When you think of the high-life, of endless riches and excesses, online casinos are not the first thing that spring to mind. Surely, if you have lots of money, you spend your time in brick-and-mortar casinos and card rooms, splitting your time between cities like Las Vegas, Monte Carlo, Macau, and wherever your private jet will take you.
However, the prevalence of online gambling has seen many high rollers change tact and focus their time and funds on online casinos instead.
With that in mind, let’s look at the ways that these players are helping to shape and define an industry and the reasons online casinos are so desperate to have them on board.
Highly Sought After
Online casinos spend a lot of money on marketing and most of this revolves around affiliate marketing and bonuses. Simply put, the casinos provide players with a tempting offer, ask affiliates to market it for them, and then hope that players make big deposits and stick around.
The larger those deposits and the longer they stick around, the more they will earn from that player and the greater their ROI will be from the bonuses.
Easy, right? Well, not quite. The nature of the game means that if they consistently catch small stake players who join for no deposit bonuses and 200% to 400% matched deposit bonuses, they won’t make much money. They need the big whales, not the little fish, and that’s why their eyes light up when they hear about high rollers.
The average online casino player may deposit just €10 to €20 at a time and will be so cautious with their money and so scared of losing it, that they will play safe. They’ll wait for bonuses, collect every penny they can, and generally make life difficult for the casino.
A high roller, however, might come in with a deposit of €50,000, blow it all in a single night, and not really care. The strange thing is that the more players spend, the less they care about their money, and when you get into the tens of thousands, you’re dealing with people who take massive risks, play high house edge games, and don’t always care what happens to their cash.
Just one of these players can be worth more to an online casino than a thousand small stake players, and that makes them incredibly valuable.
In recent years, as gambling guide webxcon points out, high rollers have turned their backs on land-based casinos purely because they’re getting so many good offers online.
Amazing Perks
Welcome bonuses don’t work for high rollers. They are aimed at small to medium stake players and the goal is to match their funds with bonus credits. However, when you’re dealing with high rollers, not only do the bonus amounts need to be huge, but many high rollers are not interested in them.
It seems that most of these high-stake players are more interested in getting perks that reward them for their wagering than they are in receiving bonuses at the moment they deposit.
Land-based casinos have played to this preference for years. They give their biggest whales free drinks, event tickets, and even hotel rooms. Some of them offer cashback in the form of a rebate, but again, this is often an unnecessary expense, as many high rollers prefer to be lavished with gifts.
Online casinos have copied this reward scheme and tend to offer much more than their offline counterparts. They give players points every time they make a wager and these points can then be swapped for all kinds of prizes. Most importantly, simply being a high roller in one of these loyalty schemes is enough to unlock a host of great perks, including:
- Tickets to VIP events, including football matches and concerts.
- Presents on the player’s birthday.
- Gifts on special occasions for the player and their loved ones.
- Branded merchandise.
- Tickets to major gambling tournaments, including poker tournaments.
Available Everywhere
Online casinos aren’t the only gambling sites rewarding the biggest spenders. Traditionally, sports betting sites have rejected the idea of loyalty schemes and, but for a few exceptions, they continue to do so. However, poker sites, bingo sites, and other interactive gambling destinations have embraced them.
These sites are also starting to make their intentions clear. In the past, VIP schemes were available to players at all levels. You didn’t need to deposit a specific amount to join and your rewards were relative to your deposits and wagers. However, they soon realized that only high rollers were beneficial and so they began reserving these schemes for players depositing above a specific amount.
Many casinos still have standard loyalty schemes in addition to VIP Schemes, but it’s the latter where the real benefits can be found. These programs are invite-only and while the requirements change from casino to casino, the deposit amount is often fixed at around €25,000 to €50,000 a month. Only when you reach these limits will you be asked into the club and only by maintaining those high deposits can you stay there.
Conclusion: Living the VIP Lifestyle
It’s clear that VIPs are enjoying the high life on online casinos right now. And if you’re a high roller, you can join them.
The first thing you need to do is find a casino with a generous Loyalty Scheme. Not every casino has them, and your business is highly valued, so take your take. If they don’t have any Welcome Bonuses specifically targeted to high rollers, you can then send them an email and ask them what bonuses they are willing to offer you.
Tell them how much you have to deposit, see what they come up with, and if they don’t cater for your needs, take your business elsewhere! A single high roller can be worth a thousand casual players—you’re a valuable commodity, so make sure you use that to your advantage.
Once you have your bonus and your position in the Loyalty Scheme, just keep depositing, playing, and racking up those rewards!