Text messages have already proven themselves to be a great channel for marketing. Our post SMS vs Email Statistics particularly highlights them as a potent option because they boast a whopping 98% open rate compared to 20% for emails – meaning texts can be more effective for directly reaching consumers and sharing the latest promotions.
However, SMS can also be used to improve brand experiences as a whole, helping you build stronger, more loyal, and longer-lasting customer relationships. One industry that illustrates how texts can be used to this end is online poker. Its global user base of over 100 million people grows by 34% annually, meaning it’s set to reach a value of more than $283 billion by 2032.
One reason why this industry continues to attract more players is because of how much it focuses on improving their experiences.
To emphasize online poker’s convenience and accessibility, many of the industry’s leading operators have released mobile apps that enthusiasts can use to enjoy games anytime, anywhere. Many of them use SMS technology to further enhance the player experience – primarily by making app features safer, more attractive, and more engaging.
Text-based security
Poker app users provide their personal financial information to play for real money, primarily by linking their bank or e-wallet details to their accounts. Though necessary, doing so can expose them to cybersecurity risks. These can be exacerbated in places like the US, where online poker regulation varies on a state-by-state basis. In unregulated states, players may be more vulnerable to data breaches.
As such, poker apps have to secure player information in multiple ways. Americas Cardroom, currently the #1 online poker site in the US, shows how using SMS technology can help safeguard that information further. Its app is a popular choice for playing online poker in New York, one of the biggest states where the card game is popular, but where residents still cannot access licensed online poker operators.
To ensure player safety in this environment, the Americas Cardroom app is among the only ones in the industry that accepts over 60 different cryptocurrency tokens, helping make deposits and withdrawals faster while protecting them against hacking. However, that still leaves players vulnerable to one risk: unauthorized account access.
To prevent that, it leverages SMS technology as one of its account protection tools. As part of its two-factor authentication protocol, it sends players text messages, allowing them to confirm every login with a one-time password and further keeping the personal information stored in their accounts from being breached.
“Alert” gameplay
Text messages can go beyond simply securing player accounts – they can enhance actual gameplay, too. Though online poker can be up to five times faster than playing in person, its games can still take up to an hour or more, which may not be appealing to players with packed schedules. To make the game even more accessible, the majority of operators have come up with lightning-fast poker variants that can be played in just a few minutes.
In contrast, PokerStars decided to develop an app that achieved the exact opposite goal in 2016. Dubbed Duel by PokerStars, it let players enjoy games in smaller increments over longer periods – rather than squeezing full matches into shorter timeframes. To pull the app’s concept off, the operator used SMS technology.
Duel’s premise was simple: invite one other person to play with you and enjoy a “match” of 10 hands whenever you have the time to pick up your phone. Here, text messages were used to smooth out gameplay even further. Players could send out invites via SMS.
Since users could also put down—and return to—their phones at any time during a match, they would also receive texts to alert them when it was their turn to act in a hand. With SMS technology, PokerStars was successfully able to deliver an app that provided a unique, turn-based poker experience that didn’t take place in real time.
SMS-powered leaderboards
Using text messages to improve engagement requires striking a tricky balance. Despite them having a 98% open rate, how they’re received will depend on the kind of texts they are. We’ve noted that 75% of consumers like update-related texts, such as those related to shipment tracking and order status.
Only 35% enjoyed more blatantly promotional text messages. These statistics clearly illustrate that your texts have to be practical to engage customers. That’s what PokerSaint does. Recently acquired by the metaverse company OneVerse, it’s now among the most popular poker apps in India.
PokerSaint is particularly known for its tech-savvy, customer-centric offerings such as AI-enabled fraud detection, which led The Economic Times to call it “the most promising online gaming brand in India for 2018.” As such, it’s no surprise that it stands out for the unique way it uses text messages to engage its users.
Instead of sending them promotions via SMS, PokerSaint integrated an SMS tournament leaderboard into its latest iOS update. That effectively lets it notify players when their leaderboard positions change, pushing them to open the app, play a couple of games, and improve their standings—a practical update that fully engages them in the process.
