I’ve been wondering lately—are push ads in iGaming advertising still worth the effort, or are we just chasing something that already peaked? It feels like everywhere I look, someone is either saying push traffic is dead or claiming it still prints money if you “do it right.” That kind of mixed signal usually means there’s more nuance to it than people admit.

One thing that kept coming up in discussions with others was confusion about how push ads actually perform today compared to a couple of years ago. A lot of people jump in expecting easy wins, but the reality feels a bit more layered now. I came across a breakdown that explains how iGaming advertising works for real traffic, and it helped me rethink some of my assumptions about what’s actually going on behind the scenes.

The biggest pain point, at least from what I’ve seen and experienced, is that push ads don’t behave like they used to. Back then, you could run a basic campaign, throw in some generic creatives, and still get decent conversions. Now? Not so much. A lot of campaigns get clicks, sure, but the quality of those clicks can be all over the place. It’s frustrating when you see traffic coming in but nothing meaningful happening after that.

I’ve tested a few campaigns myself over the past months, and the results were honestly mixed. Some GEOs still performed surprisingly well, especially ones that aren’t overcrowded. But when I tried targeting more competitive regions, it felt like I was just blending into the noise. Same kind of ads, same kind of messages—users have seen it all before.

One thing I noticed is that timing and frequency matter way more now. If users keep getting hit with similar push notifications all day, they just stop paying attention. I had one campaign where I reduced frequency and changed the delivery times, and it actually improved engagement a bit. Not a huge jump, but enough to show that small tweaks can still move the needle.

Creatives also seem to make or break everything. The old “You won!” style messages don’t hit the same anymore. People are smarter, or maybe just more used to these formats. When I tried slightly more realistic, curiosity-driven messages, I saw better click-through rates. Still not perfect, but definitely better than generic hype.

Another thing worth mentioning is that push ads feel more like a testing ground now rather than a guaranteed profit channel. I wouldn’t rely on them alone if I’m being honest. They still have value, especially for quick testing or reaching users who don’t engage with other formats, but expecting consistent profits without effort feels unrealistic in 2026.

So, is iGaming advertising through push ads saturated? I’d say partially. It’s not completely dead, but it’s definitely more competitive and less forgiving. You can still find pockets of opportunity, but you have to look harder and think a bit differently than before.

If I had to sum it up from my own experience, push ads still work—but only if you treat them like a serious channel instead of a quick win. Testing angles, adjusting timing, and being selective with targeting seems to matter more than ever. It’s not as easy as it used to be, but it’s not completely gone either.

Curious to hear how others are handling this right now. Are you still seeing solid results, or has your experience been similar?