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These Are The Top Customer Acquisition Tactics for iGaming Startups
In a new report, emerging iGaming companies share their strategies for acquiring their first customers.
Industry investor Waterhouse VC engaged with a spectrum of companies, both B2C and B2B, to unearth the most effective customer acquisition methods for new startups.
Key insights
- Seven strategies account for every start-up securing their first customers.
- 50% of surveyed startups credited only a single strategy for their early traction.
- High-touch customer engagement is the go-to tactic.
- Paid ads absent in the list of top tactics for customer acquisition.
- Tactics deployed to attract initial customers are often significantly different from those used in scaling customer acquisition.
“High-touch customer engagement emerged as the clear front-runner,” says Tom Waterhouse, Chief Investment Officer at Waterhouse VC. “It reinforces the idea that in the early stages, doing things that don’t easily scale can be the key to building a solid customer base.”
Incentivizing early adopters came in as the second most popular tactic, highlighting the significance of immediate customer rewards and recognition.
Tactic | B2B Company Examples | B2C Company Examples |
Leverage Your Network | Low6, Circle Squared | Sisu Group |
Targeted Influencer Marketing | Shuffle, Invincible GG | |
Strategic Partnerships | Caerus Risk Solutions, Low6, Circle Squared | |
High-Touch Customer Engagement | Kinectify, Circle Squared | BetDex, Betting Hero |
Incentive-Driven Acquisition | Voxbet | Novig, BetDex, Invincible GG, Sisu Group (ReSpin) |
Market-Specific Localization | Checkd Group, Simplebet | |
Strategic PR | Octoplay, FBastards, Checkd Group |
A notable trend observed in the study indicates that B2B startups typically concentrated on one or two strategies, in contrast to B2C startups which tended to adopt two to three approaches. For instance, Shuffle, an online crypto casino, led the way for B2C startups by employing four distinct tactics to achieve their initial growth.
Ishan Haque from Shuffle describes their novel approach: “Instead of participating in traditional acquisition channels like streaming or traditional affiliate marketing, we recognized our edge in finding influencers with a small following, but that following consisted of 1000 true fans.”
In the realm of B2B startups, Checkd Group particularly stood out. Callum Broxton, Head of US Operations, remarks, “For our US launch … we were able to leverage our established UK business to build relationships with North American operators.”
Dublin-based ‘speak-to-bet’ technology company Voxbet focused on offering incentives, in the form of exclusivity, as a way to acquire their first customers.
Jonathan Power, Founder & CEO, remarks, “Typically, we have used exclusivity as the reward for an early adopter. I think this is now more important than ever because if you look at innovation over the last 15 years – betting in-running, cash out and bet builders – in each case once 1 operator proved demand every operator copied within months.”
Tom Waterhouse further comments, “The absence of paid advertising in these early stages reflects a strategic shift towards more organic and relationship-driven growth methods. It’s a reminder that understanding your audience and directly engaging with them is a precursor to scaling acquisition through paid channels.”
About Waterhouse VC
Launched in August 2019 by Tom Waterhouse, Waterhouse VC specializes in global publicly listed and private businesses within the wagering and gaming sectors. The fund offers wholesale investors access to the Waterhouse family’s extensive experience spanning over a century in the industry. Since its inception, the fund has delivered performance of over 27x, with a return of +39.5% in 2023.

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Poppleston Allen bolsters Gambling Team with specialist commercial law consultant
Leading licensing law firm Poppleston Allen is delighted to announce that betting and gaming industry stalwart Tom Grant is joining their Gambling Team as a consultant solicitor, bolstering its offering by advising on commercial contracts.
Tom has more than 20 years of experience in the gambling sector and has advised high-profile clients including Buzz Bingo, Cowells-Arrow, FSB and GAN as well as numerous growing businesses within the sector. Tom will work with the Gambling team drafting, negotiating, and advising on a range of commercial agreements that are essential to the growth of our clients’ business, such as sponsorship agreements, game development agreement, sports data rights licences, content licensing, platform agreements, affiliate terms, white-label agreements and customer terms and conditions.
