Is mobile an opportunity or an industry killer?

[Rostick]

I have a couple of concerns about the aff. industry. One would be the legislation changes, another the T&C for affiliates getting worse - i`m sure every affiliate has these - but the final one regards the mobile emergence.

Do you reckon mobile is an opportunity for this industry or will it kill it? I`m talking like a total novice here, because I have zero interest in phones or tablets, but I could never see myself registering to a bookie from a mobile device. I hate the fact that in 2 years from now we might well be seeing mobile traffic at least matching desktop traffic. I ran a campaign on mobile a couple of months ago for my main website and I got 0 signups in 1 month (true website is not optimized for mobile, but it`s very usable). I have users who only read my site from mobile, and that`s what they are ever going to do - read.

Maybe this should not really be in the SEO topic but it doesn`t belong in other topics either, so I`ll take advantage that it`s the most popular section. In my opinion mobile has a good chance to hurt the aff. industry badly (and already does), but I`d be happy to be proven wrong.

The question is put presuming we`ll all run mobile responsive websites.

[wettFORM.AT]

that´s a good point. I would also not register an account from my mobile device. On the other hand to place bets on mobile is a different thing. In this case it would definitely make sense to optimize a website for mobile but I still expect the sign up itself from desktop instead of mobile. I think mobile will develope further but not the number of mobile sign ups but this is just a presumption. But I don´t think that mobile will hurt the business because I think that most of the players will also have a desktop computer and they will use it for the sign up.

[Voids]

Currently 2/3rds of my traffic is from mobiles. Trying to optimise the site for conversions and a good user experience is a real problem. The latest redesign has lowered conversions, but upped user experience. I wouldn't say new depositors are strong, but without experience It's hard to gauge this.

[Scampi]

I totally agree with you, mobile sites do have a massive issue with sign-ups. It's far to fiddly to enter several pages of sign-up info, and if the user chooses to sign-up via desktop or laptop, they are likely to go direct to the site after seeing an ad on mobile, rather than via an affiliate, so the affiliate will not be tagged.
A few casinos have mobile friendly sign-up pages, but not many. I can only think of Pocket Fruity, but their casino and game selection is pretty lame so sign-ups with them will not be too high anyway.
Casinos need to make it far easier to sign-up via mobile, otherwise this issue will get worse in my opinion.

[Topboss]

I agree with Rostick.
Despite our industry having to keep up with technology and move with the times - personally I don't like mobile sites at all. I prefer desktops when it comes to gambling but also only have a handful of sites optimized for mobile users and this is mainly because I simply just don't trust the tracking of many of the casinos that offer mobile or even if the tracking link is embedded in the QR code that many casinos offer now.
Having said that I do get many mobile players which tells me some casinos do work, but the signups come from the same casinos, so I wonder if there is just some that aren't tracking.

[-Shay-]

I agree with Rostick.
Despite our industry having to keep up with technology and move with the times - personally I don't like mobile sites at all. I prefer desktops when it comes to gambling but also only have a handful of sites optimized for mobile users and this is mainly because I simply just don't trust the tracking of many of the casinos that offer mobile or even if the tracking link is embedded in the QR code that many casinos offer now.
Having said that I do get many mobile players which tells me some casinos do work, but the signups come from the same casinos, so I wonder if there is just some that aren't tracking.

I know in the bingo industry, there are some brands that flaunt they are mobile friendly and have a mobile version of their site, but they do not have the ability to track mobile traffic (ie - Ignite Bingo). I might be a bit slanted in my thinking, but some brands seem ambitious to receive mobile traffic but not all seem in any type of hurry to track mobile traffic (to affiliates).

[RacingJim]

I think more and more the younger audience are going for it. They are so used to using mobiles, they have grown up with them, so your 18-24 year old bettor is going to probably have no issues with signing up on a mobile.

I agree the main worry for me is more of a tracking worry that some of the programs might not be tracking mobile signups as effectively as they could.

[tehsik]

In my opinion you have to have both mobile and PC, Mobile its still new, just have patience and wait for the BOOM .... . We have mobile apps and its working. Just have patience.

[thedietberger]

a responsive site will have you covered any which way.

[casinoplanet]

I`m talking like a total novice here, because I have zero interest in phones or tablets, but I could never see myself registering to a bookie from a mobile device.

