It is always helpful for us to meet with industry friends and hear varying perspectives on the iGaming issues of today. We wanted to follow up here and go into more detail about why social casinos are an important game type for us, and how we can help navigate around some of the issues operators face; particularly in the area of mobile apps.

What’s all the fuss about?

For the uninitiated, social casinos are recreations of classic online casino games within an online platform, with the key difference being players bet with virtual currencies as opposed to real money. The most commonly used currency of this type are virtual coins, which you will also often see in regular mobile games within apps that are not casino-type products. Players are typically given a certain amount of virtual coins as a sign-up bonus, and then play for more as they go along.

From the player’s perspective, they can enjoy playing online casino games without the risk of losing real money, and if they are successful, they can keep playing with more virtual currency. There are other bonuses or positions on a leaderboard they can play for, and they can also add friends within the platform who they can connect with and compete against.

Some of the social casinos people may be aware of would be the likes of Coin Master, Bingo Blitz, Zynga Poker, and Slotomania. These brands have been able to monetise their offerings via in-app purchases, with players having the option to buy more virtual currency, or purchase special items and premium packages that can improve their playing experience. Advertising, sponsorships and partnerships are also very common sources of revenue for operators.

While this may all sound plain sailing, the realities of social casinos paint a very different picture, especially when it comes to online marketing.

Options are limited

While social casinos come with benefits for operators, it is particularly difficult for them to figure out how to approach paid media campaigns. If an operator wishes to run a paid media campaign across the largest advertising networks, such as Google, Meta and X (formerly Twitter), the regulations in place that they must adhere to are very clear.

However, these platforms have so far not been able to differentiate their regulations when it comes to social casino. Since they do not fall under the same banner as a gambling product, social casino brands are in a grey area. This issue is largely due to a lack of awareness, and we are likely some way off from these networks establishing a specific framework for social casino individually. While some are making the effort – Google has updated its guidelines and Meta is investing in improving its onboarding process –  we feel there are still improvements to be made.

Even when the networks do establish a framework, the regulations are likely to change constantly. The knock-on effect of this is that brands find it too difficult to clearly plan and budget for a campaign, because the lay of the land could appear so different at the end of the campaign than it would have done at the beginning.

Lack of app development

According to Sensor Tower, revenue generated by social casino apps increased from $4.9bn in 2019 to $8bn in 2022. Data from AppMagic showed Coin Master was the social casino app generating the most revenue at $769m. 

While greater access to mobile devices and the development of mobile apps is driving revenue increases and the names at the top of the market are making headway, some of the lesser-known social casino brands are lagging behind in this area.

Despite the high frequency of brands entering the social casino space, not all have mobile apps in the App Store and Play Store, which in the modern climate, puts them at a significant disadvantage. This is very understandable to a degree, as in order to offer players a complete gaming experience with a user-friendly and effective mobile app, this requires experienced software engineers, designers, and other technical professionals to strengthen and support project development and delivery.

Building for the future

At The Unit, we have established a reputation for specialising in developing mobile apps covering various technologies – native iOS and Android, Flutter, React Native, and more recently Unity, that are tailored to our clients’ unique needs, boosting engagement, user experience, and revenue potential. Since 2017, we have been dedicated to crafting innovative solutions for the sports betting and iGaming sectors, proudly partnering with clients from across the globe.

Our app development services are designed to meet a diverse range of gaming requirements. This is not exclusive to one betting vertical either, as we are established in both the worlds of sports betting and iGaming.

We can develop robust frontend interfaces and are equally experienced in backend software development. We also provide bespoke software development services designed to tackle specific business challenges and meet unique needs. Our team of experienced software engineers, designers, and other technical professionals can strengthen our partners’ internal teams and support project development and delivery.

Speed to market

The Unit would strongly advocate for any social casino that currently does not have a mobile app to look into launching one as soon as possible. In the crucial fight for market share in a competitive space, operators cannot afford to be asleep at the wheel and lose ground for even a short space of time.

Mark O’Hare is VP, Sales – Americas for The Unit. The Unit is a leader in product design and development for the sports betting and iGaming industries. Having joined The Unit in 2018, Mark has been involved in the growth of the company over the last seven years and has recently relocated to the US to lead operations in the Americas and open The Unit’s third office location in New York.