Friday View: Getting casino right
Finbarr Joy, chief technology officer at William Hill, discusses how the operator has gone about creating its mobile casino product
eGR Mobile Intelligence (eMI): Do the key enablers on mobile differ between smartphone and tablet?
Finbarr Joy (FB): Absolutely, you can do a lot more interesting things on tablet, so we are interested in looking at the distinctions rather than accepting a generic one size fits all offering just because of that being more convenient or easy to do. We generally want to be challenged to build the best tablet experience which actually is pretty different from a smartphone one.
eMI: And how important are the tilt and touch features for tablet casino games?
FB: We would look at anything that makes the gameplay more interesting, so if youâre replicating the real world gaming scenario, if the ability to use that and make it more like the real world scenario weâll use it because it makes it more compelling. We wouldnât do it for the sake of it, thatâs when you are getting into the gimmicks. Whenever weâre modelling, if that gesture control helps us to do it then absolutely weâll take advantage.
eMI: So is it a key focus to replicate the real-world experience of being in a casino?
FB: If it makes sense for that game, yes. I wouldnât set a pre-condition for it, the whole operating model is that we build these products quickly and get feedback and then we release, itâs less about trying to second guess what the market wants and that allows us to do it in much shorter timescales and do it more dynamically.
eMI: How important is it for an operator to develop these casino games to be âmobile firstâ?
FB: Itâs very important. The mindset of mobile first is something weâre looking for at [our Shoreditch] office to lead. Itâs about recognising that thatâs where our growth is and if you look at the year-on-year stats, we obviously have to recognise that. Itâs the analogy of going where the ball is headed rather than where itâs been.
eMI: And how can an operator achieve that?
FB: You imbed it into the whole journey of how you want to develop your proposition, so how you want to conceive your proposition and design it, make sure itâs being designed with a mobile perspective, and recognising youâve got to do something differently if you still want this on both mobile and regular web. Itâs about accepting that and embracing it, and leading it rather than the historical case of just sticking on a mobile version and just hope it renders. That canât be the case, so whatever initiative it is you have to ask what the mobile version will look like at the start of the build.