Swedish betting operator Mr Green has launched a new smartphone app in the UK that allows customers to log into its real-money online casino via their Facebook accounts. The app is among the first synergies realized from Mr Green’s acquisition earlier this year of Social Thrills, the social gaming firm behind Spin Tower Casino (currently in beta mode on Facebook). Mr Green says the new app should be viewed as a “test launch” but CEO Mikael Pawlo believes being “one of a handful” of firms to offer real-money gaming via a Facebook log-in “represents a seal of quality.”
While real-money gambling on Facebook hasn’t exactly set the world on fire, social media is becoming a prime customer acquisition tool for online gambling firms. A new report by Jersey-based consultants ThinkGaming said social networks like Facebook and Twitter are now the “number one digital marketing channel” thanks to the “ability to specifically target highly relevant individuals.” New technology has brought improved measurement techniques that have allowed companies to “demonstrate that their investment is providing a real return.”
ThinkGaming marketing director Phil Shaw said social networks allow companies to build brand loyalty via “24/7 engagement” but Shaw warned that many companies are still “reluctant to embrace this shift” to social network marketing. Shaw said “a lack of understanding” of social networking’s potential meant too many companies continued to rely on “traditional channels of TV, Google adwords and affiliate marketing.”
Paddy Power is among the companies that boast high engagement levels via their official social media channels. In its most recent annual report, Paddy humble-bragged that the volume of retweets earned by its official Twitter feed were equal to the number generated by its six nearest gambling peers combined. The ranks of Paddy’s Facebook fans and Twitter followers grew 55% last year to over 2m, twice that of its nearest competitor.
