Mobile gaming has become so popular it now accounts for 50% of all gaming revenue. By the end of 2019, the gaming market was estimated to be worth 152 billion, with over half of that coming from mobile gaming. Gaming used to be more of a hobby or a way to escape from daily life for a while, but now, thanks to modern technology, gaming is now considered to be a part of everyday.
As using smartphones and apps has become ever more socially acceptable in everyday life, online gaming has followed suit, echoing the trend. But, mobile gaming is about more than just boosting revenue for companies and industry leaders. It’s a crucial way to enhance a brand’s reputation and reach a wider audience of customers. In this article we look at just how and why mobile gaming has grown so much.
Online Gaming Apps
888 Casino’s app offering is a great example of a popular and well-designed gaming app.
The mobile gaming market is dominated by simulation games which have continued to be the most popular smartphone games for years. In recent years gambling companies have started to recognise the importance of having apps available on both Apple and Android devices. The popularity of playing on mobile is something they’ve really taken advantage of, producing an engaging and exciting offering of gambling experiences.
A number of leading companies within the gambling industry have invested millions of dollars into developing quality gaming apps. An example of an online casino with a really impressive app is 888 Casino.
The team at the casino develop all of their gaming technology in-house rather than leasing software from dedicated development companies which means you get a unique and exciting gaming experience when you visit the site or play on the app.
This approach means that you’re provided with an engaging, on the go experience via mobile when you play at 888 mobile casino something that can’t be replicated elsewhere. But, what makes it all worth it for the operators?
Capturing Customers
People now spend up to several hours per day playing games and spending money on their mobile devices which means mobile is one of the biggest ways for gaming brands to capture tons of new customers.
The undoubted trajectory of the gambling industry over the coming years is completely geared towards mobile gambling, therefore it makes financial and logical sense for gambling companies to develop high quality mobile apps to keep up with competitors and ensure they’re giving customers the option to play while they’re on the go.
Google Indexing
Appearing high up in the search rankings on a Google search is a high priority for any company with an online focus.
In the first decade of the online gambling boom it was fairly easy for founding companies to capture new customers. With many leading gambling companies starting out prior to the millennium, when the very concept of online gambling was alien to not only customers but many industry experts.
This meant those operators who embraced the online scene quickly had a definite edge on other providers who were either wary of online gambling or quite frankly, not confident enough to invest into the remote sector themselves.
Yet, after years of continuous growth, competitors soon began to mimic the approach of successful companies by producing their own online gambling sites leading to the situation we have today – one of the most saturated and profitable markets in the world.
Customers now no longer have a simple choice of one or two online providers, instead they are faced with a mountain of suppliers all fighting for their attention. As such, Google indexing is vitally important to online gambling companies who want their website to appear as high up on page one of Google search results as possible.
Google’s global indexing results are based primarily on mobile content. This means making sure sites and apps are top quality is crucial for gambling businesses. This includes making sure the content is structured with the user experience in mind and essentials like alt tags are included on images. By having a high-functioning mobile app and mobile site, gambling companies can instantly make themselves more visible to potential new customers.
The Challenges faced by Gambling apps
Want a five-star review from a customer? You’d better make sure you solve every possible problem, even if it’s one caused by the customer themselves.
Releasing a successful and well-received gambling app is not easy business. In order to satisfy customers, developers need to pay special attention to the following things:
Site speed – app developers have to make an offering that functions at a basic level on low speeds to avoid customer complaints. Apps are not responsible for a customer’s own poor Wi-Fi or data.
Mobile device– as there are a huge range of mobile devices on the market with varying graphic capabilities and screen sizes, developers need to be sure the app functions properly on a number of different types of devices. It may sound like a basic thing to cover, but many apps and mobile sites fail to properly fit their layout to a range of mobile sizes and screen performances.
Enabling AMP – Accelerated Mobile Pages first appeared in 2016 and were established by Google to speed up the delivery of content by stripping down HTML code to AMP. Although you may be used to the speed of accelerated mobile pages, you might want to cast your mind back to 2015 when desktop websites would take an age to open on your mobile device.
Gambling app developers have to pay special attention to AMP especially when they are providing streaming services such as live casinos and live poker tournaments. Slow page loading speeds and refreshing wait times can be all it takes to put a customer off and send them to a competitor.
Summary
The rise of mobile gaming has coincided perfectly with the rise of online gambling. Many industry leading companies have forged ahead by implementing the very best technology to not only provide great apps to their customers, but to also boost the reputation of their site.
Over the course of the next few years, expect more and more leaps forward from the online and mobile gambling industry as it expands further across the globe.
