Prized asset: the real cost of daily F2P casino games

We all love the prospect of winning something for nothing. Whether that is scooping a prize in the office sweepstake or a free snack from our favourite fast-food chain, the simplicity of a nice little treat is a joy we all share in.

This is a concept that online casinos have taken on board and run with in recent years. When you log in to your igaming site of choice, you might see a little pop-up window for a daily game to win prizes such as free spins or cash credit to use on your preferred game.

Much like the popular brain teaser Wordle, these games are only available once a day and can give you that endorphin rush that could tempt you into a real-money game on the app or site. The question is, though, are operators seeing real returns on placing these games on their sites or are people simply logging in, playing the game and leaving again?

When looking into free-to-play daily games, there are divisions in what exactly the game is and what kind of incentive it offers players. There are a couple of main types of daily free games. Risk-free daily games can be found at the likes of Sky Vegas, Gala Bingo/Spins, Ladbrokes and William Hill. Typical prizes might not be of great value, such as five free spins or a £1 bonus, but they are quick to play and award a small prize in seconds.

The other main type is found under the Gamesys Group’s brands such as Virgin Games and Jackpotjoy. Each day you go onto the site, you pick six symbols on a prize board and if you match a certain number of symbols, you win free spins or a cash bonus. The game progresses over the week, so the prizes build up each day.

In theory, these games are risk-free as you will never have to put money into them to play, but is this the only thing that is drawing players back to these games each week? Are they proving to be a big factor in customer retention for operators, and if so, is it just the prizes that are the hook or is it the gameplay?

The fundamentals of free-to-play

When looking at what made operators decide to start offering these types of games, Ian Gallagher, UK and Ireland director of customer product at Flutter Entertainment, says: “We obsess about entertaining our customers, and the free-to-play game was something we felt would enhance our current offering. When we talked to our customers, they told us this would definitely be the case.”

Flutter brought in a few varieties of games across its brands, firstly at Paddy Power with Paddy’s Wonder Wheel. Players spin the wheel and get a prize depending on where it lands, as the name suggests. Another variation is Betfair’s Prize Pinball. In this game, you launch a ball into the pinball machine and it will ping around the board and eventually land in a prize slot or a ‘no win’ hole which returns no prize.

Gallagher also discusses what the team felt was necessary to put into the games to help achieve the operator’s objectives. “Entertainment was the key area we wanted to deliver for each of the brands, and these were and are very different for each of the brands,” he says. “The thrill and anticipation of what could happen is something we have tried hard to package into the games.”

Flutter’s UK and Ireland director of customer product went on to explain how the firm wanted to create different free-to-play games for each brand that stood out from those currently on the market, reflecting the varying brand identities for Betfair and Paddy Power.

“We wanted the games to be enjoyable as well as valuable additions to their experience and, ultimately, be the leading experiences in the market. We might be biased but we think we have nailed it,” he adds.

Could it be that players are just logging in, playing the game and then leaving? According to Gallagher, this isn’t the case. “We designed and built the games to offer our customers the opportunity to try their luck every day regardless of whether they intend to play with us that day or not. So, some customers may do this but we think this is a great advert for the games that we offer.”

Providing an outside perspective, Guy Hasson, director of Euphoria Studios and who has vast experience in the free-to-play and real-money online slots industry, says: “It’s hard sometimes to see the value of ‘free play’ to casino companies when you’re used to the model of people placing real-money to bet.”

Hasson goes on to discuss why he thinks operators have decided to provide these kinds of games. “Sometimes real-money online gambling websites use free-to-play games to ‘convert’ people, by allowing them to play for free which gives the companies a chance to hook the players to make alluring offers to [switch to] real-money gambling, and even to help spread the word to friends.”

Safety first

Anonymind, which offers 24/7 mental health support for those suffering from gambling harm, also gathers data on the key areas of what is causing gambling harm and relays that back to operators to help improve responsible gambling policy. Andy Atha, COO, says: “We see players who understand they have an issue with gambling but who are also reluctant to close their accounts and exclude themselves.”

