Friday view: Is seamless log-in the new standard?

Paddy Power became the latest egaming firm to add single sign-on to its mobile apps this week, but should this be the least customers expect?

Paddy Power this week followed in the footsteps of a string of rivals by introducing single sign-on capabilities to its sportsbook and casino apps.

Adding the feature was described as a significant milestone for the firm which has led the way on mobile in almost every other area. Paddy Power derived 52% of its total revenues from mobile in the first half of the year and its mobile portfolio had otherwise looked impressive.

“Single sign-on is one of a range of enablers that Paddy Power is delivering to maximise our cross sell capabilities and improve conversion between our sports and egaming product set,” James Grimes, online sportsbook product manager at Paddy Power, told eGR Mobile Intelligence this morning.

“Ensuring ease of use and seamless transition between mobile products is essential. We’ve added this capability across our suite of sports and e-gaming smartphone and tablet apps, both native and web. For Paddy Power this is another key delivery to complement our market leading, integrated user experience on mobile,” he added.

Since Sky Bet became the first major egaming firm to introduce seamless log-in functionality across its mobile apps last August, the likes of Coral, William Hill and Betfair have followed. Playtech CEO Mor Weizer labelled the capability as the “future of mobile gambling” when the supply firm delivered it to Coral last September, an indicator of just how important it is for operators to have it at their disposal.

Multi-app strategies have come to the fore in recent months with most mobile operators looking to make their apps as dedicated and streamlined as possible. Multi-purpose betting and gaming apps have been replaced by apps with smaller, more specific purposes and enabling customers to switch between them as seamlessly possible is vital for cross-sell.

With so many of the leading mobile operators now boasting single sign-on across app portfolios, it has almost become a capability that customers have come to expect as standard. Forcing customers to re-enter details is often clumsy and a significant barrier to effective cross-sell, and with people only tending to keep two or three gambling apps on their smartphones at any one time, could lead to a fairly swift deletion.

In little over a year seamless log-in has progressed from the cutting edge of mobile to the new standard, and those without the capability are some distance behind the leading pack.