Ingenious Business Strategy Benefits All Stakeholders
Social casinos are an outlier business model in the heavily regulated online casino industry. Many consider these gaming enclaves an anomaly, a hybrid of Vegas-style entertainment without any gambling involved. Traditional gambling legislation across the United States, continental Europe, Australasia, and beyond is highly restrictive.
Expensive licensing, complicated regulatory frameworks, and bureaucratic compliance make for a difficult environment for new competitors in the casino world. And yet, global demand for Las Vegas-style games is off the charts. Millions of players across the continental United States are scrambling to enjoy the best of what the Silver State offers from the comfort of home or on the go.
Evolution of Online Casinos
For operators, this constantly evolving landscape presents opportunities and challenges. Given the exponential growth of this industry since its inception, the best is yet to come. The first online casino opened its virtual doors in the 1990s. Since then, thousands of fully licensed online casinos peppered the entertainment landscape.
A handful of operators typically license these gaming sites, notable among them the licensing authorities of Curacao, Gibraltar, the UKGC, Kahnawake Gaming Commission, and Antigua and Barbuda. State and country-specific regulatory authorities also play an important part in the licensing of online casinos. However, social casinos like HelloMillions are an entirely different kettle of fish—and their popularity is off the chain!
The Rise of Social Casinos
This industry has witnessed explosive growth of late, particularly on smartphones, and tablets with players tend to enjoy all their favorite social games nowadays. It is for all intents and purposes a burgeoning market.
Games include classic slots, video slots, jackpot slots, card games, table games, and instant win games. For the lucky players, several social casinos feature live casino games. These stellar attractions feature authentic dealers at secure studios, with real-time streaming action.
Monetization Strategies in Social Casinos
At first glance, it seems disingenuous that an online casino platform would offer free games to players. However, many such examples abound. From Facebook games to the thriving world of social gaming sites, there is no shortage of free to play attractions. It’s important to understand the business model of these platforms, since they are profitable for operators.
All eligible players, 18+ years of age from an accepted state, territory, or jurisdiction are welcome to register at social casinos. From a legal perspective, there is no gambling whatsoever, so no gambling license is required. Players simply register for free, receive virtual currency to play with, and enjoy all of the games on site. That’s essentially how it works. Since it’s a zero-deposit paradigm, there’s no gambling element whatsoever. Virtual currencies are used at social casinos. These include GCs and SCs . As a newly registered player, you will be given a welcome bonus of X-number of GCs, and possibly a small amount of SCs. These are yours to enjoy on site, at your leisure.
All social casino games accept GCs and SCs. However, you will need to remain active with daily giveaways, tournaments, leaderboard challenges, and slots contests to acquire additional GCs and SCs.
For many players, these daily promos are insufficient to enjoy all of the games that players want to enjoy. While it’s always free to play, every game requires a certain number of GCs or SCs. It takes time to build up a stash of virtual cash. That’s where the option to purchase additional coin packages comes into the picture.
Revenue Streams: In-App Purchases and Advertisements
All social casinos run a two-tier coin system. The first is gold coins with no redeemable value beyond gaming. The second has a redeemable cash value once a certain threshold has been reached. In other words, you must meet a certain quota of SCs in your account before cashing out. And the cashout options are typically available in the form of vouchers or bank transfers. For these social gaming hubs, it’s all about the GC + SC coin package purchases. These are known as in-app purchases.
There’s a second tier of revenue streams, available to these operators in the form of advertisements. This plays a crucial role by allowing these companies to capitalize on their substantial player base – globally. This serves as a dual revenue model gear towards the profitable maintenance of operations. And thanks to a fantastic social gaming environment, loyalty is assured with ongoing promotions, challenges, and opportunities to stay engaged on dedicated social media platforms. It’s a business model that works, and there is no gambling required!