And that is the BIGGEST mistake many webmasters make: looking at their website how they want to use it, but you have to look at your VISITORS preferences. Too often that differs a lot.
Nowadays people do almost anything on their phone or tablet. By ignoring them and not optimizing your site, you will loose a big chunk of traffic and thus revenue. On the other hand, your fellow webmasters which have optimized will happily convert your lost traffic

Btw: according to the stats, my mobile visitors range from 18 to 45, so it's not only the youngsters that matter.

[Rostick]

And that is the BIGGEST mistake many webmasters make: looking at their website how they want to use it, but you have to look at your VISITORS preferences. Too often that differs a lot.
Nowadays people do almost anything on their phone or tablet. By ignoring them and not optimizing your site, you will loose a big chunk of traffic and thus revenue. On the other hand, your fellow webmasters which have optimized will happily convert your lost traffic

Btw: according to the stats, my mobile visitors range from 18 to 45, so it's not only the youngsters that matter.

You are totally right, I agree and understood this myself. I`m just a novice at mobile, I don`t see it converting, that is why I was asking you guys. The reason my website is not optimized for mobile is because I`m a noob, not because I don`t like mobile. Hope I am wrong and mobile converts, otherwise it will be very bad in a couple of years ... still, it`s one thing to use phones for everything (like betting), it`s another thing to BUY from mobile (registering), so that is my concern.

[casinoplanet]

Mobile might not be profitable for everyone instantly. It greatly depends on your audience. I've started in this business as mobile-only and turned to a responsive design years later. I get lots of traffic from mobile portals and sites and I run mobile ppc campaigns as well, so for me they're a valuable asset. This is exactly the audience who does almost anything on their device. I wouldn't register on mobile myself, but my visitors do, so I try to facilitate as much as possible.

Throughout the years I experience significant better conversions on mobile than web, but as I said, it fully depends on your audience.
Studies showed that mobile players are a different "species" than web players. They are less loyal to a program, play more irregurlarly and are less willing to play for real money. The good thing is their sheer number.

[wettFORM.AT]

I agree with casinoplanat that you have to think what your visitors would like to see on your website but this is also the most challenging part. In the end it is a trial and error to evaluate what works best. It´s a combination of analyzing stats and on page improvement. Today it is not easy to find a way that is efficient and offers the best service to most of your visitors.

[oddsguy]

Browsing habits have certainly changed since the introduction of smart phones and tablets. It seems the older surfer tends to use laptop/desktop whereas the younger surfer will tend to use smartphone/tablet.

As the thedietberger mentioned, as long as you have a solution for mobile you should be covered (whether is be a responsive design or dedicated mobile site). My day job is as a developer for a web design agency and every single one of the websites we've developed in the last 18 months has been responsive.

[gillies8888]

Signups from mobile are on the up. Watching the traffic change has had a huge influence on moving into mobile.

apps could be another option going forward.

Tracking is a huge issue though, I have tried to monitor this and test clicks and signups.

[wettFORM.AT]

lets see how it works out during the next months. Apps are definitely a good opportunity for the future but there is still the problem with the sign up. I still think that it is too complicated to register an account through your mobile device.

[BetterNick]

Are there any stats on mobile use for gambling in general? If people are reluctant to sign-up on mobile wouldn't they also not want to deposit and bet? From personal experience I dislike it not so much due to security reasons but because I much prefer tablet/dt at home - but it never seems long for attitudes to change...

[muffincrumbs]

I get about 50/50 mobile and desktop users and I rank well for mobile terms in the USA. It converts about 1/2 as well, as the players spend 1/2 as much as I learned the hard way. I do believe it is a growing market, and players are players.

RTG does a fairly good job of making sign ups easy I find. Also I think that as devices get better it becomes easier to see the future integration of both terms. In other words the words mobile and desktop moving to the app is not far away.

[jpettersson]

I think responsive design is a must nowadays! If you want your site to convert and even from an SEO point of view.
So go for a RWD ASAP!

[Triple7]

This generation mobile phones won't kill the business. A battery of a Samsung Galaxy S5 for example is empty within 1 or 2 hours when you're playing. The today generation mobile phones simply is not made for heavy use or using it hours and hours.

Also you need to do the signup with your deskop or laptop. Signing up somewhere with a mobile Phone is irritating. That is a big problem. Like the topicstarter says, people do read your website and do make the click, but find out that the sign up is a bunch of work. So later they will do that - remembering the name of the casino - at their laptop or desktop.

I think a sign up process has to be easier and combinated with something like identificating yourself with depositing some money or something like that.