Mobile casino gaming, especially mobile slots, is set up for massive growth over the next few years and affiliates who really know this market will profit handsomely.
One common question for mobile gaming affiliates is whether they should focus their efforts more on the iOS or Android mobile operating systems? To get a better handle on this question we recently sat down with Henrik Mandal, founder of Kyoogi mobile marketing.
Mandal walked us through the big demographic and marketing issues connected with the two major mobile operating systems and how they apply to the hunt for mobile slots conversions.
Who Owns the Market?
To illustrate the big differences between iOS and Android, Mandal points out that most top 10 paid Android apps comes from Asian developers, while most of the iOS top ten come from Americans. This is a pretty solid indicator that Android handsets are dominant in Asian countries.
Android handsets are already outselling iPhones 2-to-1 thanks to a wide range of price points Apple isn’t really interested in competing for and cheap Android tablets are right behind them. Tablets, according to Mandal are the future of mobile casinos:
I believe tablets will be the main device for playing casino and slots. With the emerging of new powerful and cheap Android devices, I see this to be the domination platform in the next years.
iOS will of course still be a huge platform, but we are expecting the growth to seriously slow down with the rapid increase of new android devices being introduced into the market.
Is iOS Casino Friendly?
Mobile gambling apps hold a special challenge for gaming affiliates because iOS has the high end demographic, but Apple is notoriously frosty towards casinos. Android’s more open distribution system offers access to a much larger chunk of the market.
Most casinos want to gain access to Apple App Store users, just a fraction of the online casinos are able to get their products through Apple Q&R process…I know that there are a lot of casinos that have developed iOS apps but were still rejected to be listed on the App Store.
On the contrary, Android apps can be distributed from any storefront and app store. So we can expect that there are more Android apps available for users than iOS apps.
Mandal is quick to point out that many casino operators are developing unique gaming apps for both mobile operating systems.
At the end of the day, demographic factors like market penetration will drive developers more than specific technical features.That’s especially important when it comes to converting players:
I believe that today iOS is converting better than Android devices today, but latest reports shows that Android paid apps and payment willingness is growing 4 times as fast as iOS so this will also change in the next years.
Developing a Mobile Strategy
Just as smartphone web access is trumping desktop use, the age of the handset might not last forever:
This is the year of the tablet and this will be dominating the holiday season. With Amazon Fire, Google Nexus and Samsung all offering powerful tablets for less than 200 USD, I expect a dramatic change from phone penetration to new tablet penetration in especially US and Europe.
The key to navigating this shifting marketplace is developing a mobile gaming strategy that’s as flexible as possible. Remember, the mobile space is still very much the Wild West of the Internet where the only constant is change.
Which mobile operating system do you think is best for gambling affiliates to promote? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.