Redesigning the bonus engine
to improve operational confidence
Transforming Rank’s complex internal promotion system into a structured configuration experience that reduces operational risk and helps teams to launch bonus campaigns with confidence.
INTERNAL WEB APPLICATION • SENIOR PRODUCT DESIGNER • TIMELINE 2024 to 2025
Introduction
The Rank Group is an FTSE-listed international gambling and entertainment company operating physical venues and digital platforms across the UK and Europe.
With over 7,700 employees and 3.1 million active customers, its internal systems support a business generating nearly £800M in annual net gaming revenue.
Context
Why promotions matter
In iGaming, promotions are a key driver of player acquisition, retention and engagement.
These promotions were setup behind the scenes using an internal platform tool known as the bonus engine.
What is a bonus engine?
A bonus engine is the system in the background that decides who sees a promotion, who is allowed to claim it, what rules apply and when the reward should be given. Its a control panel where internal teams set up the offers, rules and rewards before the player ever sees them.
Who are the users?
Over 7,700 employees rely on the bonus engine to create, manage and support promotions that drive player engagement.
Product managers
define promotion strategy, mechanics and success metrics.
CRM and marketing teams
create, target and schedule campaigns.
Operations teams
configure, launch and monitor promotions.
Customer Support
resolves issues and explains promotions.
employees using the bonus engine
active players reached by promotions each month
Problem
Creating promotions in the bonus engine was complex.
Teams had to navigate multiple rules and conditions, making it difficult to predict how a promotion would behave once live. Due to these issues, the teams relied heavily on manual checks, with many issues only discovered after launch.
Almost 64% of promotions required correction after launch.
High error rates & rework
64% of promotions required correction after launch. Many issues were only identified post-setup or during QA.
Heavy QA dependency
Teams relied on QA to validate promotion configurations before release.
Slow & complex setup workflows
Promotion setup required navigating multiple rule layers and screens. Configuration involved iterative adjustments and repeated checks.
Low confidence in setup outcomes
Internal survey results showed low confidence in predicting promotional behaviour. Teams were unsure whether promotions would behave as expected once launched.
Problem statement
"How might we enable users to configure complex promotions right the first time using real-time validation?"
Discovery
The Bonus Engine was used by multiple internal teams to configure and manage promotional campaigns across the platform. While the initial signals highlighted the scale of the problem, they did not explain the root causes. To understand the real issue, I explored how promotions are set up, interpreted and managed start to finish.
Workshops summary
Working across a globally distributed organisation, I led a structured discovery phase combining user interviews, workflow analysis and cross-functional workshops with teams in London, Gibraltar, Mauritius and Cape Town.
System alignment workshop
Mapping how promotions actually work across teams
Dependency mapping workshop
I facilitated a dependency mapping workshop with engineers and product manager from my team to uncover hidden rules and identify pain points across the promotions journey.
Promotion lifecycle overview workshop
I worked with internal stakeholders to develop a system view of how promotions are created, experienced, and optimised across the player journey.
How promotions actually behave
Simplifying how promotions are configured
With this workflow, I made a case for aligning stakeholders to move from a monolithic form to a step-based configuration, with validation and logic that is easier to manage and maintain.
Promotion configuration framework
Key themes
Discovery showed the issue wasn’t just usability, but a lack of clarity in how promotion logic was structured and interpreted across teams. So I focussed on how promotions are defined, validated and managed in practice. I created 3 guiding principles to solve the core problem.
Restructuring the promotion system
Bring in system clarity
Add built-in validation
Solution
Discovery showed that the promotion setup was difficult to understand, with hidden rules, dependencies, scattered configuration and a heavy reliance on manual QA. The redesign focused on making system behaviour visible while guiding teams through a structured step-by-step workflow.
Dashboard
Promotion management begins in the dashboard, where teams can view active and scheduled promotions. A card-based layout was introduced to surface key details such as reward type, status and activation windows, improving visibility across the promotion lifecycle and making promotions easier to scan.
Campaign cards dashboard
Card view vs List view
The interface was designed for quick scanning, rather than detailed inspection. During initial design exploration, I explored both card and list layouts and selected card as the primary view for clearer visual hierarchy. We planned to introduce a list view in future iterations.
System clarity
Step-by-step promotion workflow
Promotion setup was redesigned as a step-by-step workflow. Instead of one dense form, the new experience guides teams through each stage of setup, including eligibility, deposit requirements, rewards and wagering rules. This structure reduces cognitive load by allowing teams to focus on one decision at a time.
Guided workflow & stepper
Built-in validation
Preventative safeguards & configuration errors
Issues are surfaced early with clear messages, severity levels and suggested actions. This prevents errors, reduces back-and-forth and gives teams confidence to move forward.
Real-time validation and guardrails
Confident validation
Before activating a campaign the users review the full promotion configuration in a structured confirmation layer. This final step allows users to verify that the promotion behaves as expected before launch. The validation screen displays key promotion details including eligibility rules, reward structure, deposit conditions, wagering requirements and campaign timing.
Final review screen
Impact
The redesigned configuration experience improved both usability and operational efficiency across the teams responsible for managing promotions. By making promotion logic visible and guiding teams through a structured configuration workflow, the redesign transformed promotion setup from a complex, error-prone process into a predictable system teams could confidently operate.
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