Advertising Watch: Online Casino Marketing

Marketing for any company is its lifeblood. However, online casinos in india have a challenging feat before them - most of them have to figure out how to advertise themselves like any other billion-rupee company, while still staying within laws and guidelines that purposely make it difficult to advertise gambling.

According to a new brand awareness report on online casinos published by JustGamblers.com, Bet365, Dafabet, and Betway are the most recognized online casino brands in the country based on Google search. When the company analysed the 10 most popular brands in India, they found that the top 3 brands hold a total search interest of 986,000 people per month, which is 70.4 percent of the market share. In correlation to the 7 remaining brands, Bet365 holds 29.9 percent which makes it the most recognized brand in 2021 by far, according to JustGamblers data.

Another survey found that Royal Panda, 22Bet, and Betway are the most recognized companies for their logos.

Casino Marketing Laws Prevent National Ads

It seems that European and other international companies are more successful at advertising themselves to an Indian audience.

Every country has created its own laws around casino advertising, which makes it really difficult for companies to show their commercials during popular broadcasts on television and radio. Only very specific games and brands may put out billboards and radio commercials. Many casinos have spent a large amount of money on famous actors and spokespeople to represent their brands and draw attention. While the lack of regulatory laws in India has enabled online gambling companies to advertise without restriction for years, that is all changing.

New laws passed at the end of 2020 are requiring any casino ads to place warnings and mention age restrictions, which the government feels will help curb gambling addictions. New laws also prohibit advertising to children, which will limit the times that casino commercials may air on TV. These laws also ban companies from advertising gambling as an alternative source of income.

With the government creating this hush-hush atmosphere around gambling, they are hoping to curb the usage of online casinos. Unfortunately, this doesn’t work out - despite creating laws that prohibit most forms of advertising, about 40 percent of internet users report trying online gambling for real money. On top of that, the recent pandemic has created a surge in the usage of gambling websites, prompting new laws across the country regarding the marketing of casinos. This means that companies have gotten creative in the way they advertise.

Creative Advertising From Online Casinos

Advertising on television, billboards, and online depends on each country’s individual laws and regulations. For example, in states where gambling is outlawed, casinos may not advertise at all. Facebook, Twitter, and other social media companies must adhere to local laws as well, limiting some companies ability to advertise on these sites.

Most Individuals see casino advertisements like banner ads and paid ads on affiliates  and other website. Most casinos invest a lot into their paid advertisements on website. Casinos may often advertise themselves by paying comparison websites to promote them their features and latest bonus offers.

Others have gotten creative by advertising on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter (as much as they can). They may not always be able to take out paid advertisements like other businesses, but they do advertise their latest games and promotions and use their social media pages to build a community of gambling fans. Poker and sports betting have different legal restrictions than casino games, and these companies are allowed to advertise on TV and billboards, as long as ads don’t depict anyone under 18 and don’t glorify gambling over responsible earning.

As India continues to pass laws that regulate gambling, you can expect companies to continue to change the way they advertise and attract new players.