Stepping into the gaming industry felt like opening a whole new level in the PM game. After FinTech and HR Tech, where success meant clarity and compliance, gaming introduced me to a world where success meant emotion, habit, and engagement.
At Ivy Comptech (Entain Plc), I worked on gaming and betting platforms used by millions across the globe. From feature enhancements to loyalty programs, everything we built had to compete with short attention spans and sky-high user expectations.
Here’s what I’ve learned so far about keeping users coming back — not because they have to, but because they want to.
🎯 1. Retention Starts Before the First Click
You can’t “retain” someone who never forms a habit in the first place. We spent a lot of time analyzing new user journeys — from registration to KYC, first deposit to first game.
We mapped drop-offs and built nudges — better onboarding, contextual prompts, and streamlined KYC flows. Small tweaks in early moments made big differences in long-term stickiness.
✅ Lesson: The real retention work happens in the first 5 minutes. Nail the onboarding, and you buy yourself a shot at loyalty.
🌀 2. Loyalty Is a Loop, Not a One-Time Reward
One of the major projects I led was the discovery, design, and launch of a loyalty program. Our goal? Drive retention and net gaming revenue — and we did. Post-launch, we saw a 12% increase in net revenue and a 23% boost in active player retention.
But this didn’t happen because of flashy prizes. It was about:
• Smart segmentation
• Progress-based rewards
• A sense of control and progression
• Personalization over gimmicks
We built feedback loops — win, progress, reward, repeat — that made players feel like the product noticed and valued them.
✅ Lesson: A good loyalty program rewards behavior. A great one reinforces identity.
🔄 3. Experiments Over Assumptions
We A/B tested almost everything — from CTA wording to the order of promotions, placement of withdrawal buttons, and even color schemes for offer cards.
One of our learnings? A small tweak in how we worded promotions led to a higher opt-in rate — just by tapping into urgency instead of value.
✅ Lesson: In gaming, instincts are great — but data wins. Always be testing, especially when the stakes (and user expectations) are high.
🌍 4. Global Audience = Infinite Edge Cases
Building for a global user base taught me how culturally nuanced retention can be. What works in the UK market might flop in Germany. Bonus formats, regulatory limitations, even preferred game types — everything varies.
We had to build flexible frameworks that allowed market-specific customization without fragmenting the product.
✅ Lesson: When you scale, don’t just think “multi-device.” Think multi-culture.
❤️ 5. Delight Is a Retention Strategy
Retention isn’t always about strategy decks and dashboards. Sometimes, it’s about giving users a moment of delight. An unexpected win animation. A cleverly timed nudge. A well-written error message.
It reminded me of something I’d read before but only truly understood in gaming: people don’t remember the steps they took — they remember how they felt.
✅ Lesson: Emotional UX isn’t fluff. It’s a growth lever.
Final Thoughts
Building in the gaming industry taught me how to think fast, test faster, and always keep the player’s mindset at the center. It’s where psychology, analytics, and experience design all come together — and as a PM, it’s an incredible space to learn what truly keeps people coming back.
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