What Slots Players Look For In An Online Casino

New to the gambling affiliate business or starting a new site covering online slots? Here are some tips on the kind of things slots players look for when choosing their next casino.

Welcome Bonuses – It’s Not Just About The Big Numbers

As with all gambling verticals, the welcome bonus is the headline that all affiliates promoting slot sites lead with.

But these days it’s not just about the headline.

The terms behind it are important too – minimum deposit, wagering requirements, game eligibility, maximum bonus, and cash out limit from a bonus are all significant to a player in the decision-making process. And different deal configurations suit players with different budgets and game preferences.

Offering a wide range of choices is therefore important.

Whilst NetEnt’s Starburst used to dominate the free spins space, now there are more varied offers with deals on games like Play n Go’s Reactoonz or Pragmatic Play’s Big Bass Bonanza. Some operators offer free spins deals with winnings in cash rather than bonus funds subject to wagering conditions. And match bonuses can be from 50% up to 200% and are capped anywhere from £50 to £500, though the bigger bonuses are much rarer than they used to be.

Showing at least one or two of each deal type is the way to go.

A Packed Games List That Is Easy To Search

A large game catalogue with slots from a wide variety of game providers is important. The smallest casinos in the UK will have around 500 slots in their list from 30 or so providers. But those at the top end feature 5,000 to 10,000 games and cover over 200 providers. That’s a big difference.

As well as providing a lot of choice and ensuring that more players’ favourite games are covered, big catalogue also shows that an operator means business. Good casinos not only offer slots from the big-name providers like NetEnt or Pragmatic Play, but they also feature many smaller studios too. They will also publish new games on the week of release to satisfy the huge appetite for new content.

But it’s not just about having an expansive games list. For a good player experience, those lists need to be clearly presented and easily searchable too. That means helpful filters that allow players to search not just by game name, provider, and game format like Megaways or Cluster Pays, but also by theme, volatility level, stake range, and even player ratings.

Many casinos fall short in this area with only a few basic filters. A list of 2,000 games cannot be explored when it is presented as one seemingly endless block of logos with no further information. But there are operators out there – Skill on Net is one – whose sites provide much clearer functionality and a better user experience.

Affiliates can highlight the strengths or weaknesses of a games list and menu options in their casino review content.

Fair Return to Player Rates

It has not gone unnoticed amongst slots players that over the last decade more and more developers are creating multiple versions of their games, each with a different Return to Player (RTP) rate. Operators are free to decide which rate to set the game to, taking more house edge if they choose to.

The range in RTP rates is significant. For example, Book of Dead by Play n Go has 5 RTP rates ranging from an optimum setting of 96.21% down to a low setting of 84.18%. In the UK we have seen the full range of RTP rates across various casinos. Whilst the casual slots player might not be aware of this, those who play regularly are.

Whilst some operators have no problem running slots at less than 90% RTP others stick to the optimum rates. This is useful information to players looking for sites that offer good value rather than squeezing their customer base for all its worth.

Fast and Efficient Withdrawals and Account Verification

Browse casino reviews on Trustpilot or Ask Gamblers and you’ll see that amongst the most common triggers for complaints are still withdrawal times and account verification issues.

In the UK, the process of verification is now easier with some operators using AI tools like Hooyou to process Know Your Customer checks automatically and almost all providing a document upload service via My Account pages for secure sharing of personal documents like passports or bank statements. However, verification can still take 2 to 3 days at some casinos where staff are only available during business hours.

The same is true for withdrawals. Whilst some of the bigger sites will process withdrawals within a few hours on any day of the week, others are much slower, rarely processing a payment in under 12 hours and never at weekends.

Affiliates can highlight those casinos in their lists that have been proven to process withdrawals in a few hours.

Some Players Have A Preferred Operator Platform

Casino players are regularly moving from one site to the next searching for another bonus, more games they like, a better user experience, or perhaps just better luck. Along the way they get to know the platforms and operator names behind these sites. White Hat Gaming, Skill on Net and Aspire Global are amongst the most popular in the UK.

These white label providers operate multiple sites under one license. And often the default set up is the same or very similar from one of those sites to the next when it comes to bonuses, game catalogue, payment options and verification process. Familiarity goes hand in hand with trust (or distrust) in this case. So, grouping sites by platform can be a useful trick to help users find one they are interested in.

Newly Launched Casinos Are Popular

The rate of new slot site launches in the UK may have slowed dramatically in the last 5 years as regulatory changes squeeze the market, but there are still a few new brands arriving each year and they will always be popular. Whether they are on a newly-built platform or simply a new white label on an existing platform, new casinos are essential to your list.

Overall Level of Service

Finally, there are online casinos out there that have earned a good reputation amongst punters by providing a good level of service across the board. They hit the mark in all the areas discussed in this article by providing a great product, good value, and professional and efficient payments, verification and customer support. These sites have better retention rates and player values and are worth seeking out. Browsing forums and consumer review sites is a great way to find sites with brand integrity as they will be more popular.

Final Thoughts

Following the tips in this article is a great starting point for preparing an affiliate site that will attract and engage serious slots players looking to spend money. As well as this, we also recommend that you spend some time researching for yourself the content strategies of the many casino affiliates out there promoting slots.