Initially the prospect of building one design and configuration for online casino and sports apps seems to make perfect sense. After all, you save time, money, and it’s easily scalable. iGaming also erases borders and socializes people from different countries in live games. As needless as localization may seem, avoiding it is a mistake, and renders it very difficult to actually profit off of dealing with those countries, however.
In this article, we dive into the reasons why localization is indispensable and not an option to begin with as well as how to protect yourself from government penalties.
Why Localization Is a Must
Translating for an iGaming app isn’t as easy as putting the words in the other language and presto. It’s going to involve a whole revamping of the game and app if the users are going to resonate with the app and have any semblance of trust.
Marketing messages
These differ greatly across borders. German marketing revolves around precision and professionalism while Brazilians respond better to energetic and informal copy.
Themes
People in different cultures grow up with different associations with symbols, music, colrs and backgrounds. Japanese think of royalty when they see yellow while in the West it’s more about liveliness and warmth.
Lack of translation equivalents
Slang and idioms common in particular situations do not translate precisely between languages. “Hit the jackpot” and “go all in” will get lost in translation or worse – confuse people. This is especially true if these are displayed in tutorials, support chats, new genres like Aviator Online, and promotional banners – really some of the most critical places in terms of danger of churn.
Free spins, cashback, and odds boost are standard English phrases but in other languages, it might sound as if you’re offering them a scam involving free money. This could even violate advertising rules. What this means is in reality it’s not a translation that will need to be performed but “transcreation” – rewriting texts and phrases to appeal to the audience.
Furthermore, languages like German or Finnish tend to have longer words, which require adaptive UI layouts to avoid cut-off buttons or misaligned menus. On the other hand, languages like Chinese or Thai can be compact, but require larger fonts for readability and culturally appropriate typography.
Cultural Resonance
Humor and cheeky messages will also resonate very well in UK, but just disturb a Korean or Japanese person, where they’re used to more formal, indirect talk. The escapism of casinos in Vegas or Ancient Roman themed games will fall flat when Middle Eastern or South Asian people play them.
Casinos must take any length to avoid players feeling alienated and put off. On that same note, it’s hugely important to translate legal disclaimers, tutorials, customer support, and onboarding flows properly. Not caring enough to give clear instruction to players will absolutely kill rapport. Then there’s holidays and current events. Running a football-themed promo during the World Cup might work in many countries, but it won’t move the needle everywhere. To truly localize your promotions, an operator needs to align them with local events, holidays, and sports seasons.
Campaigns can be themed around:
- Diwali in India
- Carnaval in Brazil
- Lunar New Year in Vietnam
- Women’s Day in Ukraine
Regional Support
A one size fits all, 9 to 5 GMT support window is useless for a user in Thailand or Argentina trying to resolve a late-night withdrawal issue. Localized support hours, aligned with peak local playtimes (often evenings and weekends), show that a brand values its international user base.
Preferred Communication Platforms
In many countries, live chat and email are not the go to options for support. Users expect to engage through the messaging apps they use every day:
- LATAM: WhatsApp
- India: WhatsApp and Telegram
- China: WeChat is essential—not just for communication but for identity and transactions.
- Japan: LINE is the top app, and localized operators integrate it into their support systems.
- Russia/CIS: VK and Telegram are commonly used for player communication and support.
Payments and Deposits
An unfamiliar or frustrating payment experience is yet another huge churn risk. If people are going to be submitting their money and trying to take out their winnings later, it’s absolutely vital to make it feel safe and seamless. Even MasterCard and Visa aren’t accepted everywhere.
- Sweden: Trustly and Swish
- India: Paytm and PUI
- China: Alipay and WeChat Pay
- Colombia: Cash-based vouchers like PagoEfectivo and Boleto Bancario
- Thailand: TrueMoney and Rabbit Line
Equally important is offering the right currency. Requiring users to deposit or play in foreign currencies (like Indian rupees or Thai baht) can introduce confusion around exchange rates, create hesitation about hidden fees. Withdrawal speed, transaction limits, and verification processes all vary in expectation across markets.
Promotions
In some regions, instant withdrawals are the norm—anything longer than a few minutes feels outdated. In others, players may tolerate delays but expect constant updates and full transparency about processing times. Attitudes to promotion differ too. As for bonuses and loyalty programs, some cultures are more vanilla with caution while in others, people are more aggressive, seeking high multipliers and large bonuses—even with tighter conditions.
Marketing
Marketing tactics themselves must adapt. In mature iGaming markets like Sweden or the Netherlands, affiliate marketing and paid ads are highly regulated and require careful legal compliance. In emerging markets, advertisers are more used to turning to grassroots approaches and influencer partnerships on platforms like Telegram, WhatsApp, or local forums.
Lastly, in some places, loyalty programs and retention bonuses need to dazzle users with familiar reward themes. Others prefer consistent, low-pressure rewards with a focus on fairness and transparency. An overly aggressive bonus churn model in a trust-sensitive market can backfire.
Regulation
The ways iGaming is regulated in different countries and territories is hazy and tedious indeed. In most of the world, iGaming is actually illegal. In areas where it is liberalized, the taxes and monitoring are quite demanding, though the purpose of this is to protect from money laundering and gambler abuse while generating some fiscal benefit for society. Then there are areas where it’s not clear if gambling is allowed or not. In any case, many territories accept international licenses like the Curacao or Malta licenses while others have their own complex systems to navigate.
There are many regions where gambling may be legal but avertising is not. In Europe’s case, it is usually allowed but only after a license is obtained. Bonus terms will have to be rewritten for that purpose too. Then there is requiring IDs and enforcing local age limits. In Europe, frequenters have rights under GDPR and get to ask how their information is being used and can demand that you delete it.