Socialising the game: How social media can enhance the gambling community for operators and players alike

As society embraces the age of AI, there are concerns among some that the human voice is in danger of being drowned out by the technological cacophony – and not just in gambling, a historically social activity.

This unease is partly a reaction to a broader shift towards solitude. In-person socialising slumped by more than 20% between 2003 and 2023, according to the American Time Use Survey, an annual study conducted by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

It is notable, though, that those years – starting just before the launch of Facebook in 2004 – coincide with the growth of social media as a phenomenon.

Moreover, while there are understandable worries about the impact of dwindling face-to-face exchanges, media fragmentation means there is an increasing number of channels and platforms that can support meaningful conversations, regardless of their location.

Keeping it human

In gaming, a sector in which there has been particular scrutiny over the shift from physical to online and mobile in recent years, there is a growing acceptance that such interactions can be integrated into a digital setting, creating more social communities.

This is reflected by the recent rebranding of KIPEM+ to Keep.Social, which will continue to specialise in providing a cutting-edge suite of social tools designed to integrate with existing online platforms using client-based APIs.

“Keep.Social is a stronger, simpler name that is in line with what we stand for and what we want to achieve,” Marcus Adolfsson, the enterprise’s vice-president of product, says.

“It’s not just about enabling engagement; it’s about keeping the engagement and also keeping it really human. KIPEM+ started as a powerful toolkit, but as we’ve grown, so has our vision, and the rebrand to Keep.Social is both a natural evolution and a strategic signal.

“We want to transform how businesses, especially in igaming and sports betting, connect brands and their communities.”

Connecting to the community

Developing these communities involves leveraging technology to facilitate the natural social exchanges that have been at the heart of the gambling industry for years. Simultaneously, it is important to veer away from the more sales-driven social media casino posts that players believe are inauthentic, according to Adolfsson.

“Some brands have started to dip their toe in the water of creating a slightly more social experience, but they use it more for marketing and not to create that feeling of a community that I know is happening in every arena and in many pubs on a Saturday afternoon,” he adds.

“We see an increase in engagement and retention when people connect to a brand and the community around it, and our mission is to empower brands to build social ecosystems that feel alive – powered by machine learning, but led by real people.

“We’re making it easy for platforms to surface the right content, from the right person or entity, at the right moment and in a way that doesn’t feel algorithmic, but authentic.”

Compelling blend

In practice, Keep.Social’s approach involves a compelling blend of machine learning with a human voice that brings an authentic tone to social media for casino and sports betting.

Community-driven text and video-based content bring to life real-time interactions through personalised feeds, social profiles, posts, comments and chats.

These feeds provide an engaging content stream that is tailored to the user’s preferences and interests, while personalised social posts encourage users to share bets, casino games and other wager-related tips, stories and discussions.

“We’ve built a system where every interaction can be surfaced by algorithms – but it never feels like it,” Adolfsson says. “Our infrastructure connects players, creators and the brand itself into a shared content network.

“AI helps to moderate, prioritise and personalise content delivery, while our entity-based social architecture ensures the voicebelongs to someone real – a player, a team or even a branded persona. It’s machine learning-powered curation with a human front.”

iGaming dynamics

While sports betting social media would appear to many a natural extension to the Saturday afternoon post-match debrief at the pub, casino social media opportunities are less widely recognised.

Indeed, while the social dynamics surrounding sports betting are well established, Adolfsson believes that similarly powerful potential in iGaming is underdeveloped.

“Sports betting has obvious social touchpoints, but casino gaming has its own social potential that’s untapped,” Adolfsson says.

“Players are passionate, superstitious and often loyal to specific games or providers. What’s missing is a layer of storytelling and connection.

“Imagine letting players follow trends, comment on streaks or celebrate big wins not just on a stream, but in real-time social threads, tags and curated feeds. With Keep.Social, we enable that kind of dynamic community even in the context of a slot spin.”

Socialising the game

The aim is to build a sense of belonging, something that has been a key aim of forward-thinking marketing executives in the industry for several years.

While advertising rules in leading gambling markets like the UK prohibit any suggestions of ‘peer pressure’ in adverts, it is now far more common to see such spots featuring friends and family, rather than an individual gambling on their own.

“Most platforms offer isolated, transactional experiences, but our goal is to make them feel like communities so players can follow each other, join conversations, and feel part of something bigger,” Adolfsson adds.

“We make it easy to share strategies, celebrate wins and even mourn losses together. It’s not just about gamifying social; it’s about socialising the game.”

‘Powerful and precarious’

Of course, it is important for any operator to tread with care when they are developing an online community, particularly in social media which, Adolfsson says, has a “powerful but precarious” relationship with gambling.

While gambling and social media fosters community, transparency and brand trust, it can also amplify bad habits if not handled with care. With this in mind, Keep.Social has a built-in modern moderation system and community control, while efforts have been taken to develop an ethical and user-friendly design.

“We believe responsible social tools can amplify joy and connection,” Adolfsson says.

Meanwhile, AI is also viewed as more important than ever in driving connections within the igaming and sports betting sectors.

“The world is getting a lot bigger and you will be able to find like-minded people in lots of different countries around the world,” Adolfsson adds.

“We can predict behaviour and optimise overall engagement to help stimulate that conversation and help find those real connections.”

‘Seen, not segmented’

AI can also play a key role in enhancing the human moments, rather than replacing them – and the key to maximising social connections through gaming is to make people feel “seen, not segmented”, Adolfsson adds.

“AI can predict behaviour, optimise engagement and even simulate conversation, but it can’t replace emotional connection,” he says. “The future isn’t about choosing between algorithms and authenticity; it’s about building tech that enables both.”

Keep.Social’s tools have been developed to seamlessly integrate into an existing system, helping to differentiate its offering from others in the market, whereas many platforms simply bolt on social media as an afterthought, Adolfsson says.

“We have built from the ground up a plug-and-play infrastructure that’s deeply customisable, scalable and industry-specific,” he says. “However, more than that, we offer a philosophy: that community isn’t a feature – it’s the future of retention. We help brands get there without losing control of data, user safety, or tone of voice.”

Changing perceptions

In fact, while igaming and sports betting are obvious verticals for such solutions, Adolfsson is convinced that the technology is applicable in a wide variety of settings, including outside the gambling sector altogether.

For now, though, the focus is firmly on gambling, and trying to change perceptions for the good of the industry as a whole.

“Most operators view social media as a marketing channel, not a product feature,” Adolfsson says.

“But today’s players expect more – they want connection built into the core experience. There’s a massive opportunity to move beyond acquisition and into community-building.

“The tech is ready. The players are ready. Keep.Social is here to bridge the gap.”