SEO has been the main strategy for iGaming operators for years, but the game is changing. People are now turning to AI assistants for suggestions on where to play, which bonuses to try, or what’s trending. That’s where GEO — Generative Engine Optimization — comes in. It’s not about abandoning SEO but evolving it so your content makes sense not only to Google, but also to generative AI models.
The real win happens when SEO and GEO work together. SEO keeps your visibility in traditional search, while GEO helps you appear in AI-generated answers that players increasingly rely on. For operators seeking long-term, sustainable growth, finding this balance is becoming a necessity — not a differentiator.
GEO: What does it mean for iGaming operators?
Put simply, GEO is all about making your content easy for AI systems to understand, trust, and reuse in their answers. Instead of optimizing only for search engines, you’re optimizing for AI assistants and chat-based discovery tools that millions of users now rely on to make decisions — including where to play, which bonuses to grab, and which games are worth trying.
If SEO helps people find you, GEO helps AI recommend you. And in today’s iGaming landscape, you need both humans and machines on your side.
While exact GEO usage numbers for iGaming aren’t publicly documented, research across industries shows up to a 40% increase in visibility with GEO tactics. And since 86% of SEO professionals already use AI tools, it’s safe to assume most serious iGaming operators are now investing in GEO strategies.
When it comes to acquisition, both cost and quality matter — and GEO is proving to have a bigger impact than expected. A cross-industry study shows the average GEO CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost) is around US$559, roughly 14.4% higher than traditional SEO. But here’s the twist: those GEO-driven players convert at about 27% higher rates and arrive with noticeably better quality. In other words: yes, you may pay a bit more upfront, but for high-value iGaming players, that extra investment can easily pay off.
How can iGaming operators use GEO to boost acquisition?
Create high-quality semantic content: Instead of focusing only on “casino bonuses in Brazil,” write content that answers full, conversational questions such as “Which mobile sports betting app has the fastest payouts for Brazilian players?”, or “How safe is a licensed online gambling app in Colombia?”
Research on GEO shows freshness, structured data, and enriched metadata help content get cited.
Optimize for conversational intent: As the traditional “keyword ? click” path evolves, GEO encourages writing for long-tail, intent-rich queries (“I want to bet live on football tonight — which app should I use?”). This increases your chances of appearing in an AI-generated answer, not just ranking as a link.
Does this mean SEO is no longer relevant? Absolutely not.
Despite the buzz around GEO, let’s be clear: SEO is far from irrelevant. In fact, if you’re an iGaming operator not investing in SEO, you’re basically whispering in a stadium during a rock concert.
Organic search remains one of the industry's biggest acquisition channels. The global iGaming market is expected to reach US$127 billion by 2027, up from US$59 billion in 2020, meaning millions of new players enter the funnel every year.
And with mobile already accounting for around 50% of online gambling revenue, a well-optimized, mobile-friendly site (a core SEO pillar) is still the difference between capturing high-intent players or losing them to your competitors. SEO keeps you visible where players are actively searching — and that demand isn’t going away.
Additionally, SEO provides long-term cumulative value that paid channels and AI discovery cannot fully replace. A gaming SEO case study showed a brand growing from zero to 383,000 monthly users in under two years simply by getting the basics right — technical SEO, quality content, backlinks, the classic full toolkit.
Industry experts are emphatic: for iGaming, SEO is not optional; it’s essential, especially for high-intent searches like “best sportsbook with fast withdrawals in Brazil” or “live casino with quick payouts.” GEO may be the shiny new way to get discovered in AI answers, but SEO is still the engine that keeps your brand well-positioned, trusted, and profitable.
It’s not SEO or GEO — it’s SEO and GEO
Here’s why you need both long-term: If you rely only on SEO, you risk losing the growing share of traffic flowing through AI-driven journeys. If you rely only on GEO, you risk ignoring the massive volume of traditional search queries that still drive traffic today. For example: SEO still matters because 75% of users never scroll past the first page of search results.
Meanwhile, AI-powered search platforms are reaching new levels of usage and citations — one report found that 76% of AI Overview citations come from pages ranked in Google’s top 10.
So, the smartest iGaming operators are doing this: They build a strong organic foundation (technical SEO, content, backlinks) and add GEO-optimized assets (structured data, conversational intent pages, brand citation signals) so they rank in both channels. This dual strategy sets you up for sustainable growth — not just your next campaign spike, but long-term success.
How to use SEO + GEO together
- Create conversational hubs that both rank and get cited: Content that speaks to humans (“Which casino pays fastest in Brazil?”) and machines (structured FAQ, clean headings) delivers 20–40% more featured snippets and 15–25% more non-brand organic traffic.
- Deploy geolocation-optimized landing pages with local structure and relevance: Localize currency, payment methods, regulatory messaging, and add schema/FAQ markup so both search engines and AI models understand your page. Structured data improves “crawl efficiency” and speeds indexing.
- Build local authority signals that search engines and AIs trust: Partner with region-specific affiliates, local media, and eSports communities: 76% of AI Overview citations come from content ranking in Google’s top 10.
InPlaySoft: Combine SEO and GEO for sustainable growth
With InPlaySoft, operators don’t need to choose between SEO and GEO — because our platform is built to deliver the best of both worlds by default. Every page, module, and feature can be fully optimized for classic search and AI-driven discovery, giving your brand maximum visibility regardless of how players choose to find you.
From structured, SEO-optimized layouts to content frameworks designed to generate citations, we ensure your platform is not only easy to find — but irresistible. In short: with InPlaySoft, SEO is everywhere, GEO is built-in, and sustainable growth becomes your competitive edge.
Source: InPlaySoft
