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It is no secret that the use of smartphones and mobile devices changed the way people perform tasks on a daily basis. Not too long ago, we were bombarded with the launch of e-books and a number of digital products. While the world was trying to get their heads around new technology, players were graced with additional casino platforms. New ways to play were on top of casino developers’ minds to keep up with growing trends. This brought about the introduction of mobile casinos. At the time of early development, mobile casino gaming meant that players could access their favourite games from blackjack to poker, to slots and scratch cards, on the move. Back then, scepticism was at all time high, with many critics voicing their opinions on security issues and the quality of casino gaming. Today however, it is evident that mobile casino gaming is fast becoming the preferred way to play as opposed to desktop gaming or playing at a land-based casino.
What Makes Mobile Casino Gaming More Popular?
Online casino operators had one thing in mind when launching new mobile version of their sites- pure convenience. These companies were smart enough to transition into the world of mobile gaming when the hype around mobile games were significantly popular. At that time, smartphones were widely used with J2ME platforms, requiring players to download games individually. Since then, game development has seen many changes in optimisation for newer mobile device models. The introduction of playing via mobile browsers became the way to go, allowing users to access online casino sites in a perfectly rendered mobile setting. With the rise of Android, Windows and iOS operating systems, operators sought to adapt mobile casino gaming technology to gain entry to a massive market. The trend for gaming on the go is ever expanding, and players can now look to many options, including gameplay via smart HTML5 technology.
The Future of Mobile Casino Gaming
According to the web analytics firm, Statcount, mobile and tablet browsing accounted for 51.3% compared to desktop browsing at 48.7%. This growth started emerging from 2009. The reason for this increase in use amongst the two, is due to the fact that Google favours mobile-friendly websites, which makes sense as to why operators would opt to have mobile casinos. Another one of the reasons why mobile casino gaming is at an increase, is the fact that more users are purchasing more smartphones, compared to PCs.
Most gambling sites today are completely user-friendly with laser focus on player retention. These operators provide well-functioning software for mobile users in order to optimise the experience. Providing multiple platforms for play makes perfect sense. Players behave, transact and game in different ways, and mobile gaming, in most cases, seems to be mutually inclusive in the player profiling mix. Further to this, more users are looking to enhance their own personal experiences, adding leisure time to their mobile usage, which is a clear indication their devices are used for anything between business, personal reasons, and for pleasure as well. Since gambling for some, means access to entertainment, most operators have successfully managed to incorporate this aspect into the world of mobile casino gaming.
Peter Warman, Newzoo’s chief executive from the U.S claims however, that despite the fact that there is a high amount of smartphones and tablets purchases, mobile gaming does not entirely replace PC gaming. For those who started out with PC gaming and experienced gaming on PC for most of their lives, may still find the transition to mobile a bit tedious.
Whatever the case may be, whether players choose to opt for desktop, mobile or real life gaming, it entirely depends on the user preferences at any given point in time. Due to the convenience factor, it would be interesting to see if mobile casino gaming could ever exceed other means of gambling on a permanent basis.
