Transforming numerical data into actionable insights for the iGaming sector

In the dynamic world of iGaming, data is no longer a mere byproduct of operations, but a live feed driving action in decision-making. This transformation is evident in various aspects of the industry, from marketing to product development, and compliance.

Freya Buckingham, Marketing Operations Manager at GameOn, is breaking down internal silos by embedding cross-functional data sharing rituals. Weekly dashboards across marketing, sales, product, and compliance are now commonplace, fostering a culture of transparency and collaboration. Buckingham also emphasizes automating alerts for significant metrics, allowing teams to pivot in real time, and encouraging a culture of curiosity where insights and ideas can be freely shared.

Data is also playing a crucial role in shaping product plans. If usage patterns change, product plans change too. For instance, data reveals player behavior beyond gameplay, providing insights into KYC and onboarding, deposit patterns, self-limits, and spend tracking. This comprehensive view of player behavior and their relationship with risk, as explained by Sue Page, CEO Americas at Neosurf, provides a more complete understanding of the players and their preferences.

Game teams are also checking mechanics against real player behavior before launch. This approach ensures that the games are not only entertaining but also profitable.

Marketing moves daily on CPA, CpFTD, LTV, and churn by cohort. Prioritizing actionable data that links to commercial outcomes is crucial. Freya Buckingham focuses on signals such as content engagement, social follows, player acquisition and retention rates, game session lengths, and conversion from free play to real money play. If data does not tie to revenue, it is considered background noise.

David Watkins, CCO at Fincore, stresses the importance of retention, churn risk, and lifetime value predictions as crucial health indicators. However, these predictions should be paired with structured experimentation data to show what really moves the needle. Partnerships, Watkins adds, are judged on performance, not promises.

Sue Page also highlights the importance of closing data silos, particularly by integrating payments data with Responsible Gaming (RG) data. This integration bridges the gap and informs personalized reactivation campaigns or responsible gaming triggers.

iGaming companies should prioritize data on player behavior, real-time game performance, payment transactions (including support for cards, e-wallets, and cryptocurrencies), fraud detection, regulatory compliance (like KYC and AML checks), and personalized promotional effectiveness. Data should demonstrate impact in either growth, speed, or margin.

Eberhard Duerrschmid, CEO at Golden Whale Productions, advocates embedding real-time analytics directly into operational workflows, enabling teams to act on live predictions, recommendations, and results in real time. David Watkins, on the other hand, suggests building clean, connected datasets and using them to train predictive models, then wiring those insights directly into everyday workflows.

In the competitive iGaming landscape, market trends and competitor shifts should be considered for positioning. Wager Wallet, for example, provides operators with actionable insights that stretch outside their immediate ecosystem.

Lastly, data is moving marketing from gut feeling to guided creativity. Treating data as core strategy, not a side project, and focusing on insights in CRM tools, bonus engines, and trading systems to drive immediate actions across the business is the key to success in the iGaming industry. Cohort LTV by acquisition source, for instance, proves whether your spend works.