Here’s a question that has haunted storytellers for thousands of years: how do you make readers hooked to keep reading?
Think about it. Scheherazade had to be so compelling that a murderous king would spare her life just to hear what happened next. Dickens needed readers lining up at newsstands month after month, desperate for the next installment of Great Expectations. And today, in a world drowning in distractions, understanding how to keep readers hooked feels more urgent than ever.
Interestingly, some of the most sophisticated thinking about this problem isn’t coming from publishing houses or MFA programs. It’s coming from unexpected places—like Soft2Bet, a Malta-based technology company that has turned engagement into both an art and a science. What they’ve figured out about human attention offers genuine lessons for anyone who writes.
───── ✦ ─────
The Scheherazade Principle |
In One Thousand and One Nights, Scheherazade survives by ending each story at the most tantalizing moment possible. She doesn’t just tell good stories—she architects them so the Sultan physically cannot bear to miss what comes next.
That’s not entertainment. That’s survival-level understanding of human psychology.
đź’ˇ Key Insight: Engagement isn’t about one big hook—it’s about a continuous series of small investments that accumulate into something your audience can’t walk away from. |
This is exactly what Soft2Bet has systematized. Founded in 2016 by Uri Poliavich, the company has grown into a global force—operating under 19 licenses across 11 jurisdictions with over 12,500 games and more than a million live events annually.
Their flagship platform, MEGA (Motivational Engineering Gaming Application), doesn’t just offer games. It creates ongoing narratives where users become protagonists—complete with avatars, collectible items, and worlds they help build.
“We always refer to MEGA as a solution, not an engine, because it provides complete value for the user, not just a technical core.” |
Sound familiar? That’s essentially what a good novel does.
───── ✦ ─────
How to Keep Readers Hooked: The Psychology |
Soft2Bet’s approach breaks engagement into components that any writer would recognize:
đź“– Progressive RevelationParcel out information like clues in a mystery. Give enough to satisfy, but always leave them wanting more. | ❤️ Personal StakesMake readers feel the story is about them. The protagonist becomes a mirror for self-identification. | 🌍 World InvestmentCreate a place worth staying in. When readers invest time in your world, they don’t want to leave. |
These aren’t abstract theories. The MEGA platform applies them through customizable avatars, tiered rewards, and city-building mechanics that keep users coming back day after day. But the underlying psychology? That’s straight from the storyteller’s playbook—the same techniques that have worked for thousands of years.
───── ✦ ─────
The Numbers Don’t Lie |
Here’s where theory meets proof. According to Soft2Bet’s data, the MEGA platform has produced remarkable results:
Translate that into literary terms: imagine if a technique could make readers spend four times longer with your book. These numbers validate what writers have always believed—when you give people a reason to care, they stay.
───── ✦ ─────
Practical Takeaways for Writers |
What can writers actually learn from this? Here are principles that translate directly from Soft2Bet’s playbook to your writing desk:
───── ✦ ─────
Storytelling vs. Gamification |
The beauty of studying engagement across different mediums is that it strips away the mystique. Knowing how to keep readers hooked is really just applied psychology—and the same principles work everywhere:
───── ✦ ─────
About Soft2Bet |
For context on the company whose methods we’ve been exploring:
Soft2Bet operates B2C brands including Betinia, Campobet, Tooniebet, Quickcasino, and Don.ro, while also providing B2B turnkey solutions for other operators.
The company also launched Soft2Bet Invest in 2024—a €50 million fund supporting innovation—which earned the “Outstanding Contribution to Gaming” award at SiGMA East Europe.
───── ✦ ─────
A Note on Responsibility |
Any honest discussion of engagement must address responsibility. Soft2Bet operates in some of the world’s strictest regulatory environments and maintains dedicated teams for responsible gaming, fraud detection, and compliance.
This matters for writers too. We have power over our readers’ emotions and attention. Using that power well means being honest about what we’re doing and why.
───── ✦ ─────
The Eternal Challenge |
I started this essay with a question: how do you keep readers hooked?
The answer, whether you’re Scheherazade bargaining for her life or a tech company in Malta, turns out to be surprisingly consistent:
Soft2Bet didn’t invent these principles. Storytellers have known them for millennia. But they’ve measured and validated them in ways that confirm what writers have long believed on instinct. Their success across regulated markets in Denmark, Sweden, Canada, and Romania proves these aren’t just theories—they’re battle-tested techniques for capturing human attention.
The next time you sit down to write, remember: the challenge of keeping readers engaged is as old as the first story told around a fire. The tools change—from oral tradition to printed books to digital platforms—but the human desire to know what happens next remains constant. That’s what connects Scheherazade to Dickens to the engineers at Soft2Bet. They all understood the same fundamental truth about human nature.
Master that desire, and you’ll never lose your audience.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a chapter ending to rewrite. Scheherazade would expect nothing less.
