Best loyalty tools and solutions in 2025
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The global iGaming industry has been evolving non-stop, fueled by increasing internet penetration and mobile device usage, regulatory changes, and a growing demand for online entertainment. Fierce competition among businesses for players’ attention and wallets is a notable feature of this market. According to IBISWord, 4,922 global casinos and iGaming companies were reported in 2023. The annual growth in the number of businesses averaged 2.9% between 2018 and 2023.
This iGaming market report explores critical metrics for an iGaming platform’s performance: average retention rate, visit frequency, churn rate, and player cash outflow. You’ll also discover the financial impact of loyalty programs on gross gaming revenue (GGR) and customer retention.
Let’s examine the main performance indicators of online casinos without a loyalty program during the first six months since their opening.
For each metric in this iGaming market report, we’ve measured the activity of 1,000 users on each of these platforms. Regions covered in this survey include Asia, Europe, LATAM, and North America.
Let’s start with the retention rate, which shows the percentage of active players who remain on the platform over time. It reflects the effectiveness of operators’ engagement strategies. From our pool of players, brands saw an average retention of 39%–43% (386–433 players). However, by month six, it gradually trickled down to 19%–22%, or (186–215 players). This dynamic illustrates that platforms were only able to attain half of the first month’s retention halfway through the year. What this means is a significant dent in revenue.
In the chart above, you can see some stability during months three and four. Plateaus like these suggest that a casino has succeeded in delivering a satisfactory user experience, encouraging repeat visits, and fostering a sense of community among players. An increase would further stress this point. Unfortunately, we see the numbers dip even lower in subsequent months.
This statistic offers insight into how often players engage with an iGaming platform — a vital factor for determining individual player loyalty. Visit frequency during the first month is 3.58 (3,576 visits), which is already quite low. It falls further to 1.98 by month four. From this point on, the metric remains relatively stable as month six still sees only 1.80 (1,802 visits).
The stabilization of visit frequency after an initial decline is significant because it highlights a dedicated group of returning players. It is to be expected that the novelty of anything eventually wears off. Those who remain showcase the platform’s ability to maintain a loyal player base over time, but they are pretty few and stagnant.
Introducing new games, tailoring promotions, and enhancing the user experience are just a few examples of strategies that can help maintain and even increase the metric.
Unlike the previous statistics used to evaluate players’ engagement with a platform, the churn rate focuses on the drop-off instead. It indicates the proportion of players who stopped playing on the platform within a certain period.
By the end of the first month, we observe a significant share of players leaving: 56.75%–61.44% (between 567 and 615 users). The churn rate increases incrementally by a few percent over each of the following months and settles at 78.47%–81.4% (784–814 players).
The loss of more than half of a platform’s initial players is a big blow. Granted, this lack of activity comes as the result of several factors, such as the players’ desire to pace themselves or to check out other platforms and the games they offer.
However, a good marketing strategy helps reduce the churn rate early on, especially with special promotions for newcomers. On the other hand, communication that considers a user’s lifetime value will enable operators to get their players back once their coffers are replenished.
Player cash flow refers to the movement of money to and from players across various platforms. Deposits, withdrawals, wins, and losses reflect the cash flow in the industry. Yet, there is a fifth parameter: wagers. While wagers are not directly part of the cash flow, they are the primary means by which brands generate earnings and turnover.
To ensure continued market growth, brands must boost their annual growth rate. And that is only possible if they maintain positive player cash flow.
The chart above illustrates a player base that generated $1 million at the start of month one and the influence of player churn on the cash flow. Despite losing about 61% of players, these brands only saw a drop of approximately 57% ($567,494.31) by the end of the month. However, later on, cash flow experienced an uptick, rising to $682,207.53 over month two and $784,722.98 by month six.
Gaining a strong market position can be compared to completing a puzzle, where the pieces are acquisition and retention tactics, as well as characteristics and features that make the platform meet player expectations of exciting and fair play.
