-hello! Let’s get to know our readers. What is your name and position?
— I am glad to welcome all readers, especially our guests! My name is Mark. I am currently the head of Laki’s product marketing department.
— How did you come to iGaming and what brought you to your current position? What was your path to becoming a CMO at Laki Casino?
— I got acquainted with iGaming back in 2020. I started out as a regular affiliate who sent traffic to gambling from various sources. But I never went to other verticals, because I wanted to get the maximum expertise in one niche. Over time, thanks to perseverance, constant self-education and practice, I acquired acquaintances that eventually led me to Laki and the position of CMO.
— How does working in an online casino differ from other niches? Does it have its own specifics?
— Gambling is one of the few niches with such versatility. On the one hand, it is a very complex business that requires maximum concentration and effort. On the other hand, these are conferences, meetups, hangouts — everything is done beautifully and with its own twist. I have never met another niche where it would be so bright to combine work and pleasure.
Because of the» young » niche and the young people who work here, everything is developing according to the youth standards of our time, and this is how I can justify such a high interest in this type of business.
— Let’s talk about your team. How many people are needed to ensure the stable operation and development of an online casino?
— It is important to understand that, as in any other business, there are a decent number of departments responsible for a narrow sector of tasks — this is an ideal picture of the world. If we are talking about a start-up project, I can say that you can start it with 10 people, but you will need at least 30 people to bring the project to payback and subsequently to a plus. In my opinion, this number can be split up and put all departments in the working stage, that is, create a certain ground on which the foundation will go into further growth.
— What positions are most in demand today? Who is particularly valued?
— Perhaps I will not single out specifically, but I will answer this way: it is very important to have specialists in each department. You can allow slack in any of the team’s branches, and the entire business model will be disrupted. But if you try to answer the question accurately, I would say-Chief Product Officer.
All other processes originate from it, it is a kind of link between all departments. If it turns out to be a professional, he will be able to gather, perhaps even talk to, the rest of the necessary people to launch the project.
— Is it realistic to launch an online casino on your own? How much does it cost? Is there a minimum amount that can be used as a starting point?
«No, it’s impossible. And I don’t even recommend trying it. Every year, more and more new players enter the niche, competition increases, and the cost of entry increases accordingly. The price will constantly vary — it all depends on the level of the team, geo, strategy, affiliates, etc. There is no clear answer, everything is as individual as possible.
— A huge number of online casinos are now available to players. What do you do to attract an audience in such a tough competition?
— At the moment, it is important to have experience and understanding of the market. With these introductory lessons, you can create a competent strategy and follow it. The iGaming market provides a more or less equal number of offers relative to demand. Therefore, with the experience, knowledge and resources behind you, you will be able to promote your product.
— How difficult is it to find high-quality traffic? What channels do you personally use to attract them?
«Those who search will find it. Yes, the scam, fraud, and unscrupulous affiliates are still there. But even with this, there are teams with which long-term partnerships are built and there are no problems with the quality of leads. We personally prefer search and organic traffic, but we also work on CPA, RS, and Hybrid models.
— What does the target Laki player look like? Are there any priority countries, age groups, and other factors that you take into account when promoting your product?
— Ideally, this is a player who came from a search source, aged between 25 and 40 years, most often a man who is already familiar with gambling or has experience in other risky products (trading, crypto, etc.). For geo, we focus on the CIS countries.
One of the factors that we can’t directly influence is the mentality of the player. It’s cool when a person comes back, plays regularly and stays with us, and doesn’t jump from project to project.
— Describe the ideal player from the point of view of an online casino.
— I will answer briefly and clearly. The ideal player is an active, paying and loyal user with a high level of engagement in the game.
— Which of the new technologies-blockchain, artificial intelligence, virtual reality-are really applicable?
— In the current reality of the entire list, artificial intelligence is most applicable, and very successfully! AI is used in design to create elements of composition and write articles. Artificial intelligence has also found application in creating short videos (Shorts, Reels) for social networks and voicing video creatives. And this is not a complete list — AI is deeply integrated into iGaming and has already become part of the daily processes of affiliates and advertisers themselves.
— Which trend, in your opinion, is overrated? Which one do you think is undervalued?
— An overrated trend, in my opinion, is focusing only on the number of deposits as the main KPI when traffic is flooded. Many affiliates still think in categories: how to fill in as much as possible, this is the most important thing! But no matter what, it is better to bring 20 high-quality leads than 200, which will disappear after the first or second deposit.
As for the undervalued trend, I would like to highlight the work on retention on the part of affiliates. Many people simply don’t care what kind of push messages they made, or whether they prepared them at all. This can be not only push messages, but also email newsletters, a TG post, etc. Accordingly, if everyone worked on the funnel not only for themselves, but also tried to please the advertiser, this would significantly reduce the cases of non-payment from the product.
— Is there any «feature» that you haven’t implemented yet, but want to implement in the future?
«Yes, and more than one. But we are not ready to share it yet, so that the ideas are not stolen. But there are things in the plans that, if we do everything as planned, can shake up the iGaming niche. Hint: the goal of this event is to bring something new and fresh to the market!
— What metrics do you consider most important when evaluating a product’s success?
— Basic metrics for evaluation:
- LTV — how often the player visits the site, how long the game session lasts, and how long the user has been playing with us.
- Retention Rate / Churn percentage — how many customers left to play, and how many left in a day, week, month, and quarter.
- ARPU — average revenue per user.
- % of RD — the average number of repeated deposits relative to the first one per player, as a percentage.
These are probably the key metrics that I can highlight, and they will help you track the effectiveness (success) of the project.
— How deeply do you study your competitors and their strategies? Do you often borrow ideas from them?
— I like to know everything about everything. Therefore, the products that are available on the CIS market today were carefully analyzed by me, and I still observe how they develop. I am not a fan of blindly copying someone else’s logic and repeating after someone else. If we talk about marketing, then I study all projects, take the best from each, combine them together and implement them in my product. And I will not say that this strategy is wrong, because everything has already been thought up, it is enough to take existing things and properly dispose of them.
— In many land-based casinos, employees are prohibited from making bets even after business hours. Do you have such restrictions?
— Yes, this is also prohibited here — employees are not allowed to play on the project even after working hours, but I know products that even pay wages to the casino’s balance. Personally, I don’t think this is quite right. In the long run, this can lead to unpleasant consequences.
— Do you play in a casino yourself? Do you have a favorite slot or provider?
— I used to play for a while in the past, but after connecting with iGaming, I completely stopped. I like the casino gameplay itself, but I prefer not to manage my funds in this way.
-Have a final wish for our readers.
— Thank you all for reading to the end. Do it with perseverance, even when you can’t see the result-it’s at this point that everything is decided. Don’t give up. Sooner or later, it shoots at those who have not turned off.