Lev Polonuer on the behavioural responses at the heart of iGaming product success
This article first appeared in Russian on 12 February 2025.
Lev Polonuer, owner and director of Pepper Partners, a company that connects several partnership projects, including a global network, argues that there’s no reason to repeat each other’s mistakes. In an exclusive interview for SiGMA News, he spoke about how to make an iGaming product and its sales funnel unique and effective using cyberpsychology methods.
This article is the final in a series of publications on an innovative approach to optimising operator websites, first proposed by Lev’s team.
20 methods of cyberpsychology
When studying a product on a specific geo, Pepper Partners applies about 20 cyberpsychology methods. For example, an analysis of the Canadian market starts with looking at the target audience and creating a portrait of the potential client: what they are into, what they prefer, what are the specifics of their mentality. After working on the psychological portrait of the target audience, a general analysis of the product is made. Comparative analysis allows you to make the right conclusions about what is currently happening with the product on the market.
Then comes the magic of research, which Lev cherishes most: “I call it magic because, for me as an ordinary person, all the subsequent processes, adjustments, and successes feel like real magic.” The team assembles a large focus group tailored to the product, or multiple groups—such as men aged 40 to 50, 30 to 40—each with varying hobbies and personality traits.
The main part of the analysis follows, utilizing cyberpsychology methods like eye-tracking, as well as measuring the player’s brain activity and heartbeat while interacting with the product. The most interesting thing, Lev says, is not to collect this information, but to process it competently and draw conclusions from it, and then tell the customer what needs to be done: ‘Everyone can measure a heartbeat, but not everyone can integrate this information into a product.’
Approach in action
As an example of the branded approach in action, Lev cites this case study: 8% of people who sign up for a product don’t make a deposit because they don’t understand how to do it.
The problem is that many products are developed based on a generalised understanding of the market, states Lev. Developers are looking at an audience of active internet users, overlooking many older, financially stable individuals who aren’t part of that group. As a result, the market is losing them because it doesn’t understand them. In contrast, developing sales funnels for all possible product focus groups is one of the Pepper Partners team’s primary goals.
The impact of the interface on deposit size
Lev described another case of the interface’s influence on the deposit size. When a player makes a deposit for a certain amount, and on the same page he is required to enter his bank card details, he will reduce the amount with a 30% probability. And if after entering the amount he is taken to another page, the probability that he will reduce the amount drops to 5%. Such parameters can only be measured using cyber-psychology techniques.
Lev says that the iGaming industry does not yet have a systematic way of studying such behavioural reactions. Moreover, each product requires individual audience analysis depending on marketing, geo, and strategic goals. Pepper Partners are pioneering in this direction.
Changing the product inside and out
At the SiGMA Europe summit, Lev spoke about his successful experience with several betting agencies and casinos. In all cases there has been an increase in R2D, returns and player lifetime value. Organic SEO growth is another important indicator, as Google responds well to such product changes by evaluating the behavioural factors of website visitors. ‘SEO is where we started, what we originally came up with this project for,’ Lev notes.
Pepper Partners’ research results lead to product changes inside and out. Typically, the research is about reactions to bonuses, promotions, certain slots or forms of lendings. For example, if a person responds better to a certain bonus, the operations team can change not only the visual component, but also restructure certain CRM, marketing and other processes. With concrete conclusions about the effective impact of a product on customers, an operator can definitely improve its product, Lev believes.
Join the global tech community at the AIBC Eurasia Summit on 23-25 February 2025. Connect with industry leaders and explore opportunities with the world’s largest community of visionaries.
