Lessons from one of America’s Fastest-Growing Markets as a Budding Tech Entrepreneur
If you’re teeing up the launch of your own tech-driven venture, it’s never a bad idea to have a look around the current business landscape to see if you can draw on any wisdom or techniques that are proving to be successful in the market. In the US alone, the iGaming market was said to grow by 22.1 percent, per vixio.com, and by 2027, the market is forecast to be worth somewhere between $10.8 billion and $13.7 billion.
Given that it was slowly introduced in the middle of 2018, iGaming’s rapid ascent can’t be ignored. So, given that it’s a tech-driven sector, this piece will look at some key areas that have allowed for iGaming businesses to grow so rapidly.
Try Before You Buy Still Works
If you bring up the idea of offering free samples or free trials to most people looking to release a digital product, you’ll be dismissed. It’s perceived as being too risky as the traditional free sampling marketing technique – the one you’ll be familiar with in supermarkets, for example – also leans on physical interactions and a human connection.
In iGaming, the equivalent of free samples is a staple of each business and a key competitive battleground. You only have to look as far as bonusfinder.com, which reviews, rates, and ranks welcome bonuses, to see how much the brands advertise and lean on these forms of free samples. Some give away ten whole days of spins, while others offer no-deposit bonuses.
For a digital product, there’s a bit of nuance to tapping into the reciprocity principle that free sampling leans on. Many will likely fit into the bracket of offering a free trial. If this is the case, you need to work out if your product can shine in the given time frame – preferably, it’ll be of use very quickly. The longer it takes someone to see the value in the product, the less likely the trial will convert them into a paying customer.
Work With Regulators
A very pertinent point to draw from the surge of the iGaming industry is its decision to work with regulators as it rolled out. The industry has been prevalent in other markets, particularly Europe, for over a decade before the US opened up, but once it did, brands were quick to adjust their offerings to fit each market and appease regulators.
Naturally, many tech entrepreneurs work on the angle of changing the state of play and disrupting the status quo, with the prime example now being those operating in blockchain technology. In an interview with moguldom.com, crypto and blockchain attorney Maureen Murat cited that there’s plenty of demand for her line of work right now.
One major collision course is between blockchain and GDPR – particularly in Europe. The regulations state that people have a right to get their data deleted – a right to be forgotten. On a base level, though, blockchain isn’t allowed to forget or delete. So, it runs afoul of these personal data laws, as fintech.global details.
Still, regulators aren’t just here to stifle new tech. The UK government, for example, has recently set up a Regulatory Innovation Office that aims to speed up the public sector’s ability to adopt innovative tech, like emergency delivery drones, and reduce red tape. Savvy entrepreneurs who regularly touch base with regulators and help to encourage reform will always be in a better place than those who don’t.
The iGaming industry has flourished across the US predominantly because of its masterful deployment of the classic free sample marketing technique and its ability to adapt to different regulations between states. Any budding tech entrepreneur would do well to follow suit.