What Can Businesses Learn from the Tech Stacks of iGaming Brands?

Posted by Harry Kane on Tuesday, October 31, 2023

In recent years, the iGaming industry has experienced exponential growth, while it’s set to achieve a value of $70.64 billion by the end of 2023. What’s more, the market is set to grow at a CAGR of 8.54% over the course of the next four years, creating a global niche that will be worth $131.90 billion by the year 2027.

This has much to do with technological advancement within the marketplace, with the various tech stacks boasted by online casino and remote betting brands increasingly diverse and sought after. The tech stacks operated by UK brands are especially impressive, which is why brands such as William Hill and Paddy Power have played such a strategically important role in driving growth in the North American market.

There‘s no doubt that tech stacks are pivotal to the success of iGaming brands, while access to scalable and cutting-edge technology is also becoming increasingly seminal across a broad range of industry sectors. But what lessons can other businesses and markets learn from iGaming tech stacks, and how can they be applied effectively? Let’s find out!

The Importance of Embracing Scalability

While there are many standout features associated with iGaming tech stacks, it’s their immense scalability that really impresses. Make no mistake; online casino sites and remote sportsbooks are designed to handle potentially millions of users at once, as operators look to maintain a seamless and consistent gameplay experience even during periods of peak traffic.

Even newer or startup casinos must have the capacity to scale rapidly, with an estimated 17.5 million Brits (or 26% of the UK’s adult population) known to gamble regularly online. Because of this, such entities must be prepared to scale their software and website functionality in real-time, while adopting a similar agile approach to managing their customer support, banking methods and available games’ libraries.

The key lesson here is one of investment, as businesses need to spend money on their infrastructure to ensure that it’s fit for purpose, compatible with published growth plans and tailored to suit the demands of their consumer base. A strong focus should also be placed on optimising website performance and functionality, as this will help to minimise downtime and ensure that customers are satisfied with their online gambling experience.

Making Real-time Data Collation and Analysis Work for You

Due to the sheer number of online gambling accounts in the UK (the total number is estimated to be in excess of 32 million), casinos and sportsbooks have a unique opportunity to capture valuable customer datasets in real-time. To do this effectively, brands develop their tech stacks to collate, organise and analyse huge swathes on information in the most accurate way possible.

These processes are completed with minimal latency too, to optimise efficiency and ensure that insights and output can be accessed in real-time. At the same, such capability makes it possible for iGaming brands to quickly identify opportunities for customisation and deliver personalised experiences like bespoke game recommendations, tailored promotional offers and customer support (it may even create opportunities to upsell and make your customer support more proactive).

Of course, all businesses can benefit from real-time data collation, especially if they’re subsequently able to analyse this and draw impactful insights into their customers’ behaviour. This certainly lends itself to quicker and more accurate decision making, which may translate into higher turnover and profitability over time.

The Art of Mobile Optimisation

No article of this type would be complete without referencing mobile optimisation, which is central to the best iGaming tech stacks and the viability of any online casino in the digital age. Remember, it’s estimated that more than 50% of online gamblers in the UK now regularly wager using their smartphones, so casinos have to offer comprehensive and accessible mobile betting experiences if they’re to remain competitive.

To this end, most online casinos and remote sportsbooks now operate both responsively designed websites (which are optimised to suit common mobile browsers such as Safari and Chrome) and native app software on iOS and Android. Some may even have app or instant play compatibility with Windows and Blackberry, while the deployment of the HTML5 programming language ensures that mobile users can also access the full desktop games’ library in most cases.

While this may not be as important in some industries as it is in the iGaming and remote betting spaces, businesses can still benefit from ensuring at least some level of mobile optimisation. This is especially true in the retail sector, where mcommerce is expected to account for an estimated 8.7% share of total by the year 2026.

In terms of accomplishing this goal, it’s important to invest in responsive website design, while mobile optimisation also relies heavily on your ability to create sites and individual landing pages that can be navigated intuitively. App development may also be a worthwhile investment here, depending on how customers like to access your goods and services and your operating budget.

The Role of Continuous Innovation in Growth

If there’s one thing that defines the global iGaming space (and particularly mature markets such as the UK), it’s continuous innovation. After all, software houses and casino brands regularly launch new games, bonus features and technologies, with virtual reality (VR) and blockchain offering relevant cases in point.

Of course, this is at partially driven by the level of competition that exists in the marketplace, which spurs brands on to continually develop and evolve their verticals and product offerings. Then there’s the sheer level of investment in continual innovation, with the iGaming market defined as one of the most lucrative around!

In addition to investing in continual development of various aspects of your business (such as its tech stack or employee training), it’s also important to create a culture of innovation in the workplace. This will ensure that stakeholders and senior leadership teams are open to adopting new technologies, and the practices that will keep them competitive in their chosen marketplace!