iGaming Business magazine In-play Focus 2015 | Page 14

IN-PLAY FOCUS 2015

IN-PLAY IS ON THE MOVE
The explosive growth of in-play now sees a staggering amount of data traffic
from numerous sports and events hitting devices simultaneously. Peter
James of OpenBet looks at how this data can be effectively managed by
operators while ensuring the end user experience remains seamless for
all players, regardless of when or where they happen to be betting.
In any industry, it’s the consumer’s
prerogative to change their demands on a
constant basis, and the service provider’s job
to keep up, offering new and exciting ways to
satisfy current and prospective customers.
First, the betting and gaming consumer
wanted to be able to bet on the move – the
industry responded with mobile app betting.
Then, they demanded continual interaction
along with instant gratification – and in-play
was born. Now, they want both.
This poses operators with a challenging
balance to strike. In-play markets make
much more intensive use of an operating
system’s resources compared to a non-live
event. For example, in any given football
event, OpenBet sees up to 1,000 markets and
more than 43,000 price and status updates

information quickly and easily, delivering
the same information to both mobiles
and tablets, across multiple methods,
from 3G and 4G to wi-fi and older mobile
technologies, adds another pressure.
There are ways to manage the data, while
also maintaining a commitment to features
such as live updates, which are an absolute
must. Using specialised push mechanisms,
individual pages on an app or interface will
only subscribe to specific data they need for
updates, rather than reloading from scratch
every time a player’s device refreshes. This
increases speed, decreases latency on prices
and ensures a pleasurable user experience.
Imagine sitting on the bus, desperate to
wager on the next wicket at the Ashes, but
your phone is lab