iGaming email retention posts ~$4-7 return per $1 — it's not dead

iGaming email retention posts ~$4-7 return per $1 — it's not dead

The advice: email is dead for iGaming, move retention budget to push and SMS. Open rates fell; revenue-per-send didn't.

The data, ~9 retention programs sharing channel-level numbers:
— Email open rates have slid to ~18-24%, which is what fuels the "dead" claim.
— But revenue per email sent to an active depositor base ran ~$0.40-$0.90, against a near-zero marginal cost.
— Effective return landed ~$4-7 per $1 of channel cost — still the cheapest reactivation lever in the stack.
— SMS converts higher per-message but costs ~$0.03-0.05 a send and burns list goodwill fast.

The correction: judge email on revenue-per-send and reactivation cost, not open rate. A 20% open rate on a free channel beats a 40% open rate on a paid one if the math nets out. Email's real role is win-back and bonus-expiry nudges to lapsed depositors — exactly the ~$40 reactivation play, not blasting cold lists.

Benchmark of the day: email reactivation returns ~$4-7 per $1 at near-zero marginal cost; open rate is the wrong KPI.