5G connectivity, fiber optic broadband, and powerful smartphones that vastly outperform some of the first desktop computers mean that the user experiences of online casino games have undergone an extensive transformation over the last decade with a move that mirrors a mobile-first approach to online casino gaming.
In this article, we’ll look at what has driven this transformation, and current consumer preferences and take a look at what emerging technologies we can expect to become part of the equation in the near future.
Phones Have Gotten MUCH Better
Aside from the massive infrastructure changes across modern economies, there is one simple explanation behind this transformation in that mobile phones and portable platforms have just gotten a lot better! No longer are we playing games like Snake on a black-and-white flip-up handset. Smartphones nowadays are rich, powerful multimedia centers. Screens are larger and can power high-definition video that 20 years ago we would have only dreamed of. Speakers are better, speeds are better and the normality of touch screens make for a far more intuitive and smoother experience than its predecessors that used clunky buttons and the like.
Standards Help
Another overlooked part of the smartphone revolution and the online casino’s response is the help of standards and a decoupling of what was once a fragmented landscape of operating systems and platforms. Nowadays, the market share of operating systems for mobile use is dominated largely by two platforms: Android (~72%) and Apple (~28). This means that developers largely only need to concentrate on catering their casino games and apps to these two platforms.
Apps
According to mindset.com, 5.1 trillion overall hours were spent using mobile apps during 2023. The online casino industry has long targeted its customers by promoting the download of their apps. Many online casinos and sportsbooks further incentivize the use of their apps by introducing app-only bonuses. The same study further projects that gaming apps will generate $132 billion in revenue by the year 2029 and it’s hard to foresee the mobile casino industry not trying to get a slice of this!
It’s Personal
One thing that the industry is currently seeing, and is expected to grow further, is the personalization that mobile interfaces offer:
- Font sizes
- Favorite games
- Tailored promotions
- Display preferences
- Notifications
- Profile pages
- Deposit mechanisms
Everything on mobile will become even more personal because it’s just too impractical to switch between different screens and change all of these small individual details. Players can game on the go, unlock their phone, load up their casino app or website and immediately have all of their favorite games and preferences catered to them, ready to play. Mobile casino platforms enable personalization at scale and this type of user experience is likely to further expand as society at large spends less time on desktop computers, and more time on mobile handsets.
Security Features
Security standards and features mean that the way we log in to our accounts is changing by virtue of the way that we interact with the internet. Do you know all of your login details? Chances are, you already use advanced authentication methods such as biometric logins (fingerprint and/or facial recognition), and two-factor authentication (SMS codes for example). Mobile handsets make these features more readily available, and the impatience of consumers means that such things are becoming even more seamless.
What’s Next?
The last decade has seen a huge shift to a mobile platform-centric move to online gaming, gambling, and wider internet use. Will we see the same scale of shift in the next decade? What kind of technologies can we expect?
- Voice Control – Voice control is already a normal feature of our everyday use such as incorporating devices like Amazon’s Alexa and Google’s Nest. Perhaps we’ll see voice control further integrated into the interfaces of online casinos. Perhaps even chatbots will start to incorporate voice control technologies which would make a far more user-friendly interface.
- Virtual Reality (VR) – If Mark Zuckerburg gets his way with the Metaverse, we’ll all be accessing the internet via VR headset devices. Online casinos may become incredibly immersive where we can put ourselves at the heart of the action, wherever we are in the world.
- Social Integration – Social media is continuing to expand across the world and many mobile casinos are increasingly adding social features to their platforms. Perhaps we will see more integration with some of the big social media giants where live-streamed events and multiplayer casino games will become more mainstream.
The Future is Mobile
Mobile is already here, and this trend will likely continue. We do almost everything off our phones these days and even previous “laptop” jobs such as banking, shopping, and booking a holiday are continuously done online. Online casino gaming will likely further innovate for mobile-centric platforms and interfaces so long as the consumer demands it.
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