Remember when no-deposit free spins were all the rage? You could barely find an online casino not offering this. Nowadays, it’s the opposite. There are very few UK-centric operators now offering no-deposit bonuses. For example, 21 Casino‘s no deposit free spins, Redbet‘s 20 free spins no deposit and even Guts‘ no deposit free spins for UK players have vanished. Each casino is replacing them with new player bonuses, which require a deposit. And in Guts’ case, not even that!
Casinos still offering no-deposit free spins
While most casinos have opted to remove the free spins deals, there are still some offering no-deposit free spins. It’s a fast-shrinking pool, but those operators choosing to market free spins on registration have less competition than before. By searching casino bonus sites for free spins no-deposit deals, you can compare bonuses available in the marketplace for UK players. One such site is 777 Casino, who curate the best free spins and no-deposit deals. You can visit their offers page here. The million-dollar question is: can they convert the free spins traffic into depositing customers? Dunder and Casumo, arguably some of the biggest online casinos, continue to offer no-deposit spins. It seems that these promotions are not quite dead yet, but the writing is on the wall.
What does Google say?
After peaking in January 2019, search volume for “no deposit free spins” is declining rapidly. According to Google, in January 2019, interest peaked at 100 and has declined to 50 in November 2019. Another term, “free spins”, has dropped from 100 in April 2019 to 60 in November 2019. Search interest in these terms hasn’t been this low since December 2017.
It’s clear that fewer online casinos offering free spins is translating to search volumes. The correlation isn’t surprising, really. If there is less marketing around “free spins” terms, there are fewer consumers cognoscente of such offers.
What does this shift mean for affiliates?
If you’re an affiliate relying solely on no-deposit free spins traffic, it’s an obvious issue. The few UK casinos offering this, which are also converting well, is down to a handful. And like the casinos promoting alternative bonuses, you will need to change your strategy to capture the deposit spins traffic. Perhaps weaning yourself off free spins bonus hunters is a good thing anyway.
Affiliates will need to find new terms to target, like “casino bonus” or “deposit bonus”. Currently these don’t have great search volumes but this is likely to change.
What does the shift mean for casinos?
As the shift away from free spins gathers steam, the focus will move towards other ways to attract and retain players. We are likely to see a significant focus on site design, out-of-the-box new player bonuses and brand building (for trust) to attract new players.
Existing players are likely to benefit from more weekly promotions like holidays, gadgets and reload bonuses. The marketing strategy will be to extract more money out of the existing player base and not really on free spins gimmicks. Affiliates beware!
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