Mr Green: The future is mobile-centric
Marcus Nylén, CEO of innovative casino operator Mr Green, explains how they are becoming more mobile-centric and what the future holds for mobile and tablets
Mobile has become a fundamental part of Mr Green as we move from a mobile-optimised towards mobile-centric focus. The focus for this whole industry in 2014 will definitely be mobile and tablet. We can see that the behaviour of a mobile player versus a desktop player differs and the average time on site is shorter on mobile compared to desktop. An interesting fact is that a large part of mobile players also play on desktop and rather than cannibalising the desktop share, they are extending their game play to the mobile site. There are always those who seek fast and easy accessible entertainment, so for this purpose mobile is the perfect platform. However, who knows what the mobile phones will look like in a couple of years. I think that the differences between computer (desktop), tablets and mobiles will eventually fade and weâll be using one device for all purposes.Â
I donât think Google is trying to hide the fact that they plan to tighten the grip on Android even further. There is always a challenge for the casino operators, as well as for the game suppliers, to support all the different devices and versions of software. Price matters and Android are to be found in significant cheaper price ranges. And size matters too; the gaming experience might be better with a bigger screen than you can get from a mobile, but a tablet is still smaller, lighter than a laptop which makes it so much easier to keep with you at all times. We also shouldnât underestimate Microsoft as an important player in this field either, so who knows what they will come up with? But one thing I do know is that Mr Green will continue to strive for the perfect gaming experience and we will be responsive to what our customers seek for.Â
Internet connection quality is picking up and getting better, but itâs a challenge to secure support of all the different devices and software for the operators as well as for the game suppliers. I donât think that playing for real money or not, influence the choice of Internet connection. However I do think that tablet users more often access us through Wi-Fi than the mobile users do. Mobile users are more often on the go, while tablet users more often using their device at home or in the office.
I think the future of the mobile gaming space goes hand in hand with the development of devices. Will they be good enough to feature the actual games? Will they contribute to the ultimate gaming experience? My guess is that mobile will be dominant two years from now. The strategy for many of the online casinos that are being launched now is to go mobile first. Not mobile only, but mobile first. This says something about what the industry believes about the future.