The casino industry was one of the first to capitalize on the invention of the internet, with the first online casino launched back in 1996. It took some time for the market to catch up to the innovation of online casinos. Still, now the online gambling industry makes up for more than a quarter of Europe’s gambling market.
Today we are seeing a similar evolution where online casinos operating in Sweden and internationally are moving towards mobile-optimized websites and mobile apps. At the same time, it’s now common to receive bonuses and promotions in exchange for simply signing up through an online casino or mobile casino app.
Just as desktop online casino websites had the advantage of increased accessibility over location-based casinos, mobile-friendly online casinos take that accessibility a step further. Increased accessibility means that online casinos can offer their services 24/7, no matter where players are, and this is accelerating the growth of the industry.
In this article, Carlos Norberg takes a look at the recent innovations in technology and design philosophy that are making online casino services more mobile-friendly.
Improved connectivity
WiFi was invented and first released for consumers in 1997. Since then, other advances in connectivity technology, such as the development of 3G, 4G, and 5G, have made a connection to the internet an almost ubiquitous phenomenon in developed countries.
Improvements in connectivity make playing casino games at online casinos like online bingo an overall more enjoyable experience. A bad connection or a weak signal can completely ruin the online gambling experience, especially when the stakes are high.
To entice more players into online gambling, online casinos are investing considerable resources into their online and mobile fronts. With these resources, online casino websites are continuously being optimized to make use of the latest developments in internet technology and offer players the absolute cutting-edge of the online gambling experience.
Mobile-exclusive bonuses
With so much competition due to the low barrier to entry into the Swedish and European online casino markets, being able to offer players competitive bonuses and promotions is a proven successful casino business model for making the difference between success or failure. Swedish brick-and-mortar casinos may opt to go a step further in prioritizing their online casino fronts by offering bonuses that are only available online.
This isn’t to say it’s the only factor; indeed, an online casino’s selection of games and the availability of different banking options also come into players’ considerations. But when all else is equal, an online casino with bonuses that better cater to the budgets of newcomers and veteran players usually prevails.
Device-agnostic design
Smartphones were first on the scene at the advent of the mobile gaming revolution, but now there are tablets and smartwatches to consider. And, while smartphones are the main platform for online gambling, even among smartphones, there are significant hardware differences between manufacturers that online casinos and casino game developers have to consider.
Globally, no single type or brand of a mobile device has a majority of the market, so it is in online casino’s best interests to make their websites and apps compatible with as many devices as possible. To this effect, we’re seeing many online casinos forgo app development entirely in favor of mobile-friendly websites. This is great for players because they can get the same high-quality experience whether they are playing on desktop or mobile.
Where online casino content apps are being developed, resources are equally split between major app stores like the Google Play store and the Apple App Store. This enables cross-platform functionality across the multiple types of mobile devices running the same operating system.
Conclusion
Online casinos see the trend towards mobile device usage and understand that the websites designed decades ago for use on desktop devices will not be enough to satisfy the market demand. In response, online casinos are making their websites and apps compatible with a wide range of mobile devices and internet technologies while offering their online players tantalizing bonuses for shifting to mobile gambling platforms.
Story by Amy Martinsson
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