With around 80 per cent of all online casino gaming now being conducted via smartphone or tablet, SBC Leaders sat down with David Mann, Chief Commercial Officer at Swintt, in the first of a two-part special to discover how to stay ahead of the curve without alienating the conventional desktop player.
CasinoBeats: Why do you think we’ve seen such an increase in mobile gaming? Is it due to more people having mobile devices, improvements in technology or a combination of both?
David Mann: I would say it comes down to a combination of more people having mobile devices and software developers generally becoming more savvy about the best ways to implement mobile technology.
These days, the number of people that own a smartphone worldwide is around 6.64 billion, with this figure accounting for roughly 83.37 per cent of the global population. When you consider that back in 2016 the global smartphone penetration rate only accounted for roughly 50 per cent of people worldwide, that’s a huge amount of growth in a relatively short space of time.
This means there’s already a huge mobile audience out there that software developers need to be aware of, and it’s very important to keep up with the latest technology trends to make sure they’re accounted for.
When you look at apps like Facebook and Instagram, we’re seeing improvements for mobile being made on an almost daily basis and users are constantly having to update their device to ensure they get the best experience. For game developers like Swintt, the challenge is no different.
We need to be aware of exactly what the latest technology is capable of and how player preferences are evolving as smartphone usage becomes more common. By doing so, we can better understand the needs of mobile players and tailor our products to keep up with the market.
CB: What have been the biggest changes you’ve made to ensure Swintt’s games are compatible across mobile devices?
DM: Funnily enough, the outlook at Swintt hasn’t really changed all that much since the company was founded in 2019. Mobile has always been a major focus for us and that’s as true today as it was back then. When SwinttLive was first created, all games were developed using a mobile-first approach and the same can definitely be said of our slots.
When designing games, we always ensure they can adapt to fill the whole screen on most mobile devices and we also place a strong emphasis on the user experience to allow for things like one-handed play.
One of the big challenges in this respect is that we in the gaming industry mainly work on desktops. We’re sat in front of our screens and laptops every day for almost 40 hours a week, but we always have to keep in mind that this isn’t necessarily how the end user experiences our product. Testing our games on mobile is therefore very important as we need to understand how they look and play on these devices.
It’s vital that we don’t assume players consume our games in the same way that we develop them, so getting into this mobile-first headspace allows us to put ourselves in their shoes and create a product that really works for the smartphone market.
CB: How much of a portion does mobile gaming make up in the Swintt offering?
DM: According to a 2020 study by the European Business Review, as much as 70 per cent of annual online betting revenue on the continent came from mobile gambling. Two years later, that figure is now thought to be closer to 80 per cent – and we definitely see these trends reflected in how players use Swintt products in certain markets.
This is true for both live casino games and slots, with the former actually seeing a slightly higher proportion of players accessing them from smartphones or tablets. With this in mind, we’ve ensured that all SwinttLive games feature fast and reliable mobile-optimised streaming and seamless, high-definition gameplay that’s completely free from lag. The user interface, meanwhile, is also developed with mobile players in mind and offers a range of settings and touch-screen betting options that make it perfect for one-handed play.
The same can also be said for slots in our premium and select ranges, which boast all of the functionality of the desktop versions in an enhanced mobile package. Featuring reactive displays that adapt to fill every inch of the screen, players are able to enjoy a fully immersive experience that utilises cutting-edge graphics and sound to push current smartphone technology to its limits.