The upward trend of mobile online casinos isn’t a novelty, but it continues to draw new players and business analysts like it’s the first time. Since the COVID-19 Pandemic, the American iGaming sector has taken off like a rocket because traditional gamblers were forced to stay home. Unable to get to the land-based casino, these traditional players turned to online ventures. Once outside the home again, these players turned to mobile casino apps to play anywhere and at any time to get the latest iGaming experience.
The Growth of Mobile Online Casinos
Even though it’s easy to turn to the last five years or so as the dawn of mobile casino gaming, and for a good reason, mobile casino gaming dates back to the early 2000s. Leading game developers like Microgaming and IGT were among the first gaming developers to see the future trend and began aggressively pursuing mobile development. Microgaming, in particular, started developing the early stages of video slots to be mobile-first, meaning that they are designed and scaled to cell phones and tablets.
With this new channel open, mobile-only or separate mobile casino sites were born. This was especially so when Flash technology still dominated the internet. However, the switch to HTML5 and the significant increase in broadband internet in the 2010s helped boost the profile of mobile casinos. The timing is significant when you consider that there are over 3 billion Android device users and growing.
Optimizing Mobile Online Casinos
As more American states legalized iGaming, online casinos immediately took on the challenge of boosting their mobile profile. As a result, they invested in blazing-fast websites that were designed for casino apps first. That way, players can easily log into their accounts directly through the mobile web browser without downloading the app. Players can easily navigate and search for their favorite games or sync their rewards points from the main website on the mobile web browser.
By 2019, as more states launched online casinos, they went the app route, especially for launching online poker, which remains one of the highest-grossing online casino games today in states like Pennsylvania and New Jersey. As a result, leading online casino brands invested heavily in casino apps that featured incredible uptime and had next to no glitches.
For poker players, many of the mobile apps run on sophisticated poker software, allowing them to play in elite and championship poker tournaments in real-time. Through the poker software, these players can also compete seamlessly with a professional dealer or croupier.
Optimizing Mobile Casino Games
Poker and table games aren’t the only types of games that benefit tremendously from mobile optimization. Slots are the main beneficiaries of mobile design. Most slots carry over to the mobile platform, while as an added draw, you might have exclusive slots on the mobile casino app. Besides blazing load times, slots are optimized for mobile devices with critical functions like pay line arrows and coin values through a tap system.
Playing through the mobile casino apps also improves the speed and performance of the live dealer. Because most live dealer play is streamed in 4K resolution and you have a mobile browser using public Wi-Fi, it’s possible that glitching, especially in pivotal moments like the showdown, occurs. But with the app optimization, you can rely on the app’s internal network and software for optimum speed and performance.
Conclusion
There’s no denying that the future of online casinos and gaming is through the mobile platform. With billions of American smart device users, it’s impossible for leading iGaming brands not to dedicate more resources to mobile apps. Not only are iGaming sites working to improve their apps with automatic updates and player customization, but new sweepstakes casinos are launching with official apps for Android and iOS.
