As iGaming and sports betting operators face intensifying pressure from rising acquisition costs, tightening regulation, and margin erosion, the industry’s long-standing reliance on cash-heavy bonuses is starting to look unsustainable. Optimove believes it has a better answer.

The player engagement vendor today unveiled Optimove Loyalty, a new no-code product designed to help operators shift away from bonus-led retention toward gamified, non-monetary incentives. Built for marketing teams—not engineering backlogs—the platform enables operators to design, deploy, and optimize loyalty experiences in real time while protecting margins and extending player lifetime value.

The launch reinforces Optimove’s broader push around Positionless Marketing, where marketers are empowered to act independently, without waiting on technical resources to execute and iterate on engagement strategies.

A response to bonus fatigue and margin pressure

Bonusing has long been the default growth lever in iGaming. But escalating competition has turned it into an arms race—one that’s increasingly expensive and, in some markets, increasingly regulated.

Optimove Loyalty is positioned as a direct response to that dynamic. Instead of trying to “out-bonus” competitors, operators can redirect engagement and retention efforts toward gamified loyalty mechanics that rely on intrinsic motivation rather than cash incentives.

According to Optimove, this shift allows brands to protect margins while still keeping players engaged—an increasingly difficult balance as profit pressure mounts and regulatory scrutiny around bonusing intensifies.

“Gamified loyalty creates progression and recognition that keep players coming back, without having to escalate bonus spend,” said Shai Frank, SVP of Product and GM Americas at Optimove.

Built for today’s regulatory and competitive realities

The timing of the launch is notable. Regulators across multiple markets are paying closer attention to how bonuses are used, particularly around responsible gaming and player protection. At the same time, switching costs between platforms are falling, making differentiation harder to sustain.

Optimove Loyalty is designed to address both challenges.

By focusing on non-monetary rewards and recognition, the platform offers operators a more future-proof engagement model—one less exposed to regulatory tightening. At the same time, customizable gamified experiences give brands new ways to stand out in markets where product features and odds are increasingly commoditized.

Rather than interrupting players with offers, Optimove says its approach taps into intrinsic motivators such as progress, achievement, and discovery—earning attention instead of buying it.

What Optimove Loyalty includes

Optimove Loyalty provides a modular set of gamification components that marketers can configure without code, tailoring experiences to different player segments and behaviors.

Key components include:

Badges
Operators can create branded, tiered, rare, and collectible badges that players earn for milestones, missions, or specific behaviors. For example, a badge might be awarded for trying multiple casino games or reaching a wagering threshold.

Virtual Currencies
Brands can define their own loyalty currencies—naming them, assigning value, and determining how they’re earned or redeemed. Multiple currencies can coexist, including rare or time-limited options, to guide player behavior. Examples include diamonds, coins, or chips, each serving a different strategic purpose.

Missions
Missions are designed to guide player behavior through structured challenges. Optimove Loyalty supports three mission types:

• Simple: One-off actions, such as depositing $50 to earn rewards

• Progressive: Multi-step journeys, like making five qualifying deposits to earn a badge

• Accumulative: Time-bound challenges, such as depositing a set amount within a month

These missions allow marketers to encourage specific actions—from deeper engagement to product discovery—without defaulting to cash incentives.

Widgets and Live Games
Ready-made, designable widgets and live game experiences can be embedded directly into apps and digital touchpoints. Examples include in-app player profiles or interactive loyalty elements that feel native to the betting or gaming experience.

Positionless marketing in practice

A defining feature of Optimove Loyalty is its no-code design. Marketing teams can build, adjust, and optimize loyalty programs on the fly—without waiting for engineering resources or release cycles.

That autonomy aligns with Optimove’s Positionless Marketing philosophy, which argues that speed and independence are now competitive advantages. In fast-moving iGaming markets, the ability to test and iterate engagement strategies in real time can make the difference between retention and churn.

“Optimove Loyalty powers marketers to move at the speed of the market,” Frank said, “building and tuning gamified loyalty experiences without relying on engineering cycles.”

Part of a broader gamification strategy

Optimove Loyalty is currently available in closed beta and forms part of the company’s broader Optimove Gamify suite, which also includes minigames and promotion optimization capabilities.

Together, these tools signal Optimove’s belief that the next phase of player engagement will be driven less by escalating incentives and more by intelligent design—where data, personalization, and game mechanics work together to sustain long-term value.

The bigger picture for iGaming engagement

As iGaming operators confront rising costs and regulatory headwinds, loyalty is shifting from a nice-to-have to a strategic necessity. Platforms like Optimove Loyalty reflect a broader industry realization: retention can no longer depend solely on cash.

By giving marketers the tools to build engaging, gamified experiences that reward behavior rather than spending, Optimove is betting that the future of player engagement will be smarter, leaner, and more sustainable.

For an industry under pressure to do more with less, that’s a message likely to resonate.

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