The number of people looking for mobile betting sites has grown exponentially over the past few years, a fact not lost on the top mobile bookmakers.
Since 2011, the mobile market share of the internet has grown from a measly 7 percent to a whopping 17.4 percent, with Android devices commanding 68 percent of the market and iOS devices accounting for 19 percent in 2013. In the UK alone, according to a study by Paddy Power, the highest growth area of the gambling market is a result of punters placing bets on their mobile devices.
In a separate study by sports betting comparison and news site OddsWinner.com, these increases have led to over 100 percent growth of the UK’s mobile betting industry.
So what are the top online mobile betting sites?
Coming in first is the UK’s biggest bookmaker William Hill, whose revenues from online mobile betting alone increased by 298% in 2013. Betfair, the second largest gambling operator reported a 64 percent increase in mobile activity, whereas Bet365 rounded out the top three with a reported 50 percent of all customers placing bets from their mobile devices.
At the bottom of the list were Paddy Power (who reportedly generated £535 million from mobile revenues at the beginning of 2013), and Ladbrokes, who despite a delayed launch of their mobile sport betting platform, saw mobile revenues shoot up 94 percent in 2012.
Cause and Effect
When you take into consideration the fact that over half of the people in the UK own a smart phone, it is easy to understand why bookmakers are increasingly focusing their marketing efforts and product development on the mobile betting industry.
The development of smartphone technology is another reason for this newfound focus. With the development of dedicated mobile betting applications and sites, customers can now access the same betting features from desktop sites directly on their mobile devices.
What does the Future Hold?
With even more advances in mobile technology underway, such as the development of wearable technology (read Google Glass and Smart Watches), it is expected that the mobile industry and mobile penetration of the gambling market in the UK will continue to grow. But only time will tell if the top UK mobile bookmakers will be able to hold on to their piece of the pie – or if a new player will emerge onto the scene.