The betting industry has evolved many times over the years and the main benefit of the ever changing picture has often been convenience. Before the internet came along, if people wanted to place a sports bet on the football or horse racing they would have to head down to a land based betting shop. The same applied if people wanted to play their favourite casino games. Then the internet changed everything. People could gamble from their desktops at home or wherever they had an internet connection. The necessity of travelling to a bookmakers was no more
So people could bet more conveniently thanks to the internet and now due to the advances in technology when it comes to mobile phones, that convenience factor has further increased. Now people can place sports bets via their smartphones, through the specifically designed apps, whether they’re at home, at work or even on the bus. Most people own an iOS or Android based device and while Android users have been restricted from downloading gambling apps in the past, Google have now allowed them to once again to appear in the Google Play Store, so this means the majority of people can now place a bet within seconds.
Figures produced earlier this year showed that over 70% of online sports bets were place via smartphone or tablet and that figure continues to rise as they days of the in-store bettor and desktop gambler look increasingly under threat. This trend has been confirmed by a Unibet source and they expect these numbers to continue on in the future. One of the main reasons behind people migrating to betting on the go is that anything that can be done in-store or on desktop, can be done as well, if not better on mobile. People can watch live streams in high definition, they can play live casino games and they can place bets on sporting events in just a couple of taps on their touchscreen.
The rise of mobile betting has been felt globally, from the United Kingdom right through to Australia. This has obviously failed to go unnoticed with the betting operators who have started to encourage more and more of their existing customers as well as attempting to attract new bettors to get involved via mobile. Nowadays it’s very common to see people betting on the move rewarded with exclusive promotions and bonuses, separate to the ones that they receive when playing via desktop. So there are certainly incentives for those making the switch to gambling on the go.
The online betting industry is worth trillions and is still one that possesses extremely large growth potential, even though it’s evolved so many times already. Mobile betting is huge already, especially when it has revenue shares of over 70% on average and this will only increase. Sports betting never stands still and technology plays a big part in that, with smartphones and tablets now playing a bigger role than ever before. It’s possible that mobile betting could develop even further, especially with the introduction of technology such as augmented and virtual reality ready to hit the mainstream.
[Written by External Partner]