The EveryMatrix Slot Trumps series lands in Colombia, but with smaller average bet sizes, how can operators engage local players? Stian Enger Pettersen digs into the data.
We kick off the New Year with the fourth market in our Slot Trumps Player Behaviour series, uncovering exclusive player preference data in our second Latin America market analysis: Colombia.
One trend immediately stands out: players there generate the lowest average bets of slots of our series so far with only 5% of the top 20 games in Colombia featuring an average bet of more than €1 – the global average spend per spin within our SlotMatrix portfolio, the industry’s largest games aggregator.
Compared to our findings in Brazil, the average bet in Colombia is more than 70% lower than its soon-to-be-regulated LatAm counterpart, at only €0.34 versus €1.04.
Our data shows Colombians exhibit a wide range of igaming preferences with 70% regularly participating in gambling activities, blending traditional offline and online gaming experiences.
They enjoy a diverse selection of slots, blackjack, roulette and baccarat at both brick-and-mortar and online casinos. However sports betting stands out as one of the country’s most popular forms of entertainment with operators covering a plethora of national and international events.
While football remains the top choice, basketball, baseball and tennis rank among the next most preferred sports for Colombian players.
Players may bet a third less per spin in Colombia than in Brazil, but they spin more (75 sessions every 90 days compared to Brazil’s 49).
Unlike their Brazilian neighbours they lean towards medium volatility games. With that in mind there is strong up-sell opportunity for operators and, once more content flows through, we expect average stake per spin to increase over time.
When it comes to feature preferences Colombia differs greatly to its larger South American counterpart with seven out of 10 of the most popular 20 games offering free spins. More than 90% of the 1,042 games within our SlotMatrix network in Colombia contain wilds, 60% multipliers and 52% scatters compared to 22% wilds, 16% multipliers and 5% gamble features in Brazil.
Free spins is the top retention mechanic in both countries and, when comparing games with and without in-game free spins, we discovered this feature increases the average number of game sessions in Brazil by more than 70%.
A cultural preference for sports over real-money games, combined with a less mature market compared to Brazil, for example, are two crucial reasons why online slots betting behaviour in Colombia is lower than the global average. Therefore, operators aiming to launch online casinos or convert/expand their land-based operations to digital offerings should consider strategies to engage local players with a portfolio to cater to their cultural preferences.
Brands that want to go the extra mile and boost engagement should look closer at cross-vertical gamification solutions that allow players to compete against one another for prizes over any period, bridging the gap between sports betting punters and slots fans.
Our BonusEngine solution, for example, allows operators to fully customise sports and casino tournaments with real-time leader boards. By displaying information about every player’s current score and position, they remain engaged and have fun no matter their gambling preferences.
What’s more, like all the other bonus types, tournaments available via BonusEngine can be created for any segment of players, or be open for all.
Boosting the experience for players that enjoy a few spins but are not high rollers can also include creating multi-level missions to keep them engaged with different rewards per level, monetary or not.
With BonusEngine operators have complete flexibility over any promotion they want to push. For example, they can set rewards to be triggered as soon as a player reaches a certain level, while players can also track both their progress and the remaining time for each promotion.
Mission expiry times are also customisable, allowing for durations ranging from any number of days down to just one minute. The successful completion of a mission can trigger the immediate unlocking of another mission or be subject to a delay as configured.
What’s more, players can choose from various missions or series of missions, granting them the autonomy to select the challenges they wish to undertake and the rewards they want to achieve. This ensures a genuine sense of flexibility and personalisation within each experience.
The Colombian market has yet to take off, but the early signs are encouraging with huge potential for further development.
Equipped with optimum operational strategies that are aligned with specific player behaviour data, casino brands can and will have a significant impact here in the years to come.
Go to Slot Trumps Player Behaviour Report for a more detailed breakdown of Romanian player and wagering behaviours.
Meet the Slot Trumps experts at ICE 2024. Book a meeting on stand N6-210!
Read all the articles in our Player Behaviour Report series here.
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