Opinion: Mobile-first approach is key for DFS operators in the UK

 Personalisation and making sure your app has the right amount of data is essential to keep the user engaged, says Tom Eaves, product marketing manager at Picklive

Much has been written about daily fantasy sports (DFS) over the past couple of years. Firstly, attention focused on the boom in the US and, more recently, it has been the various legal wranglings that meant companies like DraftKings and FanDuel were unable to operate in certain states.

There is no doubt that it’s been a testing time for the two biggest US DFS operators, but they are now faced with one of their biggest challenges – trying to crack the UK market.

The UK is a very attractive market, yet it is mature and hugely competitive, with a demanding customer base. DFS is still relatively new in the UK and, if it is going to work, both the product and the overall experience needs to be top class and relevant to a UK audience – particularly on the mobile channel.

At Picklive, we adopt a mobile-first approach and when it comes to creating a solid mobile experience, it’s important to remember that not all customers will use the product in the same way, especially not on their first visit. To mitigate any potential confusion, extra effort has to be spent ensuring that key features and mechanics are only ever a click away, regardless of how the user navigates through the app.

In parallel, as tempting as it might be to want to include all the bells and whistles in time for the start of the football season, feature creep needs to be avoided where possible. At least until there is an educated user base able to help friends less attuned to the DFS environment.

Keep it light

Through this combination of an accessible user interface and intuitive user experience, the net result is a product that can appeal to a much larger audience. There will always be the die-hard football fans out there who enjoy the reams and reams of stats that some of the major US operators provide, but there’s also a huge and relatively untapped market of potential players who prefer a lighter approach. It’s a fine balancing act to deliver a product that caters for both ends of the spectrum without alienating one or the other.

This is where personalisation is vital. Despite the core product being the same, the app shouldn’t be the same for player ‘a’ as it is for player ‘b’. By moulding the experience to the individual, whether that be through the content shown when the app loads, or the messages and promotions being pushed to the end user, you can ensure an engaged and lasting player. Cloud communications specialists Twilio are doing great things in this space at the moment.

Of course getting the user engaged with the app is only half the battle. Equally important, if not even more so, is getting the user to spend. Thankfully the days of clunky mobile deposit pages are long behind us, with companies such as Judo offering plug and play solutions that make the user experience simpler, safer and more secure, ensuring a much higher conversion rate.

There are also some interesting alternative payment solutions that are having a big impact at the moment. A number of casino operators are using direct carrier billing and that has the potential to be a game-changer for the industry. The idea here is that for the initial deposit, users can top up their accounts using their mobile phone bill, which creates an almost seamless user experience as no credit card details are required.

To ultimately succeed in the UK, it will be important for US-centric operators to adapt their products from the US versions. As you can see, there are many things to consider but we believe it will be those that innovate on a mobile-first strategy that will end up as the winners.