Data science: the future of online gambling
The rise of online gambling is nothing but spectacular: evaluated at approximately $75 billion, it is projected to double by 2025 and at least triple by the end of the decade.
And the figures will likely be even more impressive if the unceasing pandemic continues to push gamers towards digital avenues of entertainment.
Live dealers, virtual reality casinos, blockchain-based provably fair games – the tech has been unstoppable in the last two decades and is not expected to falter anytime soon, at least as long as Moore’s law holds and the demand for quality online casinos stays where it is now.
But the most mind-boggling technology that reshapes online gambling – and most other online industries for that matter – is data science. It is responsible for the ads you see, the games you’re being suggested, and even the captchas you get when accessing an unfamiliar website.
So what exactly is data science, and how does it affect casino players? Before we start, we’d like to give credit to Anna Rosak, a gambling expert from KasynoHEX, who gave us some insight into casino data science and also helped us put this piece together.
What is data science?
As technologies develop, more and more interdisciplinary fields appear, and data science is one of them.
It uses scientific methods and algorithms to extract valuable knowledge from structured and unstructured data and then produce insights into many other fields, such as marketing, software development, customer service and more.
Online casinos have already started to capitalize on big data in a variety of ways, and this trend is about to become all-encompassing.
● Competitor research. Having access to the behaviour of competitors, it becomes easier to spot their drawbacks and get as many advantages as the data analysis allows. Besides, Big Data may be to get an idea of the level of competition and the saturation of this or that market or its segment.
● Customer preferences. Likes, dislikes, expectations, and inclinations that drive purchasing decisions can be obtained via Big Data analysis.
Collecting customer preferences have long become critical for marketing success, and it goes without saying online casinos do it as well. You must have noticed that almost every website wants you to accept its cookies so that they could collect useful information about you.
● Online security loopholes. Online casinos use Big Data to identify weak spots and improve their online security, especially in customer data storage and payments (deposits and withdrawals).
Big Data is undoubtedly the key element for the online casino business.
At the same time, it has very few benefits for casino players themselves except for improved content issuance (which is not always good, as many punters prefer doing in-depth research rather than succumbing to what is being advertised to them).
What to do if data science can’t help you choose an online casino?
While data science is a crucial component of any cutting-edge business, it won’t help you to choose a trustworthy online gambling site. For that, you will have to:
a) Check for licences: make sure your casino holds at least one licence issued by the UK Gambling Commission, the Malta Gaming Authority, the Government of Curacao, or a trusted licencer alike. Pro tip: licence number can be usually found at the bottom of the site. AllRight Casino can serve as a good example for this practice.
b) Check for seals of approval, certificates, and awards: eCOGRA’s seal of approval would be a perfect proof of the fairness and trustworthiness of your casino. However, any provably fair casino would also be perfect since such casinos are verifiable (you can check the fairness of the results at the end of the gambling session).
c) Make sure there are enough games to play: slots, poker, blackjack, live dealers, progressive jackpots, and other staple games are a must if you don’t want to search for another casino once you decide to switch the game.
d) Make sure there are enough fast and feeless payment methods: look for casinos that support prepaid cards, cryptocurrencies, and e-wallets, and make sure withdrawals fees are reasonable.
e) Check whether the bonuses are reasonable: peruse the terms and conditions webpage to make sure there are no hidden bonus conditions.
Last but not least, always keep your mental state in check.
Avoid excessive gambling, and in case you’ve spotted symptoms of gambling addiction, ask for help at international – BeGambleAware, GamCare, Gamblers Anonymous, etc. – or local problem gambling and gaming organisations.
