Styliana Kalogreadou, Head of Customer Success at iGATE and a leading voice in iGaming product strategy, joined industry peers on a highly anticipated panel at SBC Summit Malta where the spotlight was firmly placed on player retention strategies in a highly competitive, tech-driven landscape.
During the panel, Styliana emphasised the critical shift in how retention is approached and dealt with in iGaming companies, highlighting the growing importance of proactive, data-informed decisions over traditional reactive methods.
“Recently, all the tech advancements have allowed us to be not reactive, but proactive — to track player behaviours, understand their actions and even calculate what’s coming next based on the data we collect,” she said. “We’re seeing data being operationalised across teams, turning insights and data into immediate, impactful actions.”
Styliana also addressed the broader digital attention economy, acknowledging that iGaming is no longer competing solely within its own vertical, but now had to compete with major social platforms such as TikTok or Instagram.
“Essentially, we are competing with all digital platforms for time and attention. We want the player to stay engaged, logged in, and entertained for as long as possible.”
Another key topic of discussion during the debate was personalisation and frictionless experience — which are also central pillars of player retention today.
“If the user doesn’t have a seamless experience — too many steps, too much friction — they will leave. We need to focus on product experience first, even before we reach out to the player. Simplicity is key: don’t make them click 20 times just to register.”
Styliana Kalogreadou
When asked which KPIs are often overlooked in retention strategies, she also emphasised session time and session days.
“Engagement data tells the real story. A player might take the bonus and leave, but if we see strong session days and session duration, it means we’re doing something right — and that’s what we continue building on.”
Her insights reflected a product-first philosophy that puts user experience and intelligent personalisation at the heart of long-term engagement.
Styliana concluded by reiterating the importance of aligning product design with user needs: “Everything ties back to the product. If the experience isn’t seamless, we lose the player. Our focus must be on continuously enhancing what we offer — not just reaching out to the user, but giving them reasons to stay from the first interaction.”
The panel sparked robust discussion and marked a highlight of the SBC Summit Malta, offering actionable insights into how operators can rethink customer retention in 2025 and beyond.
