of positive growth, with sub-Saharan countries setting the economic and legislative gambling standard for the continent. 

What Are the Most Popular Casino Games?

Both offline and online and globally, slots are the most popular casino game type, holding a ~70% participation share in the casino industry. In Las Vegas, 74% of all visitors come to play slots; in Europe, 37% of all online casino activity is on slots. The most reasonable explanation for the popularity of slots is that they are immediately accessible and require little skill to play and enjoy. That need for accessibility would also explain why 35% of App Store app revenue in 2018 came from casino apps.

Roulette holds second place with a 24% share, and blackjack is third with a 16% share. Poker is not very popular, holding only a 6% share. Online casino players contributed with a 44.16% share of global casino revenue. Regarding age, 36% of millennials like table-based games and 28% of the same age cohort like slots. 

What Motivates Players to Gamble?

Gambling motivations are complicated and may change with time. Players may start gambling out of boredom and then become passionate profit players or vice versa. The three most commonly given motives in research studies are:

- money

- social aspect

- psychological factors

Earning large sums of money through luck or skill enables gamblers to experience a rich person’s life and the VIP treatment that comes with it. For those players, gambling is a way of life. They may even call it their chosen profession.

The social aspect of winning big gives gamblers enormous bragging rights. Their motivation is to impress the crowd. These gamblers have a sizable social circle and may play hundreds of times a day.

Feeling the adrenaline rush is another important motive for gamblers, especially if the games resemble video games. Online casino players are often fervent gamers and easily switch from enjoying video games to gambling. For them, gambling is a way to spice up their gaming sessions.