For some time, gamification has been one of the most-discussed concepts within gaming, marketing and wider retention practices across multiple industries.
In many, if not all, walks of life, the idea of adding a score and providing people with a ‘fun’ aspect to what may otherwise be a more straightforward process has become a regular occurrence.
For gambling products, gamification is now so widespread it’s simply a fundamental, must-have tool.
But what if we were to apply this concept to a slightly different area of industry discussion?
How can gamification improve learning?
In the middle of 2025, there was some discourse between industry professionals about creating centralised processes to help players navigate the often tricky casino ecosystem. The idea of a KYC passport was floated, but seemed unlikely without a significant amount of money invested into the process.
However, the concept of regulators and trade bodies helping players out was a powerful one that stuck. Just recently, the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) released its “Spot the Black Market” game that educates players on how to tell apart illegal casinos from the regulated ones.
The interactive quiz includes resources on licensing, revenue and even player protections that casual fans may not be aware of when selecting their next iGaming venture. But can we take it one step further?
How can we use gamification to protect players?
There is a credible threat of players not being able to identify legal casinos from illegal ones, with only 10 out of 194 people capable of this, as found by Deal Me Out in its Black Market Report.
So rather than letting them search for “best no deposit bonus online casino” on their own, perhaps another interactive quiz could be introduced to help players find what they are looking for. A short quiz, or a checklist (E.g. I want Hacksaw Gaming slots, free spins and a £5 ($6.69) minimum withdrawal), that spits out a list of regulated and licensed online casinos at the end for players to peruse.
Of course, this begins to border on the territory of affiliates and review blogs.
Ultimately, there is an opportunity to railroad the process of players searching for their next new online casino by gamifying the process and only showing them legal options
But as the UK gambling ecosystem changes, there are concerns that affiliate sites are increasingly platforming illegal – or at least grey-market – sites themselves. As for the larger, more legally robust ones, the filters they used to recommend casinos were limited. Many of them could only search for one parameter at a time, such as game providers, bonuses or payment methods, rather than allowing players to pick everything they want at once.
Recent investigations have even shown that AI chatbots and the likes of ChatGPT are sending players to illegal, black-market casinos at will.
While the BGC may have paved the way for interactive quizzes highlighting the legal market, there is no reason why affiliates could not continue the flame and offer their own interactive games that guide players to the sites they might want to play at.
On the other hand, affiliates have less scope to be objective about such matters, and there is the risk that they could promote sites that do not adhere to customer expectations while omitting rival operators that do.
Is it time to act rather than just talk?
Players need a little extra help navigating the online gambling space. Worryingly, some of them believe that just because a result comes up in Google, it must be legit, legal and regulated.
As industry professionals, we know this is not true, but we cannot expect everyone to hold the same level of knowledge as we do. It is human nature, after all…
The BGC has already taken the initiative to begin improving player education through interactive quizzes, but there is potential for this to be taken even further and direct players to a list of legal casinos, rather than simply telling them to keep an eye out for those black-market operators.
Ultimately, there is an opportunity to railroad the process of players searching for their next new online casino by gamifying the process and only showing them legal options. But it is up to those in the industry to act on this opportunity, rather than simply increasing the current cycle of conversations that – ultimately – end up repeating the same message to the same networking audience.
The BGC's recent AGM focused heavily on the black market, although it did not focus enough on what the regulated industry itself can do better
