Comparasino’s Araminta Hannah: why great CRM is the difference between a referral and a relationship

Comparasino Co-founder and COO Araminta Hannah explains why operators with strong CRM consistently get the most from the players the comparison site sends their way, and how its Member Zone is moving affiliate relationships beyond a one-and-done model.

Comparasino recently took its comparison platform to a national TV audience, following a successful regional trial on ITVX. But for Co-founder and COO Araminta Hannah, reaching new players is only half the story.

Here, she explains what separates the operators who perform best with Comparasino from the rest, why responsible CRM is good business, and how the site’s Member Zone is turning one-off referrals into lasting relationships.

Comparasino has just launched a national TV campaign. What’s your role in turning that new traffic into long-term value?

My focus is on what happens once players arrive with us, and there are three pieces to the puzzle.

First, the TV campaign builds awareness, both among people who haven’t come across Comparasino yet and those who don’t know comparison sites exist at all. Second, it brings those players to the site, where they use our matching tools to find licensed online casinos and bingo sites that align with their preferences for things like the welcome bonus, payments, wagering requirements and withdrawal speeds.

The third piece is making sure they come back. That’s where our Member Zone comes in. Members tell us their preferences once, and we keep their matches up to date as new licensed brands join us.

Put together, TV reaches new players, and the Member Zone turns a one-off visit into an ongoing relationship, which is good for players and for our operator partners.

What separates the operators who perform best with Comparasino from the rest?

Put simply, CRM. The brands with strong retention strategies significantly outperform those that treat it as an afterthought.

We work with partners at both ends of the scale. Some rely on little more than a reload bonus email on a Saturday, while others have carefully mapped communication journeys that keep players engaged, looked after and feeling valued for their loyalty.

Players still shop around, but switching brands involves more friction than it used to, with verification and checks every time they join somewhere new. And with welcome offers now less generous, under the 10x wagering cap and with Remote Gaming Duty at 40%, there’s less incentive to jump ship.

If a player has a good experience at a brand they trust, they’re far more likely to stay. And with acquisition costs still high and margins under pressure, holding on to the players you’ve won has never mattered more.

What does good CRM actually look like in practice?

It comes down to three things: relevance, timing, and personalisation.

Relevance is about sending the right message in the right tone. There’s no value in sending a Slingo player a live dealer promotion. It’s also about not wasting the opportunity: only get in touch when you have something genuinely useful to say.

Timing is everything. That means understanding when players engage with your brand, and when they’re most likely to open and act on what you send them. We’ve done exactly that with our Member Zone communications, looking at when members open and engage with our emails, and adjusting our send schedule accordingly. Just as importantly, good timing means knowing when not to get in touch at all.

Personalisation comes from really understanding each player and what they came for. We send communications based on the preferences members share with us, so someone who only plays slots won’t hear about a new bingo site.

The simplest test is to put yourself in the player’s shoes. What would genuinely add to your experience, and when and how would you want to hear about it?

Comparasino’s matching tool captures what players are looking for before they reach an operator. How should operators use that?

First and foremost, our Recommendation Engine and Member Zone mean players only join online casinos and bingo sites they’re confident offer what they’re looking for. For operators, that means players who arrive already knowing the brand is right for them.

It also gives operators a head start with their own CRM. Because each player has been matched on their preferences, the operator already knows the brand fits what they wanted, whether that’s the type of welcome offer, their preferred payment method or the minimum deposit they’re comfortable with. Great CRM builds on that from day one.

We also work closely with our partners, sharing anonymised, aggregated insight into what players are looking for. For example, we know £5 deposit offers are hugely popular with our players, and that faster, simpler sign-up journeys, such as TrueLayer’s Signup+, make a real difference to conversion. Insights like these help operators shape their offers, experience and user journeys around what players actually want.

You’ve seen particular success with low-deposit offers and especially £5 deposit bonuses. Why do these work so well?

They lower the barrier to entry, and they’ve largely taken the place of the no-deposit bonuses that were popular before the market changes I mentioned earlier.

The £5 deposit offer is the sweet spot. Players can make a small deposit, enjoy a few free spins or bingo tickets, and decide whether they like the experience before committing anything more. For players, that’s a low-risk way to try a new brand.

Our top-performing brands combine these offers with a strong CRM strategy to welcome players in, deliver an entertaining experience, build trust and earn their loyalty. Better still, they’re not exposing themselves to unnecessary bonus abuse, or overspending on bonuses only to see players leave after claiming the first promotion.

This makes low-deposit offers a genuine win for players and operators alike.

How does the Member Zone change the affiliate model?

It’s what really sets us apart. The traditional affiliate model is largely one and done: you send a player to an operator, and that’s the end of the relationship. The Member Zone changes that. Members share their preferences with us once, and we keep the relationship going, alerting them to new licensed brands that match what they’re looking for, along with member promotions.

For players, it means they no longer have to trawl the internet for new places to play, or risk signing up to an unlicensed brand by mistake. Every brand we suggest holds a UKGC licence, and every suggestion is based on what they’ve told us they want.

For operators, it means players who arrive through a recommendation they trust, matched to a brand that fits what they want. And when a new brand joins Comparasino, it can be introduced straight away to members whose preferences it matches. That turns a one-off referral into an ongoing relationship, which is better for players, our partners and Comparasino.

How do you make sure CRM, yours and your partners’, doesn’t cross into pressure or harm?

For us, it starts with the principles I talked about earlier. Only get in touch when you have something genuinely useful to say, and know when not to get in touch at all. Responsible CRM isn’t a separate consideration; it’s part of what good CRM is.

In practice, members decide whether they hear from us at all. They can opt in to our communications and unsubscribe at any time, and everything we send is shaped by the preferences they’ve shared with us. Every communication we send also carries specific safer gambling messaging, in addition to the messaging that runs throughout the Member Zone and the rest of Comparasino.

Our partners are all UKGC-licensed, so they’re accountable for their own CRM under the same rules, and we choose to work with brands that take that seriously.

Ultimately, responsible CRM is also better business. Players who feel pressured don’t stay. Players who feel looked after do.

What would you say to operators who still see affiliates as purely acquisition partners?

That they’re leaving value on the table. The best-performing brands we work with treat us as a partner across the whole player journey. They use our insight to shape their offers, they invest in CRM, and they see the results.

But partnership works both ways. An affiliate’s job is to introduce the right player to the right brand. What happens after that depends on the operator’s product, experience and CRM, and of course on game outcomes that no one controls. So judging a referral purely on a player’s early revenue, particularly after costs, doesn’t tell the whole story.

It’s also worth remembering that a player who enjoys a brand, plays within their means and keeps coming back because they like the experience is exactly the kind of player the industry should want. That’s what we’re focused on sending, and the operators who build on that relationship are the ones who get the most from it.