It is a well-known fact that people in the UK are quite fond of betting on sports matches. Nowadays football is the most important sport when it comes to making wagers, whereas in the slightly more distant past it used to be horse racing. In fact, that’s how it all began, with horse racing. Then the traditional, brick-and-mortar betting shops were introduced, and one practically can’t find a high street in Britain without one. However, the betting shops are in decline and the reason for this is the fact that a lot more people shifted to online betting.
The Expansion of Online Betting and Mobile Betting
Doing things from the comfort of your home is sure more pleasant and convenient and this certainly is true of betting as well. But there’s an even more convenient and hassle-free option. We all know how a lot of the things that we had do on our computers we’re now able to do on our mobile devices- smartphones and tablets. The advantages in the mobile software development have truly been immense and thanks to that, betting is one of the things that went mobile. You can now make wagers on football and other sports whilst riding the bus or the train to work, or even when you’re queueing in the bank or supermarket.
There hardly is anyone in the developed world who doesn’t own a smartphone. In addition, the number of sold tablets has been increasing steadily too. One recent research shows that there are as many phones in the UK as there are people, which effectively means more phones, since the total population includes people are too young to own a phone. Moreover, more than half of the households have at least one tablet. For most of us, it’s either an Android operated phone, or an iPhone. However, Windows phones and Blackberries hold a smaller part of the market and some operators have their apps optimised for these devices as well.
iOS or Android
In the past 8 years or so there has been an ongoing debate on which is better- Android or iOS. And it’s not only between geeks and mobile technology experts; “ordinary” people also participate. Both Android and iPhones have their own advantages. There is a much larger choice of Android phones, they are much cheaper and they feature some quite innovative hardware options, like dual sim cards wireless charging and many more. In addition, you get some very innovative software programs as well, due to the fact that the approach is much more liberal and not every application developed for Android has to be approved by a centralised body as it is the case with Apple products. Another advantage is the universal charger port shared by all Android smartphones, regardless of the maker.
iPhones, on the other hand, offer other advantages. If you own more than one iOS device you’ll see that the syncing is practically perfect and there’s no need for installing additional software, you can take calls on your tablet and send SMSs from your Notebook. Also, there’s practically no fragmentation with iOS devices, as they all get timely and frequent updates. Unlike Android, where there are a lot of different OS’s featured on different phones at the same time. And although there are more Android apps, there are some high-quality apps that are iOS exclusive. Furthermore, you’ll have significantly less malware problems if you own an iPhone, in comparison with an Android-based phone.
That being said, it’s clear it is horses for courses. Almost everybody has a preference and they’ll probably stick to it. No need to worry though as all reliable betting operators offer mobile betting apps that are fully optimised for both iOS and Android devices, and sometimes even for Blackberry- and Windows-operated devices. Now, there is another ongoing debate, of a similar yet slightly different nature.
Optimised Websites vs. Native Apps
It’s the debate whether it is better to use a special download mobile app, or mobile-optimised website which you can simply open in your mobile browser. Let me tell you that at one point this debate was pretty fierce and people are still debating this. Let us just say that both the mobile optimisation of websites and the specially developed mobile bets got quite better these past years, so nowadays both options offer you pretty much everything that you’d want from a betting app. So, if you already have an account, you can simply log in to it from your mobile device, or simply download the app and then log in from it.
Most of the betting websites are HTML5 optimised, whereas the apps are developed by software designers. Now, if you’re not familiar with the technical software jargon, this may seem complicated, but it’s rather simple and we will explain it to you, in brief.
HTML5 is a technology that was fully developed at the end of 2014; it was a substitution of the previous generation HTML4. It allows engineers and developers to fully optimise a website for a shorter amount of time and it thus keeps the optimisation costs fairly low. This is very useful for the operators and eventually for the pundits as well. It also allows them to make any necessary amendments and changes in the optimisation fairly quickly.
The special mobile apps, or Native apps as they’re called are slightly different. Every operator that wants to offer mobile betting for owners of both Android and iOS devices will have to develop at least two apps, one for iOS and another for Android. And, since phones can’t use same apps as tablets, if they want to cater to the needs of tablet owners, there’d have to be at least four apps.
