The most important data of a gambler to a casino is the knowledge of how much he or she spends in rival casinos. This is important because they can value their customers. Customer data is hard to come by, because casinos are one of the strongholds of cash, alongside drug dealers, flea market, and tug sales. This means that most gambling is normally done in cash. The only means of solving this is to be able to know a gambler’s money transactions through ATM withdrawals, cash checks, and credit/debit cards. Thanks to a publicly-traded company known as Global Cash Access (GCA), it is possible to access customer data through a service known as Casino Share Intelligence (CSI), this is possible.
In 2013 GCA dispensed $20.2 billion to more than a thousand casinos. Gamblers draw 60 percent to 70 percent of cash within casinos via ATM withdrawals, credit/debit cards, and cash checks. GCA claims to have data of over nine million gambler’s credit/debit card transactions, ATM withdrawals, and cash checks. Casinos need to know what their customers are doing outside their walls. This enables casinos to know how much the customers are spending elsewhere and also be able to recognize the top players thus attract them to their establishment.
As the CMO of Ceasar Entertainment Corporation, I would heavily rely on external information. This information will ensure customer valuation. From this, I would create a system that would enable me to come up with promotional ideas to attract and maintain customers. A prepaid cashless system such as a branded card would ensure safety and easily follow up of customers. For example, if a customer buys ice cream from a stone-cold creamery using the card, we would be able to know and thus come up with a promotional package that rewards the customer with free ice cream for gambling with us.
The future of casinos is not marketing but demographics. In today’s gambling, people are more interested in computer and internet games as opposed to the older generation who were more interested in casino games, such as the slot machine. The remedy for this long-term problem is to come up with online games that will interest today’s generation. An example of these games is Slotomania, an online game owned by Ceasar. This game is widely marketed on Facebook, the internet, and iTunes.
Casinos need to include personalization in gambling machines such as slot machines. According to John Acres, slot machines of the future will have to incorporate more personal data. This personal data will involve friends to ensure that the game becomes more social. They will also have to incorporate social media such as Facebook so that if a gambler wins for example $300, a message is instantly sent to family or friends.
Personal data will include gender, income level, and club membership. The slot machine will then change its characteristics depending on the player. On my point of view, I would go for the Elvis machine since it would have my family pictures, music, and friends so making me feel a sense of belonging. In essence, this personalization is part of the world we are currently living in and thus will entice future gamblers. Hart argues that although people may feel violated by being tracked at the moment, they will eventually understand that to get personalization you have to give out data.