There are few concepts, pastimes or platforms that haven’t gone mobile in the last ten years. You’d be hard-pressed to find a company that hasn’t at least attempted to build a mobile app to go with web applications. Why? Well, the host of reasons are so wide, the better question might be; why not? For online gambling, that surge in mobile usage and coverage was an obvious choice for the industry to move towards.
Where physical bet slips and shops once stood, the sleek, well-designed platforms we see today, featuring more insights, guidance and add-ons than ever before, are now seemingly a mainstay. Let’s take a look at developments in mobile technology that are taking online gambling experience to the next level.
A whole new world
It’s an obvious benefit, but mobile phones’, well, mobility has been their advantage since they first were released. That portability massively lends itself to online gambling. The ability to play wherever you find yourself makes engaging and getting involved that much easier. The only limitation is the bandwidth, the ability to send information. The introduction and, now conventional coverage of 4G has been a big step in the right direction for helping real-time gaming improve. As connectivity has improved, so too has the ability for companies in the industry to offer up-to-the-minute betting opportunities. For example, for most sports, including football and baseball betting, you will usually find a ‘live sports’ or ‘live events’ section that will include odds for games that are currently in play.
Powered-up processing
Back when mobile platforms were in their infancy, even the first few editions of the iPhone were pretty limited in what they could physically produce as a gambling or gaming experience. The CPU of most of those phones was comparable to a very basic word processor. Today, as we can see all around us, the standardization of computer-grade processing within phones mean anything from detailed graphics within online casinos, through to more immersive experiences like VR or competitive online poker is now available and completely supported by the mobiles themselves.
Safety in numbers
Handling currency online carries with it a responsibility to host a secure environment and a sense of custodianship over data. As such, larger platforms offer banking-grade connections, often through practices like Open Banking which carries with it the weight of regulation. It means mobile gamblers have nothing to worry about and can play with confidence, knowing they aren’t taking any unnecessary risks. The encryption features of most mobile gambling platforms fulfil a key prerequisite of great user experience.
The future of online gambling is largely going to be about increased immersion. What we can see is a focus on improving the immediacy and depth of the experience by taking users closer and closer to the event itself. Whether that’s through the features they can access, the visuals they can see or the speed and responsiveness of the platform itself, the exciting element of this shift is these innovations can be delivered to more and more people around the world, all from the gadgets in their pockets.