Poll results: Mobile key area of investment in 2013
More than half of those polled feel operators will allocate the largest portion of their budgets to mobile development.
This week we asked which area of investment will be most important in 2013, and our readers have voted overwhelmingly in favour of mobile.
58% of those polled believe that operators will allocate a significant portion of their budgets to developing new mobile products, moving into a sector which is becoming increasingly lucrative. Just this week William Hill revealed that mobile sportsbook turnover rose 260% year-on-year, hitting an all-time high of £20m in the final week of last year, while other operators like Paddy Power have also reported similar impressive growth.
Last year innovative products such as Paddy Power’s Roller Casino and SkyBet’s HTML5 mobile casino portal launched, and with Ladbrokes’ long-awaited mobile platform set to go live at some point this year, the industry looks set to continue investing in mobile.
However, while social may have been seen as a vital area of investment in 2012, the industry’s enthusiasm seems to have cooled somewhat, with only 16% of those polled believing it will be the focus of investment in 2013. Last year saw a number of operators and service providers make their first move into the social space, with Playtech finalising a licensing agreement with majority shareholder Teddy Sagi; bwin.party acquiring assets of Orneon to set up Win Interactive and Sportingbet establishing a joint venture with Plumbee.
We even saw the first real-money games on Facebook, with Gamesys and 888 launching real-money products, yet this has arguably not held the industry’s interest.
More readers believe that regulation will return to being a key concern in 2013, with 18% of readers of the opinion that operators spend heavily on regulatory issues. We have seen signs of Holland, Sweden and Hungary opening its doors to egaming operators this year, while further progress is expected in Spain, with changes to bingo legislation already mooted.
A number of Gibraltar-licensed operators are also set to dispute changes to UK legislation, with the Gibraltar Betting and Gaming Association threatening legal action should the government look to implement “misconceived and unwarranted” changes to regulation.
However, a small percentage believe that none of the above will be the focus of industry investment, with 8% of readers of the opinion that budgets will be allocated to other areas.