Comment: When will mobile revenues overtake online?
Victor Stinga, mFortuneâs Affiliate Manager, assesses the trajectory of mobile gambling versus online gambling, and asks what this means for future revenues
The debate still rages as to whether we live in a âpost-PCâ world or a âPC+â age, in which it remains the central hub and all other devices are supplementary.
Rather like fixed landlines, PCs still have their place, but that place is physically limited, whereas mobile devices are, by their very nature, unrestricted offering limitless possibilities. This brings a wealth of opportunities, and challenges, for online casino operators, games developers and marketers, all of whom are seeking to maximise revenues.
Analysis of online gambling habits indicates that tablet-users tend to enjoy bingo, slots and casino games while relaxing at home. They enjoy slightly longer gambling sessions than smartphone users, who are likely to be more impulsive gamblers, enjoying numerous shorter sessions throughout the day.
Laptops and PCs are still the preferred platform for professionals or dedicated gamers, such as poker players, who will play for extended periods and require the benefits of bigger screens, additional software capabilities and connection stability. Factors contributing to a playerâs choice of device include lifestyle, game preferences, casino features and overall user-experience.
Additionally, individual device mobility, size, cost and screen quality also play their part, along with external factors such as connection speed and stability, and supplementary software capabilities. With so many variables, it is clear that both online platforms and mobile devices will continue to provide revenue streams for the foreseeable future, but which will prove to be dominant?
Boosting mobile revenues
A recent survey commissioned by Adobe, and administered by Survey Sampling International, revealed some of the latest trends. For consumers who own both a smartphone and tablet, the primary device is still their smartphone (77%), but tablets are making strong headway, up from 12% in 2012 to 23% in 2013.
According to the âAdobe Digital Index analysis of website visit activityâ cited in the Adobe report, mobile users view 70% more pages per visit when browsing with a tablet compared to a smartphone; figures are also supported by the slightly longer player activity on tablets than smartphones.
In terms of audience profile, 80% of those surveyed used their tablets at home, with 63% of 18-29-year-olds and, perhaps surprisingly, 50% of 50-64-year-olds citing gaming as one of the most common activities they engage in via their tablet. The key to ensuring that revenues follow a similar trajectory to these trends seems to lie, in part, with online casinosâ and games developersâ ability to optimise user experience.
Designing games and tailoring them specifically to each mobile device, optimising speed, improving website search and navigation, as well as reducing touch events to conversion, will all help to achieve this aim.
Marketers also need to ensure that every aspect of the marketing/conversion funnel is optimised for mobile â including social media, landing pages, customer service and banking. Tablets are clearly a prime target for increasing revenues, as these devices currently offer the best mobility and user-experience, which seems to be key to keeping consumers online for longer â offering the best chance of revenue.
Looking beyond marketing
Beyond this, attention must also be given to proactively integrating with external bodies, such as affiliates, social media platforms and eWallet suppliers, to provide a seamless mobile experience between sites.
Likewise, by staying abreast of technological developments, such as HTML5 and cloud computing, casino operators will be better able to adapt to, and capitalise on, wider online trends. Although mobile usage, and potentially revenues, looks set to exceed traditional online alternatives at some point in the future, ultimately, casino operators are not the guardians of mobile. We are reliant on improved download speeds, emerging technologies and coding developments, along with wider mobile industry developments such as the allocation of the Digital Dividend.
On reflection, perhaps the more pertinent question is not how soon will revenues in mobile exceed online, but how soon will an entirely new generation of mobile or online technology supersede everything we know today and how will casinos maximise revenues in that brave new world?