Online casinos live and die by player acquisition and retention. With rising acquisition costs and fierce competition, retention is more than a nice to have. What’s the use of acquiring players to then lose them fast, it’s like having a leaky bucket.

A proven strategy of player retention and engagement are jackpot campaigns, especially must-drop jackpots and big progressive jackpots that the operator can market setting them apart from competition.

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Why Jackpots Still Work

Campaigns like deposit bonuses, cashbacks, free spins and loyalty points are effective but are highly individualistic and one important difference is that they are not life changing.

Jackpots capitalise on basic human psychology, the thrill of unpredictability, the excitement of the progressive jackpot buildup, the rush of watching a big pot fall and the anticipation that the next spin could change your life.
Mechanics like must-drop jackpots also bank on the feeling of urgency that a pot is about to drop any minute which is a very strong mechanic in itself.

Here’s how each one works, and why they matter:

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What Is a Must-Drop Jackpot?

A must-drop jackpot is a progressive jackpot that’s guaranteed to pay out before a set condition is met, usually a time limit (e.g., by midnight) or an amount threshold (e.g., must drop before hitting €5,000).

These create an urgency loop that keeps players spinning:

• “Will it be me?”
• “It has to fall soon!”
• “Let me get a few more spins in before it drops…”

This model is incredibly effective at:

• Extending session length
• Encouraging repeat visits throughout the day
• Boosting spin frequency

It turns passive players into active ones and active players into loyal ones.

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What Is a Network Jackpot?

A network jackpot is shared across multiple brands or a group of operators. Each spin on a participating game contributes to the same jackpot pool, which grows rapidly given the sheer amount of players participating in the jackpots. These jackpots usually grow to life-changing amounts.

This makes network jackpots a powerful promotional asset:

• Players see massive prize numbers that grow in real time
• Operators benefit from shared liquidity and marketing hype
• Multiple casinos can contribute to and benefit from the same excitement engine generating pots that on their own they would not have managed.

With tools like JackpotX from SharedLuck, you can configure these in minutes.

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Must-Drop + Network = Hybrid Campaign Power

The most advanced operators combine both strategies.
Imagine this: a network-wide jackpot that must drop every 24 hours.
Players from different brands contribute, while the must-drop condition ensures daily payout.

That means new winners every day, predictable marketing cycles, and consistent engagement across your network.

This hybrid model has been shown to:

• Drive the highest lift in average spins per session
• Create predictable spikes in activity around drop times
• Support multi-brand promotions effortlessly

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Real-Time Jackpot Management = Real-Time Profit

Tools like JackpotX allow operators to control, monitor, and optimize their jackpot campaigns live.

You can:

• Adjust contribution percentages to pots in real time to make a specific tier of jackpot drop more frequently
• See real-time jackpot pot growth
• Adjust pre-seed contribution percentages also in real time

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Why SharedLuck?

We know that engagement is not a one-size-fits-all strategy, and that operators require flexibility. Your brands, your markets, your players are unique, and so should be your jackpot campaigns.

SharedLuck’s JackpotX management solution was built to:

• Support different types of jackpots (must-drop, progressive, and network jackpots)
• Offer real-time insights and control over your campaigns
• Maximise both player engagement and revenue generation, it’s not either/or.

So whether you’re targeting a niche player segment or scaling across a network of brands… The smartest way to win the retention game is with the right jackpot strategy.

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Want to integrate progressive jackpots into your platform? Reach out to the team at SharedLuck and discover how we’re helping operators win, one jackpot at a time.