Partner and department head Nick Arron comments: “I’m really looking forward to working with Tom. We’ve had a number of clients in common for years and our legal practices complement each other nicely. Tom’s expertise and understanding of regulatory frameworks and commercial challenges are fairly unique within the gambling sector, and allows us to offer additional services to our clients and reflects the opportunities we see in the gambling industry.”
Tom Grant said: “This is a great opportunity for both of us. The team has an outstanding reputation in the sector, and I look forward to contributing my expertise to help clients navigate the complexities of commercial agreements and achieve success in a competitive and dynamic market.”
Alongside his work with Poppleston Allen, Tom will continue to grow his own practice at Grant Legal.
The post Poppleston Allen bolsters Gambling Team with specialist commercial law consultant appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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Altenar integrates Optimove’s Opti-X platform to deliver enhanced personalised content
Leading sportsbook technology provider adds dynamic layouts, real-time messaging and flexible experimentation tools
Altenar, a leading sports betting and iGaming software provider, has integrated Optimove’s Digital Experience Platform (DXP), Opti-X, to help operators boost engagement, personalisation and lifetime value from a player’s first visit.
Optimove’s DXP offers a Real-Time Messaging feature which allows operators to automatically trigger personalised messages across all marketing channels at the most opportune moments, ensuring timely and relevant communication that keeps players engaged.
Opti-X includes a Smart Search Engine powered by AI, which delivers lightning-fast, personalised search results. The engine tailors results based on a player’s past search history, platform behaviours, and betting preferences.
Altenar can now also offer more advanced end-to-end personalisation across all channels and platforms. Opti-X’s behavioural, historical, and predictive modelling equip operators to create detailed micro-segments, which promise more personalised interactions, fostering loyalty and increasing player value over time.
This strategic integration underscores Altenar’s commitment to continuously improving its offering and delivering innovative, player-centric solutions that have a significant impact for sports betting operators.
Diego Salas, Sales Manager at Altenar, said: “We are committed to enhancing the user experience and leveraging data to provide personalised content that offers clear benefits both to players and operators. Our partnership with Optimove allows our clients to better understand player behaviour and tailor their content to optimise their offerings and marketing messages.”
Adi Dagan, Senior Director of Partnerships at Optimove, said: “Altenar is a clear breakthrough leading sports betting software provider and being part of their solution is a true honour. This partnership is a boon for sports betting operators to ensure incredible personalised experience for each player. These are incredibly exciting times for online sports betting as we get to partner with an innovator like Altenar to take the industry to the next level.”
The post Altenar integrates Optimove’s Opti-X platform to deliver enhanced personalised content appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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Spillemyndigheden Calls Attention to FATF’s Updated Lists of High-risk Jurisdictions
The Danish Gambling Authority has called attention to FATF’s (Financial Action Task Force) updated lists of high-risk jurisdictions: the Grey List (jurisdictions under increased monitoring) and Black List (call for actions). Among other things, gambling operators must include FATF’s lists of high-risk jurisdictions when assessing players’ risk.
Jurisdictions listed on the Grey List are Algeria, Angola, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, the Ivory Coast, Croatia, DR Congo, Haiti, Kenya, Laos, Lebanon, Mali, Monaco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nepal, Nigeria, South Africa, South Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Venezuela, Vietnam and Yemen.
Jurisdictions listed on the Black List are Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Iran and Myanmar
Gambling operators are required to conduct enhanced customer due diligence (EDD) pursuant to section 17(1) of the Danish AML Act, if a player is assessed to impose a higher risk of the gambling operator being misused for money laundering or terrorist financing.
Gambling operators shall conduct this risk assessment based on Annex 3 to the AML Act (high-risk factors) which includes the FATF high-risk country lists (the so called black list and grey list)
It is not required that gambling operators perform EDD if a country is listed on the FATF’s list. EDD are only a requirement for players from jurisdictions listed in the EU Regulation of High Risk Third Country list pursuant to. 17(2) of the AML Act.
The post Spillemyndigheden Calls Attention to FATF’s Updated Lists of High-risk Jurisdictions appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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