Both the native apps and the HTML5 optimised websites have their advantages. The native mobile apps run faster more smoothly than the web-based ones. Opening your app is just one touch away and you can select an option that will allow you to receive notifications. The web-based app doesn’t take any space on your phone, and in some occasions can be accessed from non-iOS and Android devices. All in all, it’s really a matter of preference.
Criteria
We’ve covered the types of apps, but let’s see how should you decide which is the best app, or which are the best apps for you, since you are in no way obliged to use only one app. With mobile betting apps, as with betting apps there are few things that you should take into consideration.
Layout and Interface
The first thing that one notices when installing and opening an app is the interface and the layout. An app has to be easy to navigate and run smoothly. Otherwise, it is just a waste of time. If a website has been optimised poorly, or an app hasn’t been developed properly you may end up sore-eyed, wasting lots of time without being able to make a wager. Unfortunately, this probably wouldn’t happen with the more popular mobile betting apps. Still, as there are differences, make sure you choose the one that seems least time-consuming and most user-friendly.
Features
Then, the features are also very important. Best case scenario- it should allow you to do everything that you could do if you were using the PC app. Since many betting apps support live streaming, it would be very good if the mobile app does too. An operator that doesn’t have a good online betting website, surely wouldn’t have a good mobile betting app, that’s pretty clear. Payments are another very important feature. You would want to be able to make deposits and withdrawals via your phone, otherwise it would be pretty complicated and the mobile app wouldn’t be of much use.
Bonuses
Then, we have bonuses. Some operators offer special mobile bonuses. This type of bonuses is only available to those who bet on their mobile devices. At first this was quite common, since operators tried to encourage punters to start betting on their phones and tablets.
The most common types of a mobile bonus are a Welcome Bonus and a No Deposit Bonus. With the first one, you’d get an amount that would match your first deposit made via mobile device by a certain percentage, either 50%, 75%, 100%, or even 200% up to a certain amount of money. So, for example, the app may offer 100% First mobile deposit bonus up to £100. This means that if you deposit £100, you will get a bonus of additional £100. With the No Deposit Bonus you get a certain amount of money like £5 or £10 as soon as you install the mobile app, without even having to make a deposit. Beware that bonuses come with wagering requirements, so it means that you’ll have to wager a certain amount of money before being able to withdraw your winnings.
Legal Considerations
We covered things that have to do with mobile apps specifically, but there are certain criteria that apply to bookmakers in general and these are all elements that you should take into account before deciding on which mobile app would be most appropriate.
First and foremost, the operator which offers the app has to be licensed and regulated in the UK. That’s pretty much obvious and self-explanatory. The UK Gambling Commission is in charge of issuing betting licences. Alternatively, if the company is registered in an EU state member, it doesn’t have to hold a UK licence. Also, a good customer support will definitely be an advantage, since you never know when you may encounter any problems or issues. You would want them to be quick to respond and helpful.
Payment Methods
We already mentioned deposits and withdrawals. Most apps accept credit and debit card deposits and withdrawals. Many additionally accept e-Wallets and prepaid cards. Basically, the more options you have, the better, it allows you to choose whichever option is more appropriate for you. Furthermore, you should check if the operator charges a fee or commission on deposits/withdrawals.
Odds and Types of Bets Offered
Clearly, the main point of betting is winning money. Therefore a good app should offer good odds, because the better the odds, the more money you can win. Run a simple test and check the odds at rivalling apps to see which one gives you the best value for money. Take a number of events that you’d like to play on, choose a market and then compare the odds. It’s best to imagine that you’re placing accumulator bets on each of them, but you can also compare the markets as singles.
In addition to the odds, the number of sports is also important, as well the as the number of competitions in each sport. More sports and more competitions mean more opportunities. Also, the number of available markets and types of bets offered will surely be of great importance. Some people stick to more classic, simple bets and markets, but we know that many like to explore and try their luck making all sorts of different bets. Live betting is one of the most thrilling types of betting and any app that features it will have a clear advantage over a one that doesn’t.
Conclusion
To sum up, it’s all about criteria, relevance and personal preference. First make sure that you know what you are looking for in an app, what are the things that are most important to you and then simply compare apps and see which one, or which ones offer the best terms on what you consider to be important.