Scratch Cards Lift Spending For Engaged Players In A/B Test

What The Test Measured

An operator tested scratch cards as a deposit driven reward mechanic for pre-VIP players. The format was familiar under the surface, using lootbox logic with nine possible rewards, but the presentation changed the player experience. Users made a deposit, chose a card, scratched the cover layer, and received a prize.

The target was clear. The team wanted to increase average deposit size by pushing players above their normal payment pattern. It also expected daily repeat visits because the scratch cards reset every day.

How The A/B Test Was Structured

The test ran for six weeks with separate test and control groups. Only the test group received scratch cards and related communications. VIP users were excluded, which kept the focus on players still moving towards higher value status.

The segment's average deposit stood at EUR 58. Scratch card activation required a EUR 75 deposit, deliberately set above the norm. That threshold matters because it turns the reward mechanic into a spend trigger rather than a simple bonus wrapper.

Headline Results

The broad result was modest. Average deposit reached EUR 60 in the test group and EUR 59 in the control group. Daily retention was effectively the same, with no meaningful difference between the groups.

Bonus cost also stayed close. Bonus issued as a share of deposit sum was 9.8% in the test group and 9.6% in the control group. For operators, that suggests the mechanic did not create a major efficiency gain or a major cost problem during the test window.

Where Scratch Cards Did Work

Engagement was mixed but informative. Thirty nine percent of users tried the mechanic at least once. Twenty two percent used it between two and five times. Four percent activated it more than five times.

That small high frequency segment produced the most useful signal. Players who engaged regularly increased their average deposit by 5%. The operator also found that engaged users often deposited 5% to 10% above their usual level to unlock the card.

Why The Wider Impact Stayed Limited

The mechanic did not shift the total segment because too few users engaged often enough. More than half ignored the feature entirely, while another portion used it only once. That pattern diluted the gains from the most responsive players.

For product teams, this is the central lesson. A gamification mechanic can work at player level and still miss the headline metric if targeting is too broad. The issue was not the reward flow itself. The issue was reach, relevance, and repeat usage.

What Operators Can Take From It

Scratch cards look useful as a segmented conversion tool rather than a universal deposit lever. Operators can apply them to players already showing higher bonus responsiveness, stronger visit frequency, or near-VIP payment behaviour. That should improve uptake and reduce wasted messaging.

The operator has still rolled the mechanic out to the full database and is now building segmentation and communication campaigns around it. That decision makes sense. The test showed limited aggregate uplift, but it also identified a player group that responds well when the offer matches behaviour.

Source: iGaming CEO Telegram

🌐 Source: iGaming CEO Telegram