Mobile usage is on the rise
Mobile usage peaks when people are gambling
Just like the days of dial up internet service the days of desktop computers dominating the user experience are long behind us. As of December 2018 mobile internet traffic accounts for over 50% of global internet traffic, up over 50% in less than 3 years. Users are married to their phones and on the Bookie Vault platform the change is even more pronounced. In 2004 no one was wagering on their phone but flash forward to 2018 and we saw a remarkable 80% of our wagers come from mobile devices. This doesn’t show any sign of slowing down with the latest iPhone costing as much as a premium laptop and more people using their phones as their primary online device every company in every sector of the economy will be faced with the necessity of a usable mobile interface. You can see from the graphic that the times your customers are using your website are exactly the peak times for phone and tablet browsing.
The Typical Sportsbook Software
How We Got Here
When it comes to pay per head sportsbook software what you’ll find is that the majority of the options for the US market were designed sometime in the late 90’s or early 2000’s by bookmakers who could barely use a computer. The reality of the situation is that most of the offshore operations servicing the US market weren’t initially designed for the internet at all, but rather as call centers to avoid legal issues in the States. Internet wagering was added almost as an afterthought. In some ways this is understandable, when you are coming from a world where paper tickets are collected, graded, and totaled daily and your biggest worry is the police knocking at your door just the ability to freely conduct business is your primary concern. Internet wagering capability was an extra, an add on that most treated initially as more of an annoyance than anything else.
Typical Mistakes You See
Pay per head sportsbook software providers make a few basic mistakes over and over. Here we’ll show you a few of the more obvious ones which any experienced user would find annoying (identities have been hidden to protect egos):
#1. There is no mobile site for players
The biggest mistake that software companies make today is not offering a mobile website design for their players. They will say that they have a mobile website but that really just means that it can be accessed via your mobile device, what you’re getting is still a full site version of the website just on a very small screen. This is a horrible experience for the player filled with lots of finger pinching and stretching to try to find what you need and be able to click on it.
#2. The player mobile site is and afterthought
Many providers today will offer a mobile site but it’s just slightly better than not having any at all. They will provide a site that fits on a mobile screen but it’s not responsive, the layout is poorly thought out, and many of the features may not work. What they’ve basically done is take the desktop site and cut it up so it fits but it’s not an enjoyable experience for your customer and is the very definition of doing the “bare minimum”.
#3. There is no mobile site for the agent
It’s not just your players that are accessing the site via their cell phone it’s you as an agent. Many agents in areas where the laws are relatively strict will use a mobile phone almost exclusively opting to have a prepaid cell be their only tool. When there is no mobile site for agents to use their stuck trying to read very large reports on very small screens. Add in to this the actual management of player accounts and it becomes a nightmare and leads to many phones being smashed against the wall in frustration.
#4. Speed
When a mobile website is designed it must take into account the many types of cell phones you are dealing with. While the latest and greatest iPhone and Android devices will run just about anything you have a whole variety of phones which may have worse data plans, smaller screens, lower processing power, or any combination of these three. Many mobile sportsbook softwares ignore this which leads to high lag times and frustrated users unable to get their wagers in at kickoff.
#5. Limited Offerings
In order to handle the mobile interface some companies will reduce their offerings. They won’t offer certain items such as contests or 3-way moneylines. They may also leave off features such as racebook or offer reduced offerings such as only Blackjack in the casino. This is all a result of laziness on the part of the sportsbook software developer and is harmful to anyone trying to run a business. When you only offer some of the features on your mobile platform you are costing your clients money every time someone logs in and aren’t given the full offerings.
Providing a Full Mobile Wagering Experience
To provide a quality mobile experience for your players Bookie Vault has developed the most recent iteration of their platform with a “mobile first” mindset. This means that before we even developed the desktop site we developed the mobile site filling it full of all the features that you need for both players and agents.
The Player Experience
Players on the platform experience a truly enjoyable user experience with as few as 4 clicks to place a wager. Everything is available, no more having to use the desktop to place certain kinds of wagers. The site is simple to navigate allowing the player to easily move from section to section on their mobile device.
We demand the same from the companies we partner with. Our casino digital casino is optimized for mobile play on over a dozen games covering the full spectrum of gaming options including blackjack, video poker, and slots. The same goes for our Live Dealer Casino who also offers a full mobile experience. Finally our Live In-Game also offers a fully optimized mobile interface so players won’t miss a single wager.
The Agent Experience
Agents are out in the street most of the day and Bookie Vault understands this. Our agent site is ready to provide you the exact same service on a cell phone that you would expect from a desktop site. Every report has been designed to allow you to get the same information you would get sitting in front of your PC. It’s not just the reports, you can use any feature we offer if your at home in front of your computer or out at the bar watching the game.
Don’t settle for sub-par service, contact us now and let us know how we can be of service.