Developer insight: Being a step ahead with native apps

Online gambling apps have traditionally been designed to accommodate all the features and content on operators’ websites. While some are built native, most of them are container/wrapper apps with little consideration for the native user experience. This year, Apple has decided to change this by updating its design guidelines to drive native app development and reduce the web-like features in apps offered through the App Store. In addition, it’s asking any external content, such as HTML5 games, to be included in the app source code, which is another big change for many casino apps.

This has undoubtedly shaken up the existing product pipelines, as building a native sportsbook from scratch could take up to a year and a dedicated iOS team. This is something not every operator can afford to do without advance warning. Despite this, Apple has set the deadline for March 2020 that all container apps need to be as app-like as possible, regardless of the industry. Any further updates that don’t meet their criteria might be rejected.

However, new operators or those with new products have a huge advantage if they begin developing native apps from the start. Not only can the online gambling apps be built with the best design and user experience for the platform, but they can be future-proof for any further changes in the guidelines. Continuing to create container apps might leave companies open to major rework if any of the guidelines change in the future. So having a fully native app will place operators ahead of their competitors whose apps may struggle to be accepted in the App Store.

In order to create a great native app, operators need to step away from the web-first approach, strip down the features to the core services and decide whether the app needs to house absolutely everything. We’ve seen sportsbooks with gaming sections that operators try to cross-sell. It’s a good business tactic, however, many of these services have been designed differently and they offer a disjointed user experience when switching between them. If a customer is using the app to place a bet and taps on a gaming section, their transition should be consistent and both verticals need to look like they’re part of the same app.

Single focus

Perhaps this is a chance to introduce more innovation to products and create a wider update on how online gambling products are built. More operators should be taking inspiration from leading apps like Spotify, Netflix and Deliveroo to see how they are focused on a single service and how they present it to their customers. Because sportsbooks have a crossover with games and other verticals, it might be harder to imagine this, but there’s no harm in trialling and user testing new ideas. The requirement to house HTML5 games in the app binary may encourage more operators to innovate how they present content, stepping away from the more standard formats.

Besides meeting Apple’s requirements, operators also need to be compliant, and regulation can play a big part in app design. This is something that doesn’t necessarily concern Apple or match its design guidelines, so operators need to find the right balance to keep both parties happy. Regulation is something that is constantly evolving and being updated, so operators need to be prepared for these changes, ready to incorporate them while innovating and modernising their products.

Operators have a big task of driving product development to meet Apple’s and regulators’ standards. Having to make significant changes to container apps could eat into their resources and push back updates if they don’t meet the App Store criteria. On the other hand, new operators or those building new products might be a step ahead if they begin with native apps. This could be a chance to innovate and reinvent how online gambling content is served to improve the user experience.

Richard Wagstaff is the operations director at Degree 53. He is responsible for the delivery of the Degree 53 projects, teams and internal processes. Wagstaff has over 10 years of experience delivering digital projects. He previously worked as a project manager, delivering digital projects across a variety of industries at Betfred, Amaze and IGT.