News round-up 25 September 2015

This week’s news in brief sees operators release their first updates since iOS9 went live while William Hill Australia launches a new in-play app

The first post-iOS9 updates his iPhones this week, with Unibet announcing a major sportsbook update which included iOS9 compatibility and new Touch ID login functionality. Mecca Bingo added a new mobile bingo game to its apps, with Emoji Bingo described as “brand new, fun and fast”. Bwin Poker added knock-out bounty and heads-up tournaments to mobile for the first time, and also introduced a new native menus for easier navigation. And finally Coral introduced partial cash out to its iOS app following the example set by Betfair earlier this year.

William Hill Australia looked to capitalise on the growth of in-play betting in Australia with the launch of a new mobile sports betting app on iOS. The operator released the new mobile product in the Apple App Store last Wednesday featuring a complete redesign, new navigation tools, new markets and an enhanced in-play betting offering. “The new app has been designed to give the fastest and most straightforward betting experience in-market,” Chris Griggs, head of customer experience at William Hill Australia, told sister publication eGaming Review.

US-based mobile technology company iPro said it plans to bring its recently launched real-money and social in-play sports betting app to the highly competitive UK market. Ringit! is the first product developed and launched by iPro, which was founded by former head of interactive at IGT Robert Melendres and a number of other industry veterans. Ringit! allows players to compete in real-time by predicting the next play, drive, score and other match events from their mobile devices while watching NFL contests.

Betit Group, the Nordic-facing operator part-owned by GVC, launched its first mobile-first casino brand as it looks to tap into social’s success on the channel. Kaboo, which is fully responsive, incorporates gamification and loyalty features to real-money gaming in an attempt to boost customer retention. “This is a complex product both from a front-end and back-end perspective,” Tomas Bäckman, Betit Group CEO, said. “Not only is Kaboo.com mobile-first, it is fully responsive with a smooth transition between any device used such as mobile, tablet or desktop,” he added.

32Red reported that 42% of casino gross gaming revenues came from the mobile channel during H12015 as the operator plans to extend its multi-channel offer. The strong mobile performance compared favourably with the 32% of revenues coming from mobile for the same period last year, with 32Red’s chief commercial officer Matt Booth telling eGR Mobile Intelligence the next focus will be better integration of mobile and desktop. “For me the brands that can connect the mobile experience with the desktop experience are the one’s who have been most successful, because players are not singularly mobile or desktop players now,” Booth said.