One of the most powerful tools for attracting the attention of online casino users to updates of the entertainment catalogue and current promotions is push notifications. These short but effective messages are displayed directly on the smartphone screen, allowing you to quickly inform your audience about the latest news. Push notifications are an effective way to build a constant and interactive connection with the user, to remind him about an unfinished session, to offer a bonus, to inform about a tournament or a new slot. They can literally “return” to the site at the right moment, encouraging repeat visits, deposits and engagement in the long term.
In this article, together with the experts from freeslotssystems.com, we will look at exactly how push notifications increase the level of interaction between projects and their users, what types of notifications are most effective, how personalisation works, and what risks operators should consider.
How Push Notifications Work
Push notifications are messages that online casino developers send directly to users’ devices (mobile phones, tablets, PCs), even if they are not on the site or app at the moment.
To activate push notifications, the user must give permission when visiting the site for the first time or installing a mobile application. From that moment on, the system is able to send messages with a certain frequency, use audience activity data to personalise its offers, and respond in real time to user actions or inactions.
Push notifications differ from traditional e-mail notifications in that they are displayed instantly, without being lost in your inbox or requiring you to open an app. It is this element of immediacy that makes them particularly valuable to the gambling industry, where immediacy is one of the main competitive advantages.
Effectiveness of Push Notifications
An online casino is not just a website with games. It is an entire ecosystem in which the user closes their entertainment needs through deposits, participation in tournaments, bonus programmes, slots, live casino with real dealers and other activity formats.
Each notification sent on time and with a precise purpose can increase the time a user spends in the game lobby, reduce churn rates, increase the frequency of repeat deposits, and encourage the use of new features or games.
Types of Push Notifications and Their Purposes
Not all push messages are equally useful. To increase engagement, online casinos use different message formats depending on their goals and context. Let’s take a look at the main categories.
Promotional Notifications
They are aimed at stimulating activity and are mainly devoted to special promotions and bonuses: providing freespins, additional payments and gifts, announcements of upcoming tournaments. Such push messages create an effect of urgency and stimulate a quick reaction.
Behavioural Notifications
They are sent based on analysing the user’s actions. For example, if he or she has not completed registration or has not been active for several days, the notification will offer him or her to return to receive a gift from the project team. This approach makes brand communication with the audience more personalised.
System Notifications
In this case, the user receives messages about technical or organisational changes: changes in withdrawal limits, new releases of applications, malfunctions and the need to re-verify. Such push messages increase trust in the project and reduce the number of calls to the support team.
How Push Notifications Help Retain Your Audience
Push notifications are particularly effective as a tool to combat situations where a user stops logging in:
- Timely reminders – if he registered but did not make a deposit, he will receive a bonus reminder;
- Activating dormant accounts – personalised benefit messages can bring audiences back even after a 10-30 day pause;
- Encourage loyalty – messages about achievements, progress in the loyalty programme, exclusive offers increase audience engagement.
Thus, push notifications form a feeling of constant connection with the project. The user does not feel forgotten and forms a positive image of the online casino.
Online casino teams can also use the following tools to make push notifications as effective as possible:
- Automation based on user behaviour – using an activity-based trigger message system;
- A/B testing of push messages – checking which wording and sentences get the best response from the audience;
- Audience segmentation – creating different scenarios for new users, high rollers, bonus hunters and other techniques.
Remember that a mass mailing not backed by a communication strategy will not yield results. Users get used to ignoring template notifications if there is no personal value in them. That’s why many marketers rely on personalising push messages from online casino teams. To do this, they often analyse user preferences: for example, if they play slots of a certain provider more often, they can be sent news about these games. And they also take into account time patterns: notifications are sent during the hours of highest activity. Valuable insights can also be gained from the history of transactions: suitable promotions are often offered based on the deposit amount. Geolocation is also an important factor to consider, so that offers can be tailored to the user’s country, language or currency.
Like any marketing tool, push notifications can be both effective and annoying. If used incorrectly, they can cause “banner blindness” in users, lead to disabling notifications and even provoke account deletion.
Many start-up online casino brands make mistakes such as sending messages at a high frequency, lack of personalisation, unfair or deliberately ‘enticing’ messages, and sending at inconvenient times. It is therefore important to strike a balance between frequency, relevance and content of communications in push notifications.
Ethical Aspects of Using Push Notifications
Online casinos are obliged to consider legal regulations, especially in jurisdictions with clear gambling regulation Sending notifications may be governed by both advertising laws and data protection regulations. For example, GDPR in the EU.
This is why online casino teams need to:
- Obtain explicit user consent to send push notifications;
- Provide an easy way to unsubscribe;
- Do not use notices to promote your services to minors.
- Do not abuse methods of emotional pressure.
Today, push notifications are a powerful tool for increasing user engagement at online casinos. They help to remind about project offers, increase the number of deposits and return interest in the gaming process. However, the effectiveness of such communication directly depends on proper customisation: from personalisation and frequency to meeting audience expectations. Online casinos that use push notifications as part of their communication strategy form a stronger bond with the user.