Cell phones existed since IBM launched the first model in 1973, but ever since Apple released the iPhone in 2007, the smartphone market has exploded. Growing advancements in technology brought new unimaginable uses for smartphones – shopping, travel, commuting, transactions, gaming. A new industry has slowly started to gain with smartphones these days – gambling.
A study predicts global online gambling and betting market to expand at a CAGR of 11.8% from 2018 to 2026 and reach a value of $128.2 billion by 2026. Statista says the industry generated $35.6 billion in revenue in 2016. Another study says out of some 1.6 billion people in the world who gamble, 72% play online. Players are also spending 9% longer online on an average on mobile casino sites all over the world.
How are mobile devices changing industry dynamics?
The impact of mobile devices on the gambling industry has been tremendous. Growing competition and advancements in technology have brought so many improvements.
Convenience
The sheer convenience that mobile gambling offers is unprecedented. With mobiles, all the games are at the players’ fingertips. Players don’t need to specifically venture out to a land casino or login at their home using a laptop. They can carry games with them all the time! Even players from the remotest corners of the world can participate in betting and win courtesy the availability of the internet.
Improved games
With the boom in smartphones, entertainment and transaction options have multiplied for the players. This has brought in increased competition, resulting in a lot of benefits to the players. They are getting new and improved casino slots, poker, and other games customized as per their tastes and preferences.
Real-time betting
Smartphones’ powerful technology and the internet’s wide reach has made it possible for the players to bet as well as transact in real-time. The sports tournaments take a number of bets simultaneously and each second is precious. And smartphones really come in handy. Plus, the secure payment gateways provided by the banking system also makes the case for mobile gambling.
Increased traffic
Mobile devices have brought increased traffic for casino sites which have found a new revenue source. A study says people are spending more than 11 hours per day on their phones interacting with media and out of those hours, considerable ones are being spent on gambling and gaming activities. On top of it, a lot of widely available research points to the fact that mobile players convert faster than the online or land casino players, and also spend more because of the convenience factor.
Mobile platform
Millennials bring a lot of traffic to online casino sites. And casinos are realizing that they need to establish engagement with this group which does everything online and looks for seamless, on-the-go experiences. They need a platform for gambling which can do the same. And this factor alone has brought a huge improvement in the quality of mobile casinos. Developers have come out with attractive graphics, stunning animations, and engaging storylines.
Collaboration between the trio
With the rise in mobile gambling, there have been instances of increased collaboration between the brands, casino operators, and advertisers. The latter benefits directly from working with the game developers as they can place or integrate targeted ads to attract more eyeballs without having to waste their time on the external research. These ads also, in turn, bring drive in-game purchases. The casino operators also take a cut. Even the players benefit as they get a lot of incentives from all these players to watch an ad, which they can cash in later for some kind of reward.
Conclusion
As the world advances toward 5G and 6G networks, the connectivity and speed are only going to improve. This means more mobiles on the planet and more transactions. This is even better news for the gambling industry. Budding developers have benefitted a lot from this surge in mobile gambling as well as they get enough opportunities to be discovered on the app stores.
But this also presents a challenge for the game developers and casino operators. They need to be on their toes to deliver interactive, real-time experiences and continue to up their game. Smartphones have disrupted the industry and the future continues to look better for the industry.