Gamification is the idea of putting game mechanics and design techniques into operation in order to motivate and engage you to reach your goals. Gamification utilises our most basic needs, which centre on the ideas of Achievement and Status.
This Gamification concept is merging with entertainment sectors online like Facebook, Amazon, and eBay, and the sportsbooks and casinos that operate by means of the World Wide Web have started integrating it with their services very successfully as well.
How the Term was Coined
The word Gamification was coined by Nick Pelling in 2003, but did not really enter common use until around 2010, with its emergence as a popular term a result of Badgeville beginning to make use of it in order to explain their behaviour platforms. They added it to their hype cycle, and by 2011, there were more companies that were developing these types of platforms as well.
The oldest instance of Gamification is the Frequent Flyer Program that it is now commonplace for airline companies to offer as part of customer loyalty programs, and Social Gamification is further defined as you and I making use of social media’s features in order to intensify the experience and effect of Gamification, as well as the use of Gamification to increase social behaviours like sharing.
Gaming Operators and Gamification
The merge of Social Gamification with other entertainment sectors like online betting and gambling is evident in the shift of gaming and betting operators from more assertive tactics aimed at acquisition to those that are more focussed on retaining you, the customer, and making sure you return to enjoy for example, another game of online blackjack in Canada.
The absence of player loyalty that bedevils online casinos is a well understood obstacle, and making use of Social Gamification in order to add to your experience as a player can help you feel that your presence in conjunction with that of the brand is part of a bigger, more significant picture.
Innovative Solutions to Foster and Reward Player Loyalty
An example of Social Gamification that can be used in combination with data analytics from a casino or sportsbook perspective is an operator who wishes to develop original solutions to create and reward your loyalty.
Instead of making costly Reload Bonuses available to a player who is not necessarily particularly active, the operator allows you to level up as you spend time at the site, and share information about it with your friends, to a threshold that provides you with better odds and more options the more you play.
This has the online operator rewarding your loyalty by a pioneering method, whilst also motivating you to stick around. It will help ensure that you will not be off seeking short-term profits by hunting for bonuses across the operator’s competition, and will imbue you with a sense of purpose, and make a point of recognising your importance and loyalty, meeting two of the strongest instincts that motivate us.
Being able to successfully tap into your target audience’s mind is a sure-fire way to boost their loyalty to you, and this is one of the many results of the merger between Gamification principles and entertainment sectors like online gambling.
