Player acquisition strategies in regulated markets

The starting point: the market's regulations

Every regulated market defines who may advertise gambling, where and how. In Poland the Polish Gambling Act permits advertising only to the extent provided for specific types of activity, such as betting conducted under a permit, and restricts both content and placement. Other countries apply advertising watersheds, sponsorship bans, mandatory risk warnings or limits on welcome bonuses.

An acquisition strategy should start with a map of these restrictions for each market, prepared together with the operator's legal adviser. Advertising platforms also have their own rules, including advertiser certification in the gambling category, which need to be taken into account separately.

Measure acquisition cost by cohort

Cost per registration is a misleading measure. What matters more is the cost of acquiring a player who makes a first deposit, and the net revenue from the cohort after 30, 90 and 180 days. Only by comparing these figures can you see whether a channel pays back. A channel with expensive registrations may turn out to be the most profitable, while one with cheap traffic loses money.

These calculations require consistent attribution: each player unambiguously assigned to a channel and campaign, agreed between the marketing team, affiliates and the finance department.

Affiliate programmes with quality control

Affiliates are an important channel in the industry, but the operator is responsible for the content that promotes its brand. A well-designed affiliate programme includes:

• a commission model matched to the goal: CPA for rapid scale, revenue share for long-term quality, or a hybrid,
• minimum player quality criteria on which commission payments depend,
• content rules: no messaging aimed at minors, mandatory risk information, no promises of winnings,
• restricting affiliates to markets where the operator holds a licence,
• regular review of affiliate sites and campaigns.

The journey from advert to first deposit

Money spent on advertising is easily lost in the final steps. Long registration forms, unclear identity verification and a cashier that does not show the local payment method all reduce conversion, whatever the quality of the traffic. When we map the journey step by step, we usually find several points where players drop out for technical reasons rather than lack of interest. This is also why we combine marketing and payments consulting.

Bonuses, used sensibly

In many markets welcome bonuses are restricted or banned, and where they are allowed they also attract players interested only in using the promotion. It is worth measuring the value brought by players acquired with a bonus compared with the rest, and designing terms that are transparent and comply with local regulations.

Responsible gambling as part of the strategy

Player protection is not a marketing cost but a condition for keeping the licence and the operator's reputation. Campaigns should be switched off for self-excluded players, limits and risk signals respected, and communication avoided that could encourage play beyond a player's financial means. A well-designed CRM makes it possible to do this automatically.

A plan for the first 90 days

1. A map of regulations and advertising platform rules for each market.
2. Unified attribution and a cohort report for all channels.
3. A review of the affiliate programme: models, quality criteria, content control.
4. An audit of the registration, verification and cashier journey.
5. Budget tests in the channels with the best cohort returns.

We describe our approach in detail on the Consulting page. If you would like to discuss a specific market, write to us.