Bullet Business

 According to the Gambling Commission's survey data on remote gambling participation, over the year to June 2008, gambling via mobile phone was only 2.3 percent of the 8,000 adults surveyed.

It is felt that mobile gaming has been an obvious next step for a while now, but issues with appropriate payment systems and the risk of down time mid game had put some people off entering the market or playing the games.

On a positive side, it seems the situation has been improving steadily.

Reflecting on the current status, Harry Lang, Managing Partner, The Fridge Ltd says there now appear to be mobile operators who have got around these issues, in which case it should simply be a case of finding the games that people prefer to play in bite sized mobile chunks, for example whilst on the bus or waiting in the pub.

"Mobile games ideally fill these shorter time frames and we should see exponential growth from here," Lang says.

Lang, in an interview with bulletbusiness.com's Ritesh Gupta, spoke about strategy related to gaining new customers for mobile gambling, mobile Internet advertising/ affiliate relationships and much more. Excerpts:

Bulletbusiness.com: How according to you gaining new customers for mobile gambling is more challenging than Internet gambling? What advantages do you think mobile gambling has since the consumer always has the device with him/ her?

Harry Lang: First of all, mobile is a brand new channel – in the early days of Internet-based casinos and poker rooms, there were a lot of mistakes and even more miss spent budget. Hopefully, there will be lessons learnt from that experience, but it's inevitable that mobile platforms will see teething troubles at the start.

Second, the answer is in the question, really – mobile is, well, mobile. The fact that players can dip in and out of the platform is a terrific benefit, and it'll be good to see what new games are developed that better suit the small screen format.

Bulletbusiness.com: Probability continues to focus upon establishing the LadyLuck's mobile gambling brand through its marketing relationships with mobile network operators. What according to you is most critical in expanding your customer base be it via mobile Internet advertising or affiliate relationships?

Harry Lang: Without the operator relationships you will always be stuck at the door – they are the bouncers of the mobile games world, so that's a given. In terms of other channels, it is worth looking at the temporal trends of when people can play games on their mobile.

Bus and train journeys, pubs and coffee shops for example. Media around those zones would be a good start for a communications and marketing strategy, as well as mobile viral games and videos which are sent straight to the handset itself.

Bulletbusiness.com: Generally, in mobile advertising, how do you ensure the promotion or communication isn't deemed to be intrusive?

Harry Lang: Opt in. Pure and simple. Create (or licence) content that consumers actively want to engage with on their phones (and sign up to receive) then add your relevant communication and call to action to that message. Anything else and you'll be spamming yourself into obscurity.

Bulletbusiness.com: What should gambling companies consider while promoting mobile gambling be it via mobile phones or any other mass/ digital channel?

Harry Lang: Number one would be age verification. Especially with pay as you go mobile, where handsets can be bought by an adult and used by a child. Number two would be to spend some time researching the target consumer – when, if ever, would they like to play mobile games? What motivates them to play in the first place? What games are more appealing and what emotional and rational benefits are most likely to enthuse them as a player?  

Bulletbusiness.com: Wild Jack Mobile Casino (WJMC) has introduced Vodafone UK Payforit banking option, a unique billing systems which will allow mobile casino players to purchase casino credits with the charge going directly on their monthly phone bill. Do you think such initiatives will propel mobile gambling?

Harry Lang: Yes, absolutely. Anything that gets away from physically pulling out a credit or debit card is crucial. The essence of mobile gaming is instant, accessible entertainment that you can start at the push of a button. The user experience needs to be as smooth and hassle free as possible, and an option such as Payforit does exactly that.

I'd be interested to see how these charges are being monitored, however. It's bad enough to get to the end of the month with a £300 phone bill, never mind that plus some bad casino losses...

Bulletbusiness.com: What do you recommend when it comes to building stickiness to mobile gambling? Do you think communication should be gender-based or demographic based for this form of gambling?

Harry Lang: Gender-based marketing hasn't got a great track record in gaming. Pink for girls and black for boys is a pretty naive standpoint in the modern world.

The games themselves will differentiate gender, and certain benefits are more appealing to different ages and sexes. Offering tickets to Westlife at the 02 centre isn't a great reward for a 32 year old poker player in Scandanavia, but it may work for a 22-year old female bingo player from London, for example. The opportunity for mobile gaming is still large and open enough to allow operators to build great games, use tactical campaigns to market them to audiences who have shown a preference for those games and then rewarding appropriately.   
 

5th Annual Mobile Gambling Summit Europe

Bullet Business will conduct 5th Annual Mobile Gambling Summit Europe on 18-19 November in London.

For information click here: http://www.bulletbusiness.com/mobilegambling08/agenda.shtml

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Contact Ben Satchwell at +44 (0)207 375 7163 or email ben@bulletbusiness.com