The most successful casinos don’t rely on chance to bring in players but use data-driven marketing to target the right audience at the right time. Conquesting – deploying targeted ads at consumer devices known to be visiting your competition– is one of the most effective tools in a casino’s digital strategy. Yet, many casino marketers make the mistake of narrowing their audience too much, leaving too little data to work with and diminishing their results.
In general, winning marketing strategies for casinos are all about slicing the target audience pie just right. Big enough to drive results, but precise enough to hit the right audience. Cutting it too small results in crumbs, not conversions. Conquesting works best when paired with a broad yet actionable digital approach that layers competitor visitation data, behavioral targeting, and cross-device tracking to engage high-value players where and when they’re most likely to convert.
Effective conquesting is about precision without over-segmentation.
Competitor Conquesting & Foot Traffic Analysis
Targeting players who visit rival casinos is only part of the equation. To truly influence behavior, casinos need to go beyond just geo-fencing and consider:
- Why a player visits a competitor - Are they frequent gamblers or casual weekend tourists?
- When they visit - Are they showing up for a show, a restaurant, or high-stakes gaming?
- What signals indicate they’re ready to return?
Key Conquesting Tactics for Casinos
Competitor Foot Traffic Analysis – It’s not enough to geofence a competing casino and serve ads to visitors. When do they visit? Are they frequent gamblers or casual weekend tourists? Are they showing up for a show, a restaurant, or high-stakes gaming? Precision targeting means differentiating between high-value players and one-time visitors to optimize spend.
In-Market Behavioral Targeting – Conquesting works best when layered with behavioral insights. Who is actively researching gaming destinations, booking hotels, or looking up poker tournaments? Pairing foot traffic with behavioral data ensures you reach players when they are most likely to act.
Cross-Device Engagement & Full-Funnel Targeting – Mobile conquesting is important, but it shouldn’t stop there. Pairing mobile data with home IP matching enables casinos to extend conquesting across desktop, CTV, and retargeting ads, ensuring potential players are reached across all screens.
Top 3 Pitfalls of Over-Segmenting a Casino Audience
Studies now estimate that roughly 45% of all digital ad spend is wasted on placements that never drive results. This problem only gets worse when your audience slice is too small.
1. Narrow Audiences Create Weak Campaigns
Over-focusing on micro-targets, like players seen at a competitor casino within a narrow time window, creates sample sizes too small to scale. And it’s not just about timing. Limiting your conquesting to one data signal (e.g., mobile location) weakens reach and impact. Instead, build audience pools using multiple-layered signals, such as visit frequency, total dwell time, behavior across entertainment venues, and more. This broader but refined strategy ensures both precision and volume.
2. Missing the Mid & Lower Funnel
Too many casino campaigns stop at the awareness stage. Yes, top-of-funnel tactics like CTV and digital audio build visibility, but without cross-device and lower-funnel tactics (like retargeting and sequential messaging), you're leaving conversions on the table. Effective conquesting moves customers through the entire funnel, re-engaging them across devices and platforms at the exact time they’re almost ready to book or visit.
3. Ignoring First-Party Data and Non-Gaming Audiences
The most profitable players aren’t always casino regulars, but also entertainment seekers. Think fine dining, concerts, high-end retail, and sports travel. Expand conquesting beyond casino walls to reach this high-value segment. And don’t forget your own data: combining first-party CRM insights with conquesting allows for better LTV tracking, smarter messaging, and increased retention.
Building a Custom Audience That Converts
A conquesting campaign is only as strong as the quality of its audience data. Casinos must combine multiple data sources to create a scalable yet precise target group.
Step 1: Leverage First-Party Data for Smarter Targeting
First-party data—gathered directly from a casino’s loyalty programs, CRM systems, and website analytics—provides insight into repeat players, spending habits, and high-value visitors. This helps filter out:
- Employees and non-gamers who might have been on the property aren’t ideal conquest targets
- Infrequent visitors who don’t show a strong intent to return
Step 2: Go Beyond Just Competitor Targeting
- Layer geo-fencing with behavioral data to capture players actively searching for casino entertainment
- Factor in event-based traffic from concerts, poker tournaments, and nightlife venues to reach high-value guests before they book elsewhere
Step 3: Use Cross-Device Matching for Maximum Reach
- Pair mobile location data with home IP tracking to extend targeting across multiple devices
- Run sequential messaging so players see ads on CTV, mobile, desktop, and social media
- Use frequency capping to maximize visibility without oversaturation
Measuring Success: Trackable Visits & Real ROI
Casino marketing success hinges on actual visits and the revenue impact.
- Location Visit Reports (LVRs) – Track how many players saw your ad and visited your property
- Cost Per Visit (CPV) – Measure the real cost of acquiring a foot traffic conversion
- Attribution Modeling – Identify which channels drive real engagement
- Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) – Connect conquesting efforts directly to gaming revenue
- Cross-Device Lift – Measure how campaigns improve engagement across multiple platforms
Driving Real Casino Visits with a Strong Conquesting Strategy
Q1 Media Case Study: Tachi Palace Casino Resort
Objective: Increase foot traffic by targeting players from competing casinos.
Strategy:
- Targeted competitor casino visitors within a two-hour drive radius
- Used cross-device matching to reach users across mobile, desktop, and CTV
- Implemented digital audio and display ads to reinforce brand awareness
- Tracked location visits and cost-per-visit metrics to measure campaign success
Results:
- 98,273 total tracked visits to the casino
- 27,382 unique visitors from conquesting efforts
- $2.07 Cost Per Visit (CPV)—a cost-effective way to drive real foot traffic
- 16% increase in new website users from conquesting campaigns
Scaling Smart, Not Small
Effective conquesting is about precision without over-segmentation.
- Avoid over-slicing your audience, which limits effectiveness
- Expand conquesting beyond geo-fencing to include behavioral and first-party data layers
- Focus on full-funnel integration, not just one-off targeting
- Track real visits and revenue impact, not just impressions
Casinos that build scalable, data-driven conquesting strategies will see the biggest returns.
Let’s talk about how we can help your casino drive more high-value players and revenue.
