Maria Casino in Denmark has taken a first step in altering industry standards on how we reward customers. Since 3rd September 2018, our Danish players at Maria Casino haven’t been receiving bonuses with wagering requirements; instead, they’ve been getting 10% cashback on their weekly losses in cash.
Why?
The rationale is two-fold: Firstly, from a regulatory standpoint, Denmark is undergoing change and we anticipate yet more regulation on customer rewards elsewhere too, bringing stricter laws on bonuses in general. Secondly, we are keen to test a simpler, more transparent customer reward structure which could revolutionise the way online gaming platforms reward their customers.
Regulatory change
From 1st January 2019, all bonuses in Denmark will be capped at 1000 DKK (approx. 134€). With 90% parliament backing, this marks an important industry shift. No longer will there be a focus on the “bonus” as a marketing tool as it appears that some politicians see it as a risk that can encourage gambling addiction.
Going forward, we anticipate the start of further limitations to bonus offers. As a company, Kindred is happy to contribute to a transparent industry and we believe that this shift will improve our customers’ experiences, reducing the need for customer support contacts – currently 1 out of 3 of our queries are bonus related.
It’s important to remember that this campaign is not a result of Kindred accepting the idea of bonus being a driver of unhealthy behavior. This is us, as an operator, testing a more simple and transparent customer reward strategy. We have not seen facts and documentation in Denmark supporting the politicians’ belief around the potential damage in using bonuses.
Maria Payback campaign
Always with flexibility in mind, our cashback is communicated to customers as ‘payback’ rather than cashback, enabling us to reward our players in ways other than cash.
We acknowledge that this campaign setup is most likely perceived as more of a loyalty campaign than a traditional acquisition campaign. And with this in mind, we are launching separate tactical acquisition tracks that tie into the overall payback campaign. All is still in testing over some 3-6 months so watch this space for some very revealing results!
