Maximizing casino player profitability with a one-to-one marketing engine

By implementing a one-to-one marketing engine with real-time personalization, OneSix helped a casino gaming provider enhance player experience and boost profitability through tailored offers.

AI & Machine Learning

Next Best Action

Snowflake

Overview

Revolutionizing loyalty marketing in casino gaming

Casino gaming is a high-energy industry that continually seeks to use state-of-the-art technology to improve the player experience. However, most loyalty marketing programs in the industry still follow traditional, tier-based direct marketing approaches. Using this model, casino patrons are evaluated based on monthly spending data, then categorized into low- to high-value tiers. Promotions like free play, restaurant discounts, and hotel perks are allocated by tier, with players receiving updates via direct mail or email.

This legacy system has significant drawbacks. Promotions are distributed only once a month, resulting in outdated information by the time offers reach players. Additionally, the process is labor-intensive and static, failing to respond to real-time changes in player behavior. Since players are grouped into broad value categories, the traditional approach also lacks personalization, preventing casinos from crafting customized offers that reflect individual preferences and engagement patterns.

In response to these limitations, our client, a leading casino gaming provider, partnered with OneSix to develop a solution capable of engaging players individually. The goal was to build a dynamic marketing engine that would automatically learn from players’ behaviors both online and in-casino, creating a personalized, real-time experience for each player.

Our Solution

Building a one-to-one marketing engine for personalized engagement

OneSix designed and implemented a one-to-one marketing engine powered by a distributed reinforcement learning platform, tailored specifically for the gaming industry’s needs. Recognizing that each player’s engagement is driven by unique behaviors, we developed a platform capable of continuously learning and adapting to individual player activity. This multi-channel “next best action” engine integrates data from multiple sources to generate a comprehensive, real-time view of each player.

The system leverages this data to make intelligent, individualized decisions, including when and how to communicate with each player. The engine streams out optimal actions that maximize engagement, offering personalized incentives and communication across various channels, such as email, direct mail, online platforms, in-app messages, and SMS. This approach allows the casino to engage each player based on their current behavior, creating a highly responsive, individualized experience that feels more relevant and timely than traditional loyalty programs.

In addition to building this powerful engagement engine, OneSix ensured that the platform would continue learning over time. Our solution includes a feedback loop that adjusts strategies based on player response, optimizing interactions to align with evolving preferences. This adaptive approach allows the casino to nurture player relationships effectively, combining the best of real-time analytics with advanced AI-driven marketing capabilities.

Results

Enhanced player experience and increased profitability

The deployment of this one-to-one marketing engine has transformed the client’s approach to player engagement, providing a more immediate and personalized experience for casino patrons. Players now receive offers tailored to their individual habits and preferences, and these offers are refreshed in near-real-time as new player data is collected.

Experimental testing of the platform has demonstrated substantial improvements in player profitability, as well as enhanced engagement and loyalty among both new players and those migrated from traditional loyalty programs. By responding to shifts in player activity and delivering customized offers across multiple channels, the casino has seen a marked increase in player satisfaction and profitability.