Play'n GO's Magnus Olsson: "The first game a player sees has to be a high-quality game"

Play'n GO's Chief Commercial Officer Magnus Olsson highlighted the importance of using content to drive operator retention strategies on a panel at the 2023 iGaming Next conference in Valletta, Malta.

At the panel, the iGaming supplier's CCO was Joined by the CEOs of Crucial Compliance and Aspire Global. Olsson highlighted how the drive towards regulation in many markets had made player acquisition costs so high that "retention strategies through great content are what everyone needs to invest more in."

While the panel moved to discuss the importance of RTP levels in retention strategies, Olsson added: "I think it's more about the content than RTP. If you're a good supplier, you can design a game that is engaging and entertaining and has loads of both acquisition and retention capabilities."

"If you look at mechanics and volatility, I would say those two things are far more important [than RTP levels] in retention strategies," Olsson said. "I think what's missing in retention strategies today is an emphasis on the quality of content and entertainment value."

The panel went on to discuss the importance of giving players a good experience immediately after you've paid to acquire that customer, but that the slots game they land on first to play didn't really matter.

Olsson disagreed with this view and said: "If your first experience in an online casino is with a game that has a base game that just goes on and on, and basically has been designed for functionality like bonus buys, you end up with a very, very bad customer experience – that person will probably never return to online slots. It's not a good start."

"The first game a player sees has to be a high-quality game. One that really captures the player. I don't think that a winning experience is required if they get to enjoy a high-quality, entertaining game."

The discussion moved onto how markets, and therefore players, differ and Olsson highlighted the strength of the Play'n GO portfolio. He said: "We have some amazing games in our portfolio that were released a few years ago like Lady of Fortune, which is perfect for markets with a strong land-based history and it's nice to see them coming back in popularity – especially as it's medium volatility with a relatively low max win of 500x. It shows that great games that are fun to play trump everything else."

"Where I think the industry can do better is to not focus so much on short-term thinking – what's the latest release only etc.. - and get away from predatory functionality games in your retention strategies."

Finally, the panel discussed VIP players and the future of revenue generation in a regulated reality. Olsson added: "The old '80/20' rule, where 80 percent of the revenue comes from 20 percent of the players in certain markets, like Germany, the UK, other markets in Europe, is gone forever."

"What Play'n GO would like to see is marketing that adjusts to this new reality. Where recreational and social players are the main audience. We aren't seeing that yet," the executive noted.