Transparent cooperation, top service level, simple and quick communication and variety of game providers are the most crucial characteristics for choosing an iGaming provider in 2022. These are the insights discovered during a deep client research held for SOFTSWISS, a leading innovative tech company for iGaming.
The survey was conducted by the marketing research leader Kantar Ukraine on behalf of SOFTSWISS to gain a deeper knowledge of the iGaming industry, figure out the most significant criteria for сhosing a casino platform provider, and gauge the level of client satisfaction with the SOFTSWISS Casino Platform compared to competitor products.
The business research covering the period from July to October 2022 is a continuation of the last year’s similar undertaking.
Winning iGaming Provider Portrait
The respondents point out that in 2022 the most important characteristics of an iGaming partner are the following:
- Transparent cooperation
- Services and products that meet the needs of your company
- Support in income generation activities
‘Provider is truly your financial partner today’ has climbed up the importance charts. This time, 93% of operators voted for the importance of this criterion against 63% in 2021.
The survey results demonstrate that ‘Prompt resolution of tech issues and response’ and ‘Flexibility when discussing the terms of cooperation’ remained unshakable.
As for the personal touch aspects impacting the decision-making process, SOFTSWISS clients highlighted:
- Provides top service level
- Simple and quick communication with managers
The last year’s medium priority ‘Attentive attitude to each client’ criterion moved to the higher priority section.
Same as in 2021, the lowest priority is still given to such attributes as an iGaming leader status, positive effect of cooperation on the operator image, and provider influence on the entertainment and gambling industry development.
According to the research, every second client has been working with SOFTSWISS for more than 3 years, and the company is generally described as a long-term partner with expertise in the entertainment industry and deep understanding of the market.
Vitali Matsukevich, Chief Operating Officer at SOFTSWISS, comments on the survey results: “The shift in operator preferences towards flexibility in cooperation, business profitability, and high-quality communication demonstrates that a high-end software offering is not enough to be No.1 iGaming provider. Operators require more high-touch engagement and strategic interaction in partnership. That's what we are focused on. The SOFTSWISS team appreciates all operators for choosing us as a business partner. In 2023, we’ll continue to give our clients the confidence, security and reliability they need to grow their business.”
Client Opinion: Casino Platform Characteristics
Another part of the survey was dedicated to exploring top priority features for choosing an online casino platform – the core product for launching an iGaming project. Respondents noted the following crucial characteristics:
- Variety of game providers
- Flexibility of bonus settings
- Player reporting
- Support for various payment system
- Promo activity settings
The ‘Payment systems management’ and ‘Supported currencies’ criteria remained equally important for operators this year. However, respondents gave more prominence to financial reporting and licensing, mainly due to the growing number of regulated markets. Since this trend is expected to grow even stronger in the future, licensing will also continue to gain its score as it carries significant competitive advantages for industry players.
Placed at the lower end of the scale, game descriptions appear to be less important for operators in 2022.
SOFTSWISS Vs iGaming Market Demands
In assessing their satisfaction with the SOFTSWISS Casino Platform, operators highlighted its technical and functional benefits. 86% of the respondents gave positive feedback of 7-10 points, while 14% of operators stayed below 7. In total, the platform scored 7.6 points out of 10, which is 0.2 points above the 2021 result.
According to the survey, clients choose the SOFTSWISS Casino Platform for its expanded roster of game providers, licences, and supported currencies.
Analysing the survey results Darya Avtukhovich, Head of SOFTSWISS Casino Platform, summarises: “To date, the team behind the SOFTSWISS Casino Platform has launched almost 400 successful projects, which makes this product the biggest and most meaningful offering in the company's portfolio. Since 2021, the number of highly satisfied operators has increased. It's a strong drive for the team to develop new breakthrough product updates and raise the satisfaction level to new heights.”
Speaking of the service support level, SOFTSWISS has outperformed its competitors by 1.6 points on a 10-point scale. Gaining 0.4 points year-on-year, this figure is an important performance indicator for SOFTSWISS as the team aims to deliver the best-in-class client service.
Clients emphasise that one of the most significant SOFTSWISS advantages compared to competitors is simple and quick communication with business account managers.
Key Takeaways
The results of the survey show that client priorities in choosing a business partner and casino platform products are changing following general business and industry trends. Considerably more prominence is now given to trust-based and quick communication, flexibility in partnership as well as unwavering commitment to top service level. As for product expectations, operators seek diversity in game portfolios, gamification tools and features, availability of various payment systems, and deep analytics in finance and customer behaviour.
Summarising the SOFTSWISS results, the increase of the overall client satisfaction score is the most important measure of consistent growth across major performance characteristics. Partnership with SOFTSWISS is associated with confidence, security and reliability.
“In order to strengthen the SOFTSWISS brand position as a leading tech company for iGaming, we need to foresee tomorrow's market needs and requirements. Client surveys form the basis for achieving this goal. The results of the 2022 survey show that operator expectations are changing rapidly. We are proud that this year we’ve managed to meet client expectations, and increased their satisfaction level. Doing deep marketing research is becoming our annual tradition and we’ll continue to share industry insights with the market in the future”, comments Valentina Bagniya, Chief Marketing Officer at SOFTSWISS.