Trueplay offers pieces for this puzzle — a set of digital tools to help achieve the desired performance metrics. The tools work in coordination, supporting operators throughout every stage of the customer lifecycle. Meet the Loyalty Booster Suite: our Loyalty Program and CopyStake.
The solution comprises two features: Play to Earn and Hold to Earn. The former encourages users to play longer and more frequently, and the latter mainly focuses on reducing deposit withdrawals.
Play to Earn allows customers to receive rewards in the form of loyalty tokens for every bet. The mechanic is simple:
Players can freeze their tokens in the hopes of earning more after a set time. The standard holding periods are eight hours, one day, or three days, but an operator can adjust their number and duration. Each one varies in profitability: yearly profit and the portion of casino income one can receive.
Whether players earn extra tokens depends on the platform’s performance during a Hold to Earn session. If the casino’s GGR increases during the freezing period, a percentage of that revenue is shared among participants based on the number of tokens each of them has set aside. This way, players earn alongside the platform — a win-win scenario.
If a platform doesn’t generate any revenue, tokens are simply returned to users’ accounts.
With CopyStake, iGaming brands can acquire players from Twitch, Kick, YouTube, and TikTok by hosting livestreams on their websites and restreaming them on these platforms. The tool enables players to copy streamers’ bets and try their luck in the Jackpot and Wheel of Fortune draws. Operators can choose one of the three CopyStake modes that best align with their user engagement preferences: Bet Behind, Copy in Pool, and No Code. Feel free to watch the video to learn more:
This feature is particularly valuable for brand partnerships and influencer marketing. Popular personalities can bring their entire community to a brand’s platform. They can also have fans returning regularly.
To evaluate the effectiveness of our loyalty solution, we analyzed data on behavioral changes among players who interacted with Play to Earn and Hold to Earn. Let us share some of the findings. Brands that adopted the Loyalty Program have achieved a net gaming revenue (NGR) increase of 5.6%.
Additionally, players made 37.1% fewer withdrawals and started depositing 10% more funds. What makes these figures even more compelling is that they represent only the first six months of using Trueplay.
CopyStake enhances player cash flow by encouraging numerous players and streamer communities from around the globe to play together. According to a November 2024 test, the tool allows turning up to 13% of viewers into active players per stream.
Additionally, we prioritize security and transparency. To fulfill this commitment, our specialists have built Explorer. It’s a platform that sources real-time data on user activity and transactions in client casinos from the Trueplay network for verification. Every player can view the history of their actions on the platform to ensure the iGaming brand allocates rewards correctly.
This market report would not be complete without the opinions of industry experts, whose insights offer valuable perspectives on trends, challenges, and the future of iGaming.
The major challenge for an iGaming brand will always be “same tea, different cup.” An operator can keep a player committed as long as the game session is great. But what’s next? We’ve created a unique solution that will keep players committed to the brand even after a bad hand.
Understand where the issues lie and be honest with yourself. Would another 30 free spins or an extra email to your inbox be appealing to you? Be different, try unique and data-driven alternatives, and, most importantly, stay true!
As trends have shown us, gamification, when combined with effective marketing, will continue to be instrumental in fostering player loyalty to a brand.
CopyStake, which allows players to follow their favorite streamers and bet alongside them, is definitely a game-changer.
Everything we do is aimed at making players more interested and motivated to spend time and money on a single platform, instead of jumping from one place to another. We achieve this through a unique reward system that makes players perceive their relationships with a brand as mutually beneficial.
Show them the results of our clients.
As the year progresses, iGaming brands remain optimistic about achieving their projected market volume, especially given the high expectations the first quarter brings. By analyzing market trends, these platforms can identify areas that need improvement, such as communication, reward systems, customer support, and platform usability. Additionally, brands that adopt effective player acquisition and retention tools to strengthen their strategies can see improvements in key behavioral and financial metrics.
Player behavior research has demonstrated that Trueplay’s Loyalty Booster suite can be a game-changer for an operator’s performance. Book a demo with our specialists to learn how the Loyalty Program and CopyStake can benefit your business.