Atha adds: “Those free-to-play games make the individual keep the application on their phone when otherwise they would have removed it. There is sufficient evidence from the players we have treated that an operator has been able to retain a player who would have left them or even stopped gambling through their F2P games.”

If the transition from free-to-play to pay-to-play is so seamless, then operators will need to ensure they apply the same safeguarding rules to players. They should make sure that time spent playing the free-to-play game is added to any time a person spends on the app so the safeguarding measures kick in at an appropriate time.

Atha continues: “There is something to be said if players who specifically either didn’t want to gamble or wanted to control it much better had tried to use the free-to-play games initially but had been drawn into gambling more.”

Matt Zarb-Cousin, director at Clean Up Gambling, thinks these kinds of games could create the perfect cocktail for potential harm in the future. He says: “I think the fact that it’s every day is probably encouraging you to visit the app or the website on a daily basis where you otherwise might not have.

“There is a lot of research showing that the more frequent the gambling, the more at risk you will be, and these games offer an incentive that creates the opportunity for habit-forming to occur.”

Zarb-Cousin, who has been a part of the lobby groups calling for overhauls to gambling laws, seems to think that these kinds of games have slipped under the radar of the UK Gambling Commission and are not part of any licence reviews made by the regulator.

If this is the case, this issue might need raising going forward. While these games offer players the opportunity to win something for nothing, they could lead players down a rabbit hole to a longer gaming session where they could potentially lose a lot of money.

Simple and sweet

When examining how these games work, they could not be any simpler to play. Whether it is choosing a particular column to put your token in at William Hill’s Bonus Drop or spinning the Paddy’s Wonder Wheel, the daily free-to-play game is built with simplicity in mind. These games involve a single button press and are designed to make sure the game is quick, and you can take whatever prize you win into the online casino to start your session.

However, this simplicity can be a blessing as well as a curse for a simple reason: how do you make your game stand out from the crowd? When you look at William Hill’s offering, for example, you can see the operator has taken some inspiration from game shows such as Tipping Point and Danny Dyer’s The Wall, as it involves a token/ball being dropped down one of three columns and falling into one of the boxes at the bottom to award the player a prize.

Atha believes that keeping it simple is an obvious design feature by operators. “You want to put as few obstacles as possible for the individual. So, for example, if the game required some skill level, some individuals would say, ‘Oh, there’s no point in me playing this’. Whereas by using a simplistic design that has no obstacles, you’re going to remove that layer of people who wouldn’t have used it.”

When asked whether these games are the root cause of an extended play session, Atha responds: “We have one or two comments from individuals who explain that they initially tried to control their gambling or indeed began by only wanting to play the free-to-play games but were then led into gambling to the point where they have required therapy.”

Where to next?

Following these games’ clear popularity, the most pressing question is what comes next for them, and whether they will be developed further. Gallagher tells EGR Intel that Flutter will continue to enhance its current offerings and invest in building these out for its players. “We are excited at the individual directions both brands are taking with upcoming new releases. We are continually listening to our players and looking to build this into what we release next. Watch this space.”

It does appear that these daily free-to play-games have become an integral part of the online casino experience and will continue to do so for the immediate feature. Whether there is more innovation, as Gallagher refers to, or the games retain their simplistic nature, the products will see a consistent player base returning every day to land the biggest prize on offer. It will be interesting to know how players who keep falling on the ‘no win’ area of the board will react and if it leads them to ever quit the app after a run of losses or because the games take up such little overall time to play whether customers will just take the rough with the smooth.

These games are a possible key to the long-term success for operators and Hasson agrees, asserting that “the more they use social gamification, gamification that’s proven to work, the more they will be successful”.

These games are popular because they provide the opportunity to get something for minimal effort. But as we have established, this simplicity is the hook to bring you back to the app. As with any type of gambling, you need to keep your wits about you and stay in control of your play. And this is precisely where responsible gambling measures play an extremely important role.