Up next come the end-of-year holidays, when people have more free time, a greater intention to spend, and a natural desire to enjoy themselves during the festivities. Well-crafted year-end promotions, personalized offers, and themed experiences can strengthen player loyalty and increase retention long after the decorations are put away.
In this article, we explore how iGaming operators can leverage the momentum of Black Friday and the festive holiday season to create smarter promotions, attract more players, and keep them engaged long after the celebrations end.
Why is Black Friday important for iGaming platforms?
Black Friday is no longer just a shopping event; it has become a full-scale online surge, and iGaming platforms feel the impact in the best possible way. Online casino segments see revenue spikes of 30% to 40% during the Black Friday period, depending on the products you promote and the boldness of your campaigns.
Affiliate and performance channels ride the same wave, with traffic increasing by 20% to 25% as partners push special offers and content. These aren’t small blips on the radar; they are concentrated bursts of high-intent traffic.
And the story gets even better: industry data shows that player engagement increases by around 35% during Black Friday weekend, while affiliate-driven traffic gets an extra 25% boost.
Some casino segments reach revenue peaks of up to 40% compared to quieter, off-season periods. In other words, if your landing pages, onboarding flow, and offer mechanics are polished, you’re not just getting more signups; you’re capturing players precisely when they’re most ready to act.
But here comes the twist: Black Friday isn’t just about acquisition; the real retention magic comes right after. One report found that Black Friday campaigns helped generate a 3% increase in monthly casino conversion rates in November, suggesting that these new players aren’t just curious; they are actually converting.
What can iGaming operators do to turn Black Friday into a power move?
* Launch a Black Friday-themed funnel that actually feels like Black Friday: if there was ever a moment to launch a dedicated landing page with a big, bold, unmissable offer, this is it. Keep the registration flow short and sleek.
* Use activity-based incentives instead of bonus-heavy promotions: in Brazil (and other regulated markets), the old “deposit X, get Y” formula is essentially retired, so it’s time to get creative. Missions, win streaks, score multipliers, exclusive tournaments — anything fun that rewards engagement, not deposits.
* Set up exclusive tournaments or leaderboard races: a limited-time tournament or leaderboard competition gives players a reason to join, stay, and return for another shot.
* Give affiliates something to brag about: your partners see a 20% to 25% traffic bump during Black Friday, which means they’re hungry for eye-catching creatives and shiny “exclusive” offers to promote. Give them strong material and they’ll channel that surge straight to you.
* Create a solid post-Black-Friday retention strategy: you worked hard to bring players in, so don’t let them fade away. A 7-day onboarding mission, a holiday login streak, or an early-season campaign keeps momentum going even after the discounts end.
Christmas and Year-End Holidays: an iGaming engagement season
When the calendar flips to late November and beyond, players worldwide seem to press the “play” button a bit more often — and spend a bit more time doing it. During the holidays, average daily gaming time jumps from around 1.3 hours on a normal weekday to roughly 2.5 to 3.5 hours.
In mobile games alone, 70% of users play daily during holiday periods, and an impressive 42% play for more than an hour per day. For operators, this holiday period isn’t just “a bit more traffic”; it’s a major spike in attention, time, and opportunity, at a moment when people are less busy, more relaxed, and more willing to play.
And it doesn’t stop there. The intention behind engagement also changes. One survey found that about 80% of players say they play the same amount or more during the holidays, and among mobile players specifically, 57% play daily during this time.
Meanwhile, general consumers (not just players) show clear signs of spending more on entertainment and leisure during the festive period. Holiday shopping data shows significant growth in online sales and strong indications of how active and engaged people are in digital spaces.
This is great news for iGaming operators: more time, more engagement, and more willingness to explore mean the holiday season is the ideal moment for acquisition and retention.
How can iGaming operators boost acquisition and retention during the holiday season?
* Acquisition: with 57% of mobile players playing daily during the year-end holidays worldwide and 80% saying they play the same or more, operators can launch Christmas-themed welcome experiences knowing an eager audience is waiting.
* Retention and upsell: the “relaxation mindset” (87% of players view gambling during Christmas as leisure) suggests existing players are more open to joining special campaigns, trying new verticals, or spending more.
* Leverage holiday free time: players tend to have more free time, so engagement tactics such as login streaks, holiday missions, or cross-vertical challenges (casino + sportsbook) can work particularly well during this period.
InPlaySoft: Turning seasonal peaks into real revenue
Ultimately, seasonality isn’t just a calendar; it’s a strategic code. Black Friday, Christmas, and New Year’s are moments that practically hand operators the perfect excuse to refresh the experience, speak to players at the right moments, and create campaigns that hit harder than any generic year-round bonus.
But to truly transform these seasonal peaks into sustainable growth, you need more than smart promotions — you need an iGaming platform that can keep up with the traffic, creativity, and rhythm of these opportunities.
This is exactly where InPlaySoft stands out. We build, deliver, and maintain scalable, stable, and fast-to-deploy iGaming platform solutions in casino, sportsbook, and eSports, so operators can move as quickly as the season demands.
Thanks to our cloud-driven approach, you can scale your platform as much as needed (yes, even during the glorious Black Friday traffic peaks). And with zero downtime since we began operating in 2021, you get the kind of reliability that lets your tech team sleep better at night.
On top of that, our powerful CMS lets you customize absolutely everything — from special Black Friday events to Christmas-themed landing pages and festive missions with a unique charm. InPlaySoft gives operators the technology, speed, and freedom to turn every seasonal moment into a moment of growth.
Want to know more about InPlaySoft? Visit our website at https://inplaysoft.com/.
Source: InPlaySoft
