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How the pandemic changed the operators' business model
The pandemic played the role of an accelerator: the processes that would take the market 5-7 years happened in 18-24 months. Changing player behavior (mobile, micro-sessions), privacy rules and payment derisk forced operators to rebuild their business model: from "mass attraction and bonuses" to a service economy with an emphasis on speed, transparency and responsibility. Below - what exactly has changed, how it manifested itself in metrics and what operational practices have become critical.
1) Product: "light front" and short cycles
Mobile-first in fact. The share of mobile in visits and revenue became dominant; TTI ≤3 s and the start of the game ≤5 s turned from "nice to have" to the threshold of tolerance.
Short but frequent sessions. Quick scenarios win in the interface: "one tap" to live coupon/back, quests with day goals, must-drop windows.
PWA/messengers. Native customers are no longer the only option: PWAs and mini-apps provide coverage and independence from storas.
Conclusion: the front is no longer a "showcase," but an operating asset that affects deposit conversion and LTV as much as content.
2) Monetization: from "heavy bonuses" to missions and cashback
Bonuses are smarter and lighter. Risk limits, mouthguards and transparent T & Cs have supplanted unwieldy wagering.
Missions/battle passes/cashback. Behavioral scenarios with predictable reward economics have replaced "fills," reducing complaints and increasing re-deposits.
Social events. Co-op goals, tournaments, stream activations enhance organics without overheating CPA.
Conclusion: monetization has shifted to managed engagement instead of "forced" generosity.
3) Payments and cashout: "instant by default"
Local instant rails have become the standard where permitted.
Auto-routing and explainable anti-fraud replaced manual checks; failure codes and operation status are shown in "human language."
Metric # 1: Time to first output and proportion of first cashouts approved.
Conclusion: the speed and predictability of the box office directly correlate with the frequency of short sessions and the share of live/light formats.
4) Compliance/RG: from "obligation" to product feature
Default limits, "pause/self-exclusion" in one tap and session reports are built into the UI, and not hidden in the settings.
KYC for risk: simplified paths for low limits + enhanced verification at thresholds and frequent payments.
Content transparency: RTP/volatility ranges and easy-to-understand pay tables reduce disputes and support costs.
Conclusion: access to "white" traffic is now equal to the quality of compliance, and not the size of the market.
5) Marketing: cookie-less and 1st-party-ID
ATT/ITP and the rejection of third-party cookies raised the price of targeting and retargeting.
Bet on 1st-party: CRM, PWA-installations "on the main screen," instant messengers and e-mail have become the main drivers of retention.
SEO 2. 0: technical quality (Core Web Vitals) and E-E-A-T signals are more important than key density.
Conclusion: expensive traffic is justified only with a strong re-channel and fair box office.
6) Operations and data: observability as business insurance
Single "cash book." Betting/payout/deposit/withdrawal logs, game and payment reconciliations have become mandatory.
Realtime telemetry. Logs of sessions, payments, RG events, SLA alerts and fast post-mortem are the core of sustainability.
ML-orchestration. Behavioral anti-fraud, dynamic limits, "anti-tilt" signals, personal missions.
Conclusion: the observed infrastructure is a competitive advantage no less than content.
7) Economy: Focus on margins after taxes and payments
Unit shift. Target KPIs - CR reg→1 th deposit, time to 1st cashout, complaints/1k sessions, share of local rails, 30/90 retention.
Consolidation. Fewer independent B2Cs, more multi-jurisdictional groups; growth - due to the quality of service, not an aggressive spread.
Conclusion: "expensive, but predictable" player is more valuable than "cheap and noisy."
8) What disappeared/shredded compared to "dopandemia"
Hypertrophied bonuses with opaque wagering.
Manual checks of payments as normal.
Mono-Channel Marketing (SEO/Affiliates only).
Long desktop sessions as the main consumption scenario.
9) New operating "multiplication plate"
To win after a pandemic, the operator must:1. Simplify the first experience: path click → game → deposit ≤60 seconds.
2. Show commissions and totals before confirmation, issue output status and failure codes in clear language.
3. Make local instant methods "by default," keep 2-3 backup routes.
4. Bring the RG panel to the main screen, enable the default limits and "one tap pause."
5. Standardize the kernel for different jurisdictions (feature-flags instead of forks).
6. Build a 1st-party circuit: PWA/instant messengers/CRM as a support for Retenshna.
7. Invest in observability: payment logs, game/payment/incident logs, SLA alerts.
10) Key Metrics 2025 (Reference Ranges)
CR registration → 1st deposit (online): ~ 30-45% with fast KYC.
Time to 1st cashout: ~ 6-24 hours.
Complaints for 1k sessions: ~ 0.6-1.2.
The share of mobile in online revenue: ~ 70-78%.
Share of live/hybrid content in online revenue: ~ 18-28%.
The share of local instant rails in deposits: ~ 50-65% (in "white" jurisdictions).
11) Risks of the "new norm" and how to close them
Regulatory volatility: modular promotional/advertising policies, scenario budgeting.
Payment derisk: a portfolio of methods for the country, auto-routing, fallback, explainable anti-fraud.
Cost of traffic: transfer of investments to retention; KPI = LTV after complaints, not "raw registrations."
Data/privacy: PII minimization, tokenization, access control, log audit.
Match-integrity/bot-risk: exposure limits, real-time anomalies, manual analysis of only controversial cases.
12) Roadmap 2026-2030 (short)
2026: ubiquitous PWA/messenger front, single cash book, ML scoring out of the box.
2027-2028: Instant cashout standard (where allowed), cookie-less attribution with 1st-party-ID, mature self-monitoring panels.
2029-2030: consolidation of B2B infra (PAM/RGS/observability/payments), decrease in the share of the "gray" perimeter, public market aggregates.
The pandemic has transferred operators to a service model: it is not the one who distributes bonuses louder who wins, but the one who serves faster and more honestly - from the first click to the first cashout, from default limits to understandable failure codes. The business model has shifted to mobile, instant payments, observability and responsibility. It is this four that will determine competitiveness in the next cycle.