Quick guide: Programmatic growth for iGaming marketers

The iGaming industry is booming, but with tightening regulations and intense competition, marketers must balance scale and quality—focusing not just on acquiring users, but on attracting high-value players who will stick around and spend.

In this article, we explore how programmatic technology is helping iGaming marketers target, acquire, and retain users more efficiently, highlighting key funnel leaks and strategies that can make a difference.

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The iGaming spike (and what comes after)

All eyes are on iGaming. From Casino to Sports Betting, Fantasy Sports, and Real-Money apps, every category is seeing strong growth—and the numbers prove it:

• The global gambling market size is estimated to grow by $339.9 billion between 2025-2029 [1].
• Casino installs jumped 102 % YoY while online Sports Betting installs grew 93 % in 2024 [2].
• The US online Sports Betting and iGaming market is projected to reach $26.75 billion in revenue in 2025 and pass the $40 billion mark by 2028 [3].
• Online already accounts for 39 % of Europe’s gambling gross gaming revenue (GGR) and is projected to hit 45 % by 2029 [4].

And while demand is growing, so are competition and costs—CPI for mobile games climbed year-over-year in Q2 2024 alone [5]. Growth now hinges on extracting more lifetime value from every acquisition—not just racking up installs.

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Why programmatic is powering the next wave of iGaming app growth

Incremental reach 

If you're already running on Meta, TikTok, or Google, programmatic is the next step to scale. Self-Attributed Networks (SANs) only cover 37% of the time users spend online—the remaining 63% happens across the open internet [6], where most sportsbook and casino players browse, research, and engage before converting. That’s where DSPs come in. Programmatic lets you reach high-intent users across open internet inventory where SANs can’t—unlocking massive scale to grow your app or mobile site.

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Quality users who convert

In iGaming, it’s not about who downloads your app, it’s about who actually plays and places bets. Channels that optimize for quick wins often drive short-term spikes, but those users don’t make it past the welcome bonus. Programmatic DSPs take a different approach: instead of only optimizing for the install, we focus on user value—predicting which users are most likely to drive FTDs and stay active in the long term, generating high ROAS and LTV. This means your budget works harder, acquiring players who play, deposit, and keep coming back to your app.

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Transparency & control in a regulated space

When campaigns run through partners who, like most affiliate networks, don't offer full transparency, you lose sight of where impressions land and who’s converting. A campaign might hit its goal, but there's no real value in fraudulent interactions or incentive-driven users whose lifetime value never materializes.

That’s the programmatic difference: with log-level reporting, DSPs allow you to trace every impression back to the exchange, publisher, and creative that drove it, from the first bid to the first deposit. That end-to-end visibility allows you to identify low-quality placements before they drain your budget, and double down on the inventory that attracts high-value players.

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3 costly value leaks in the iGaming app funnel—and how programmatic fixes them

Value leak #1: You’re getting installs, but no FTDs

• Symptom: Install volume is increasing, but new users won’t complete any FTDs and daily active users remain flat. For example, during Super Bowl LVIII week, DraftKings & FanDuel saw triple‑digit WoW install spikes but only a slice converted to first deposits [7].‍
• Cost: User Acquisition budget burned on low‑value users, increasing effective CPAs and exposing the campaign to fraud risk through install spoofing and cannibalization.

Value leak #2: Users churn after using your welcome incentive 

• Symptom: Retention nosedives after the initial incentives, such as free bet offers. ‍
• Cost: ROAS erodes—only around 12 % of new users stay active by Day 7 [8].

Value leak #3: Users start investing less or become inactive (and migrate to rival apps)

• Symptom: High rollers drift to competitors, shrinking high‑stake session volume and lifetime revenue.‍
• Cost: The 80/20 revenue flywheel stalls—you lose your highest-value users, the segment that typically drives the bulk of your revenue and engagement.

How programmatic helps solve the iGaming growth challenge

As acquisition costs and competition for high-quality players increase, iGaming marketers can’t keep optimizing for volume alone. Here’s how programmatic can help:

• Drive conversions across the full funnel: An install’s not a win if users never make their first deposit. Programmatic facilitates a structured, full-funnel framework where you attract high-LTV players with User Acquisition and then leverage App Retargeting to guide them toward meaningful actions like:

‍Mobile web is a major revenue driver for iGaming apps. Programmatic makes it easier to precisely target high-value players and drive conversions across the entire user journey—whether interactions happen directly on mobile web or when guiding players from web to app.

• Maximize ROAS with the right creative strategy: Every moment in the user journey calls for a different creative approach. Tailoring your ads to where users are—and what motivates them—can have a major impact on conversions and lifetime value.‍

• Track the incremental impact of your campaign: Want to know if your campaigns are driving conversions that wouldn’t have happened otherwise? Our Always-on Lift Measurement tool tracks campaign lift from day one at zero additional cost. We use ghost-bid control groups, so every impression is automatically A/B-tested—no need to pause campaigns or interrupt performance. This lets you see whether your installs and FTDs are truly incremental, with real-time updates and no black-box modeling.
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• ‍Reach untapped audiences with CTV-to-mobile: Stay ahead of the curve by tapping into a fast-growing channel your competitors are just starting to explore. CTV lets you connect with users on the device where they’re spending over 3 hours a day [9]—and one impression can reach multiple viewers at once. The best part? This channel is integrated to the leading MMPs, so every install, deposit, and conversion driven by your CTV ads can be tracked in real time, giving you a full view of your cross-screen impact.

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Princess Casino: Driving growth with User Acquisition

This leading online gaming platform was looking to attract high-value players at scale—loyal users ready to install the app and start playing. To hit that goal, Princess Casino teamed up with Jampp for User Acquisition. Jampp’s advanced predictive-bidding models kept CPI within target while steadily lifting ROAS even as budgets ramped up, and a creative mix of playable ads and interactive roulette helped catch users’ attention, turning impressions into paying players. The result? A 271% increase in ROAS, paired with 25% growth in installs and a 29% jump in first-time deposits (FTDs)—proof that the campaign could scale aggressively without sacrificing efficiency.

3 Key programmatic experiments to run this quarter

• Maximize ROI with advanced creatives: Rethink your creative strategy and go beyond traditional ad formats. Start by mapping user motivations across key journey stages, then align your ad formats accordingly—tutorial ads, countdowns, real-time sport fixtures, etc. 
• Leverage limited-time benefits and key dates: Capitalize on high-intent moments by timing your campaigns to major sporting events, seasonalities (like Black Friday or Halloween), or limited-time offers. These key events not only drive urgency but also give both new and existing users a compelling reason to engage with your app or return for another bet. ‍
• Drive cross-screen growth: Test CTV-to-mobile campaigns to unlock incremental reach. Remember: users interact differently with the big screen, often in a more relaxed setting. Use highly visible QR codes that stay on screen long enough for viewers to scan and jump directly to your app store, mobile web page, or betslip.

Long-term growth for your iGaming app starts here

Lasting impact comes from engaging and retaining high-value players. Jampp’s growth platform is designed to help you do just that: identify quality users, optimize toward meaningful outcomes like FTDs and LTV, and scale what works over time.

Curious how we can support your growth strategy? Get in touch to book a call or see our platform in action.

References

[1] PR Newswire, 2025

[2] SBC Americas, 2025

[3] Vixio, 2025

[4] European Gambling Market (EGBA), 2025

[5] AppsFlyer, 2024

[6] OpenX, 2023

[7] Sensor Tower, 2024

[8] Adjust, 2024

[9] We Are Social & Meltwater, 2025 Global Report