Betfair launches iPad app
Native app first in a series of mobile product launches developed in operator's San Francisco office.
Betfair has launched a bespoke app for the iPad, the first product to be developed by the exchange betting operator’s San Francisco development centre.
The native app offers customers a landing page with functionality mirroring that of the company’s website. It also links to the website, and allows players to deposit and withdraw funds from anywhere within the app, making betting on the tablet easier than ever before.
The launch is the first in a stream of products to come out of the company’s San Francisco office, led by Raj Vemulapalli, who was recruited from Yahoo in May last year.
Discussing the launch, Vemulapalli described the app as “A game-changer for our customers, offering them a seamless betting experience that replicates the fixed web, whilst making use of the unique features available on iPad.
“Mobile is the coming force in the betting industry, and the shift from online to mobile is in many ways more exciting than the shift from offline to online,” he added.
Mobile helped Betfair record a 12% year-on-year growth in core revenues in its H1 interim figures for the period ending 31 October 2011. The number of mobile bets placed over the six months doubled from the same period in 2010-11, with revenues up 88% year-on-year. This was reflected in Betfair winning mobile operator of the year for the second year running at the eGR Operator Awards in November last year.
Betfair CTO Tony McAlister commented that the speed at which the app was launched justified the decision to open the San Francisco division: “Mobile is increasingly important to Betfair’s bottom line and product launches such as this are now key strategic milestones,” he said.
“In addition, the fact that this App was developed in just two months out in San Francisco shows that our decision to launch a US technology office in Silicon Valley is already paying off. I hope this is the first of many US developed products which will extend our lead in the online betting space,” added McAllister.
Interim CEO Stephen Morana has been bullish about the company’s future growth, claiming that it “will become the market leader” in key areas of investment including fixed-odds sportsbook and mobile.