Routy Media Spotlight sat down with Shahar Attias Founder & CEO of Hybrid Interaction. In this interview, Shahar shares how Email marketing in iGaming has been declared dead for over 20 years, yet every operator still relies on it. Not because it’s flashy or real-time, but because it quietly underpins retention, reactivation, and long-term player value. In this discussion, we cut through the hype and misplaced expectations. We explore with Hybrid Interaction why email isn’t a gamification tool, why trying to force it into real-time engagement is where most brands fail, and why its real strength shows up after the player leaves the lobby.
B – Looking back at your journey in iGaming CRM, what has been the hardest challenge in making email marketing truly effective for operators – and why do so many brands still get it wrong?
S – The hardest challenge is picking up only a single hardest challenge… But I will give it a go: as nowadays everybody have premium CRM tech implemented, Email marketing stands out in such an environment as a leftover from an outdated era, as it doesn’t speak real-time and Gamification language; it’s a tool designed to win back players AFTER they have left your gaming lobby – and as such, it comes with some inherited limitations.
The challenge, as I see it, isn’t necessarily with how to make it effective – but how to convince operators that what they are getting, is as best as it can get from this channel, as operators have their expectations skyrocketing – and rightfully so, considering all the other toys that exist in this space.
B – You’ve worked with hundreds of operators globally. What’s the biggest misconception iGaming companies have about email marketing versus its actual impact on player lifetime value?
S – Well, as well know, email is dead – and has been dead for 2 decades or so already. People outside of CRM may not even consider it as a valid tool, and clearly it’s not as sexy as in-app push / real-time pop-ups, or has the same efficient ROI as SMS, but it’s that basic foundation that enables the entire formation of player communication to even exist. There’s no “win back” without emails, period.
B – Can you share a standout achievement where a well-designed email or CRM strategy significantly changed a brand’s retention or revenue performance? What made it work?
S – My favorite one is also the oldest – and it explains why we’re even having this discussion: Early in my career, I noticed something very technical: when we sent a simple informational newsletter, website visits spiked. I asked management for a tiny team whose full-time job was to send different emails to different groups. Today, we call it CRM.
B – With inbox fatigue at an all-time high, what separates an email that gets ignored from one that genuinely drives player engagement in today’s iGaming market?
S – Unlike short-term engagement (AKA Gamification), in order to win-back, you need to establish loyalty through brand recognition. Once you‘ve done that, players would LIKE to read your emails, knowing that they are getting an added value from its content (financial, or other). Fighting SPAM score is crucial. But this is basic, and very binary (either you get your email through or not…); creating campaigns that are on-brand with your theme and vision? BOOM.
B – How do you balance automation and personalization in email marketing without losing the “human” feel players increasingly expect?
S – Automation and personalization aren’t enemies. Bad automation is the enemy. Here’s the honest balance:
– Automation should decide who gets what and when (based on behavior, lifecycle stage, and value).
– Humans should decide why this message exists and what it sounds like.
Most operators “automate” the wrong layer: they automate the copy and keep the targeting dumb. That’s how you get emails that look as attractive as a pizza slice in Paceville.
B – Regulation, data privacy, and compliance continue to tighten globally. How have these pressures reshaped email and digital marketing strategies in iGaming?
S – It’s iGaming. We keep fighting uphill battles against external changes in regulatory regimes for the past 2 decades or so. And we keep finding solutions that work alongside with imposed restrictions.
But again, it’s iGaming. We have the most creative people in the world, especially in CRM; quick example: without naming names, in some markets you can’t email players. So you try to build engagement while they are playing, using real-time messaging.
B – Gamification is a core part of your philosophy. How do you see email evolving from a communication channel into a meaningful part of the player experience itself?
S – Gamification is geared towards short term engagement enhancement (yes, I run out of buzzwords already with my 1st sentence).What this means is that we aim to extend the session time by X minutes, or offer better terms on another small deposit or suggest a certain mission, hoping for Y more spins.
Email has less to do with these; such messages are being presented in real-time, mostly using embedded pop-up messaging tools. I will use my emails for retention / reactivation, with a different type of content.
B – Beyond email, which digital marketing channels do you believe are most underutilized or misunderstood by iGaming operators today – and how should they integrate with CRM?
S – It’s a great question. As such, I will answer a different one; what operators forgot is the ability to pick up the phone and call your VIPs. No, it’s doesn’t have to be an actual phone – but direct, proactive communication is essential to these high value segments.
Can this be integrated to CRM? This is one of those definite “maybe”.
B – What data points or behaviors do you consider non-negotiable when designing high-performing digital and email campaigns for casinos or sportsbooks?
S – That’s a very long answer, so let’s make a podcast episode to conclude it properly. At large – the key is clear: Get The Next Deposit. Yes, even if there wasn’t any yet.
B – Looking ahead, how do you see email marketing evolving in the iGaming industry over the next 3–5 years, and what should operators start doing now to stay ahead?
S – At this point, email will be dead for 23-25 years. Jokes aside – whoever is brave enough to predict what will happen more than 6 months away, considering the AI revolution, please DM; I have a deal on a certain cryptocurrency that has your name on it.
