Even though most people would say that the Blackberry is the world’s first smartphone, the truth is that this honor falls on IBM’s Simon Personal Communicator, a phone that went to market in 1994. Nevertheless, it goes without saying that the smartphone era most gets connected with Apple’s iPhone, whose first iteration debuted in 2007 and more or less single-handedly changed how people look at phones, inventing a novel slew of everyday applications for this original communication-only device.
When Apple launched its App Store, it featured digital shelves that contained around five hundred pieces of dedicated software. Hence, no one can point to one original smartphone app. However, many will cite Nokia’s Snake as something that best fits this definition. Today, mobile apps, per MarketingCharts.com, are responsible for 70% of all time spent on digital media. And they now account for 89% of total mobile minutes.
Nowadays, there is an app for virtually everything, and there is no debate that this technology has become an integral part of life, serving more purposes than one can count. Below, we explore how this software category has changed mobile gambling and the gambling world at large.
The Birth & Rise of Mobile Betting
Undoubtedly, what we perceive as modern mobile technology has drastically reshaped various industries across the globe. As mentioned above, the gambling sector is among those most influenced by the widespread adoption of smartphones. According to some sources, the first platform to accept a mobile wager was Intertops in the early-2000s. Nonetheless, it was not until almost a decade later that online sportsbook and casino apps began to gain any degree of traction in the online gambling sphere.
Without question, the rise of smartphones has introduced a new era in Internet betting. With the inception of dedicated gambling apps, punters’ pages and casino sites have found new ways to supply a more seamless and faster experience. They succeeded in substantially cutting down load times, enhancing navigation, and improving ease of use. That led gambling operators to robustly increase their pools of players/bettors quickly after the entrance of smartphone applications in the interactive gaming and Internet betting landscapes.
Apps’ pervasive use has altered how individuals conduct their daily lives. They have become an extension of ourselves, catering to many of our diverse needs and interests. Smartphones’ omnipresence is a massive driving force behind Web gambling, generating $95 billion in revenues in 2023, aiding it to continue expanding at a staggering pace.
24/7 Accessibility, Personalization, & Gamification
One of the apps’ main revolutionary aspects is the ability to deliver unprecedented around-the-clock access to services to everyone. Thanks to them, users are no longer constrained to the standard work schedules of brick-and-mortar kiosks and casinos. They deliver accessibility from anywhere at any time while using data analysis and machine learning to tailor what they offer to distinct users. That entails supplying personalized recommendations, targeted ads, customer-specific bonuses, customized interfaces, and employing geo and predictive personalization via anticipating user needs.
The incorporation of gamification functions is another thing that has boosted the appeal of betting app use. What does that mean precisely? It refers to the implementation of gamification elements like leaderboards, challenges, rewards, narrative storytelling, and surprises for completed achievements. The latter primarily references the loot box phenomenon, which are random rewards called chests in Web gaming/betting. These gamification aspects give betting app users a sense of fun, boosting engagement and hooking people more to stay on them long-term.
Because of these three elaborated factors and a few more outside the scope of this article, the use numbers linked to these pieces of dedicated betting software will continue skyrocketing in the future. There is no argument about that from anyone.