The iGaming market is developing rapidly: by 2025 it will have a revenue of 449,7 billion, and in the next 5 years it will grow by 3.2% annually.
In such conditions, the proper testing of iGaming offers becomes an important tool to optimize ads and achieve maximum results with a limited budget. In this article, we explore how much tests cost and what methods help minimize the efforts.
Key Takeaways
The iGaming market grows, and testing offers helps optimize campaigns and improve conversions;
The iGaming budget for testing can range from $100 to $1200, depending on the Tier GEO;
A/B and multi-variant testing are the main methods for iGaming niche;
Correct trackers and S2S post-backs help collect and analyze data for making informed decision;
UGC content, retargeting, and free proxy hours can reduce costs and increase the credibility of ads.
Importance of Testing in the iGaming Niche
iGaming is a sector connected with online games, sports betting, casinos, poker, and other gaming platforms. It’s a highly competitive niche with a lot of ad makers and an overheated audience.
A/B and other iGaming tests help optimize ads and spend money on the offers that are the most relevant and interesting to the audience. For example, a company can start a few ad campaigns with small iGaming budgets with two or three variants of the elements:
Ad banner;
Buy button;
Landing page;
Headline;
Illustration of the product.
Then the company compares format results like CTR, conversions, time on the site, and number of registrations and chooses the main version. Buyers can boost conversions and increase profit because tests of the banner or clickbait headline will show the most profitable variant.
Types of Ad Testing for iGaming
There are various methods that help adapt advertising campaigns to the target audience and increase their effectiveness. We will evaluate several popular types of tests, such as A/B, reverse testing, and scaling, which allow making the most accurate data.
A/B and Multi-Variant Tests
A/B and multi-variant tests are a way to divide the audience and offer different advertising campaigns. The company can test an iGaming offer, a platform, a banner, or a marketing conception at all.
The same offer with different banners helps understand which one works more successfully
For example, the first group sees the banner ‘100% on the first deposit,’ and the second group sees ‘200 free spins on slots.’ The company tracks which group gives the highest CTR, registration, and deposit. Then select this banner as the main version for the ad.
Reverse Tests
In the reverse test, some offers and improvements are tempted or reverted. This helps to see what changes are important to the audience and how user behavior would change.
For example, when the A/B test shows that the headline ‘100% on the first deposit’ is the best, the buyer uses it for a few months. To make sure that this bonus gives the profit result, a company removes it from the certain group. If the reaction drops, it confirms that the bonus had a positive effect.
Scaling Probes
Scaling probes is the method to choose the optimal way to extend the ad campaign while reaching KPIs such as conversions, CPC, or ROI.
The advertiser adds small changes in the campaign:
Increase the iGaming budget by $50 or $100 per day and check if the number of registrations increases;
Add a new platform to perform and test how iGaming offers affect the cost for conversation.
If the test is successful, the company can start to scale up the ad and be confident that the result will be consistently good.
Minimum Viable Budget by GEO
Tier 1, 2, 3 GEO help classify countries depending on different audience behavior, traffic cost, and purchasing power. It helps to clarify the expectations from campaigns in the US and India, for example, and select the best offer for each region. Let’s see which budget is needed to start a test.
Tier 1 (US, UK, DE)
Tier 1 GEO is more expensive than others and requires a much larger budget. The reason is more competitive markets in the US, Canada, Germany, and the UK and stricter regulation. The CPA in these countries ranges from $250, and the average budget for a test of one offer is a minimum of $900-$1200. This budget will help to collect enough Tier 1 iGaming traffic for the analysis and select the best variant.
Tier 2 (PL, BR, ES)
Tier 2 budget will be lower because of lower market intensity. The average cost of the test can be up to $500-$800, and the CPA is weighted to $100. Such a budget will show good results in testing Tier 2 iGaming traffic and help to collect the first significant data.
Tier 3 (IN, LATAM, ID)
The buyers usually choose Tier 3 iGaming traffic because of low test prices. But there is a lot of fraudulent traffic, fewer deposits, and more bots too. Some advertisers claim that testing with only $100-$150, but the result will be unproductive to draw a conclusion about the campaign. However, Tier 3 regions such as Latin America, India, or Africa can be useful for testing the hypothesis.
Walk-Through Budget Example
The main aim of walking through the iGaming budget is to test several creatives and traffic platforms to select the most effective approach based on data. Not all channels give the same results, so this is the way to allocate resources for different tests.
Sites and traffic sources. 50-60% is better to allocate to the most stable traffic source. There should be no disruptions next time, and accounts should be active and trustworthy to avoid blocking. 20-30% is worth spending on a second channel, like Tiktok ads iGaming, instead of Facebook. Spending 5-10% of the budget on retargeting will help catch users who didn’t register the first time.
Creatives. 5–7 creatives will be enough for one test to check different offers without overspending. Your iGaming budget should be divided equally among the variants to get the fair result. Try using current memes or issues to engage the audience and push traffic. It’s best to choose 1-2 of the best creatives and spend the main budget after testing them.
Retargeting. If the retargeting campaign launches with the main test, it’s easy to catch up with users who have an interest in iGaming but haven’t completed the registration. Retargeting maximizes the effectiveness of the budget and ensures that no conversion opportunity is missed.
How to Cut First-Test Expenses
1. Free Proxy Hours
Free proxy hours in VPN or anti-detect browsers reduce the costs of iGaming split tests because companies shouldn’t pay the full price immediately. Proxies can provide a test audience or test platform to analyze various strategies and verify data.
An example of a free proxy test that helps decrease the spending on traffic arbitrage tools
2. Open-Source Trackers
Companies can use open tracking systems like Google Analytics or Matomo to collect and analyze ads data. There are no high licensing costs in this method, so it helps to optimize campaigns and adapt content.
3. Barter UGC Creatives
It’s a method where companies use user-generated content to promote a product, service, or business. It can be reviews, video blogs, streams, or posts with pictures created by active users. Brands can stimulate users to generate more interesting or provoking content by bonuses or free spins.
Such a test of an iGaming offer makes ads more organic and trustworthy because it is based on real user experiences. It’s important in the iGaming niche where real audience opinions play a main role.
Typical Mistakes when Testing iGaming Ads
Chasing Tier 1 with no budget
When a company wants to work with the most expensive region like Tier 1 without a sufficient budget, it rarely gives effective results. Tests on such platforms need more investments, and data without enough funding may not be payed off.
It’s better to test campaigns in less expensive regions and scale them step by step.
Drowning in creatives, starving for data
Some ad companies create a huge number of banners, headlines and offers, but don’t collect enough data to analyze. It leads to a waste of your iGaming budget and time, because nobody can be sure which channel and creative are working.
Only if the team collects information about CTR or conversions, the test and next campaign will be successful and achieve stable KPIs.
Running blind with no tracker & S2S postback
The common mistake is not adding a correct tracking system and server-to-server communication, which is also called S2S postback. In this situation, the company can’t monitor the results of the test and cannot determine which platforms, traffic sources, and banners give the results.
Only correctly installed trackers evaluate the effectiveness of the test’s strategy.
Unverified payment cards triggering hold
It’s incorrect to use unverified payment cards during testing because payments can be delayed or blocked. Such cards create issues with security and lead to cancellation of transactions. So the test campaign can be stopped, and results will be inconclusive.
iGaming Ad Testing Checklist
Summary
Testing ad offers in iGaming helps increase the effectiveness of campaigns and maximize profits. Right methods and optimizing budgets can improve the KPIs, such as CTR, the number of registrations and time on the site.
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