Online gaming continues to become one of the biggest time-consumers of many Internet users. Product placement has long been the best way to indirectly market to the masses, but now, marketers are finding a new way to utilize online gaming.

Following the concept of lead generation, online games are about the greatest way to gather contact information (next to online surveys). The reasons are simple: games are great, and once peer pressure (or addiction, in some cases) kicks in, it's difficult to resist the simple registration system. For some people, the utility gained from online gaming outweighs the effort required to empty out their junk mail folders or toss out spam from their inboxes.

But there's also the issue of ethical practices. All marketers are brought up being told that integrity is the most important aspect of their job; if you can't present yourself fairly to a customer, then you don't deserve their business. That's not to say that everyone is out to lie to their customers and steal their contact information, but gaming can be a great way to get people to voluntarily give up their information without feeling bad about it.

Take for example the concept of online gambling. Say for example, that users must sign up for the service before they can log onto the server to play at the tables. If a company restricts players to playing only for free, or for points, gamers are still satisfied with the experience, but they are limited to how far they can go with their online gambling experiences. While registering, the company can outline that in order to play on the server, each registered user must agree to the terms of service outlined by the company. Of course, one of the clauses outlined in this agreement would be the fact that the company is able to target these individuals with future marketing and promotional offers. Every gamer must agree to these terms before they submit their application.

Offering free games and “play for points” is a great way to get gamers to supply contact information. What these gamers don't understand is that they are also the company's target market. So when it comes time for the company to target its customers and promote its “play for money” service, they already have a list of existing players who are ready and willing to receive these promotions.

Offering a free gaming service is always the best way of gathering a contact list for any gaming company who offers online gambling services. Targeting them with promotional offers is also more effective than a mass marketing approach. Furthermore, there's the issue of competition. As more an more companies offer the same service, it becomes less effective to mass-market to the crowds. Loyalists are the ones who are regularly playing on your servers. As a result, they are the ones who are most likely to join up for your money-making service when it comes knocking on their email inboxes.