The importance of keeping things simple

Mobile is becoming such a wide market and even though smartphones seem to look alike year after year, they are advancing at an incredibly fast pace. Mobile UX design and the way data is presented on smartphone devices are both advancing even more.

As discussed with other experts in a recent conference dedicated to this topic in Amsterdam, the flat UX that has been roaming the world of mobile interface is evolving into what has been described and named as ‘Complexion Reduction’ meaning there is a trend to make things simpler and less complex for the user, as the rapid evolution of technology and the fast rise of the amount of data continues.

Today, bettors receive a huge range of sports, events and bet offers. The selection of events must be quick and the customers need suggestions to access their preferred content in one click. Studies concerning the mobile sports-betting app design have demonstrated that the issue of navigation is the most obvious obstacle against providing players with a truly personalised offering.

I firmly believe the solution lies in providing “true personalisation” of the user experience. This means offering a layout that is designed around the single user and the device it will be viewed on. In my opinion, for an excellent UX to be considered optimal it must be accompanied by the capability of the operator to anticipate bettors’ wishes, and from there provide a compelling service together with a unique experience. It is the key to attracting punters, giving them a unique experience and keeping them loyal to the brand.

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To fully exploit the mobile channel, operators need to offer the right product at the right time. This is true customisation, which by giving the correct rewards – without having to rely on possibly intrusive blind bonusing and push notifications – will see players coming back time and again.

The Recommendation Engine is the technology that fulfills this need. In fact players’ behaviour algorithms via the Recommendation Engine can simplify the mobile experience and make it as entertaining and enjoyable as possible for the consumer. How? By suggesting bets or events and analysing the bettor’s behaviour. In fact, machine learning gives algorithms the capability to learn from a user’s actions. The algorithm verifies when the user bets and enjoys the top recommendations, or it adapts to unexpected actions and elaborates on the next suggestions.

An advanced sportsbook enables automation and customisation of offers, bonuses and rewards and through AI the player can enjoy a more tailored betting experience. The brand needs to conduct interactive communications. In fact, once you have a personalised relationship with your clients, then you really must consider how you are communicating with them in order to ensure you boost their loyalty. Mobile is perfect for this purpose and is increasingly becoming the principal device for the betting and gaming market.

To conclude, I’m convinced that entertainment and communication are fundamental facets in improving the mobile experience and the use of special bonus offers. Customisable interactive avatars and push notification avatars or augmented reality proposals are perfect examples of tools to entertain the user via mobile. At the same time, they drive them to collect bonuses in shops. Imagine players being able to navigate via mobile and walk around in real life and focus on tags, superimposed into the real world, to find bonuses. The bonus collection in an augmented environment, and its use in shops or online, is a perfect example of mobile and omni-channel experience.

Words by Kostandina Zafirovska, CEO of BtoBet