Ladbrokes to converge mobile and desktop platforms
Operator says desktop platform will switch to Mobenga in H2 as it looks to provide "ubiquitous" digital experience
Ladbrokes this morning said it will become the first operator to run its online website using a mobile platform as it looks to “move away” from separate desktop and mobile definitions.
Speaking after the bookmarker announced a 70% hike in 2014 digital profits, out-going chief executive Richard Glynn (pictured) said its planned H2 migration to a Playtech-powered Mobenga platform had been brought about by the ongoing consumer shift to mobile devices.
The move will see Ladbrokes ditch its current in-house desktop front end, although the new desktop site will continue to be powered by its OpenBet back-end and proprietary Mercury pricing system.
Ladbrokes currently uses the Mobenga platform for its mobile and tablet products and Glynn said providing a similar version on desktop would provide customers with a more “ubiquitous” experience.
“[Due to mobile take-up] desktop has suffered across the industry and this migration, to an innovative Mobenga-light platform for desktop, is a bold step – the first for the market and is the right move,” Glynn said.
This morning’s full-year results revealed Ladbrokes’ mobile sportsbook stakes had grown at an average of 110% across the year and now represented 63% of total sportsbook stakes.
According to the firm, that figure is expected to rise to around 80% in the next few years and digital director Jim Mullen said the operator was moving to the position where it will view the digital division as one channel, rather than segmenting into mobile and desktop.
Mullen was also confident the migration wouldn’t cause too much disruption to the business, with the operator to benefit from the experienced gained when migrating its mobile platform to Mobenga in December 2013.
“We’ll be using the same team as we did in December – it will be the same people doing the same job so I don’t see any hurdles,” Mullen added.
The operator also revealed it was developing its own cash-out product, which it hoped to roll-out at some stage this year.