Why is Mobile Betting So Popular in the UK?
Posted by Harry Kane on Tuesday, December 12, 2023
According to most recent statistics, some 96% of 16-to-24-year-olds in the UK now own a smartphone. While this figure drops to 77% for people aged between 55 and 64, these numbers continue to rise incrementally amid the proliferation of mobile technology and devices.
Naturally, the rising rates of smartphone penetration have increased the number of people who wager using their smartphone, across all age demographics. Certainly, more than 50% of Brits regularly place bets while they’re on the move, but why is this practice so popular in the online gambling marketplace?
#1. Increased Convenience and Flexibility
The rising prevalence of smartphones and tablets has certainly helped to popularise mobile casinos and remote betting apps, as has the sustained increase in mobile Internet penetration rates. This particular number peaked at 72% back in 2020, before increasing further to reach an impressive 88% in 2022.
Of course, this has also been helped by the significant evolution of smartphones and device technology. At the same time, the rollout of 5G technology (which offers speeds as quick as 20 gigabits per second and is nearly 200-times faster than 4G) has made mobile Internet browsing far more convenient, while the same principle also applies to betting on the move.
Interestingly, this has even helped to create new demographics of online players and heralded the rise of ‘casual gamblers’, who regularly wager using their smartphone and take the opportunity to play their favourite games at different times of the day (such as during the daily commute to and from work).
The advancement of smartphone technology and mobile Internet capability has also created greater levels of convenience for casual and even other types of players, including those who like to access high-variance slots and games that feature more sizable payouts. What’s more, mobile casinos and remote betting apps typically replicate a desktop gambling experience, allowing you to shift seamlessly between different devices.
#2. The Emergence of Different Mobile Programming Languages
On a similar note, mobile technology has evolved to allow for the creation of games and iGaming verticals that can be accessed on various device types. This has
certainly helped remote wagering become more popular and accessible across an array of verticals, including online casino games and remote betting apps.
Historically, of course, the concept of mobile gambling hasn’t always been particularly viable, especially when you consider the historic restrictions posed by Flash Player technology and the need to download third-party software. This could be time-consuming and potentially increase the risk of malware attacks and data theft, while such software could also be unreliable.
However, the digital age has seen the landscape shift significantly, with the result that players can now seamlessly access mobile content and games through more than one vehicle without compromising their experience. This has been largely powered by the emergence of the HTML5 programming language, which is now used to create slots and similar online casino games.
This cutting-edge and agile programming language creates games that can be seamlessly accessed across both mobile and desktop devices, through different channels too. For example, HTML5 games perform similarly whether you access them through a responsively designed mobile website or native app, regardless of whether you own an Android, iOS or Windows handset.
These options afford you significant choice in terms of how you access your favourite games, with apps offering unique advantages and potential pitfalls when compared to mobile Internet browsers. They also enable you to enjoy a full casino games’ library or range of remote betting markets, wherever you may be in the world!
#3. The Popularity and Accessibility of Mobile Welcome Offers
Increasingly, casino brands have also been keen to incentivize mobile players, through the provision of lucrative and often exclusive welcome offers that can only be redeemed by mobile players. Even standard welcome offers have begun to incorporate mobile-friendly advantages, and in a number of subtle and creative ways.
For example, free spins offerings may be restricted to slots that are particularly popular amongst mobile players (such as Starburst), while a casino’s game-weighting requirements may favour titles that are most commonly accessed by players who are on the move. Game weighting requirements describe how much different verticals contribute towards the fulfilment of bonus wagering terms, so this can be a major consideration as a mobile punter.
This strategy has definitely had the desired effect in recent times, with a view to empowering mobile players and incentivising them to play with devices that offer them constant access to an operator’s verticals. Of course, mobile casinos and sportsbooks can theoretically be accessed 24/7, so it makes sense for operators to incentivise the use of smartphones and tablets for wagering.
If you like to play live casino games while on the move (to create a truly immersive and flexible iGaming experience), you should also keep your eyes peeled for welcome offers that are exclusive to this particular vertical. Live casino offers have become particularly popular in recent years as the vertical has evolved, while this type of gameplay remains synonymous with mobile betting.
Live casino offers will often take the familiar form of a 100% deposit match up to a predetermined value, although you’ll have to wager through a number of real-time blackjack and roulette iterations depending on the precise operator in question. Overall, however, live and mobile casino welcome bonuses may be higher than standard alternatives, in order to present a compelling value proposition to players.
Altogether, there’s no doubt that gamblers can now enjoy a seamless and rewarding iGaming experience through their smartphone, with this medium likely to become increasingly popular in the future. This is especially true when you consider how the technology is evolving, as it continues to supersede desktop in a number of ways and different applications.