INSIGHT
MAKING MOBILE GAMING PAY
BUILDING A WINNING
MOBILE-FIRST STRATEGY
Gaming is on the move. In today’s ‘mobile-first’ world, activities which only recently were focused on the
desktop have shifted onto mobile, meaning that many companies have had to rapidly transition both
their products and their overall strategy to put mobile users front and centre. Siamac Rezaiezadeh of
mobile engagement specialist OpenMarket discusses how gaming affiliates and providers can cash-in
on this new trend.
FOR A LONG TIME, mobile simply
wasn’t worth the commercial effort for
gaming providers and their affiliate partners
to seriously invest in. Those who wanted
to launch their services onto mobile had
to deal with restrictive, low revenue share
agreements and typical pay-out rates of
between 55 and 65 percent per transaction
from the mobile network operators who
controlled customer charging and billing;
meaning that gaming companies had little
incentive to change.
A lack of flexible pricing for games
also meant that providers and affiliates
could only offer bets or stakes with a £5
maximum value. This type of low-level,
low-value deposit meant that gaming and
betting on mobile simply didn’t make
enough money for it to be a worthwhile
venture for gaming providers.
higher maximum price points for mobile
games and services. Operators used to take
55 to 65 percent of the total transaction value.
Today, this has decreased and made way for
vastly improved out-payments for gaming
providers and affiliates, plus more attractive
revenue split arrangements with operators.
Good business sense
Together, these operator policy changes,
along with a smarter approach to VAT, plus
an easier, smoother and more user-friendly
payments experience on the mobile phone,
make mobile gaming commercially viable
for affiliates and providers. It opens up
a whole new set of opportunities to offer
customers a wider choice of higher priced
products and services, in a way that makes
good business sense for them.
Cross-industry support
A shift in attitude
Fortunately, times change, and so have
mobile operators’ attitudes. Nowadays, they
don’t treat every type of mobile payment
carried out using their billing systems in
the same way, and instead differentiate
between services and payment types.
Certain types of transactions – not only bets
but also charity donations – aren’t liable
for VAT, and operators have adjusted their
billing systems accordingly.
Revenue sharing agreements between
gaming companies and mobile operators
have also been updated and improved.
Operators stand to earn extra revenue by
giving the gaming provider a larger share
of the revenue split. This, in turn, allows
gaming providers to offer their customers
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From a technical perspective, the governing
framework around mobile payments using
a mobile operator’s billing system has
vastly improved for gaming providers, their
affiliate partners, and other merchants who
want to go mobile. Cross-industry schemes
that are endorsed by mobile operators, such
as the Payforit 4 scheme in the UK, provide
pre-set guidelines for gaming providers
to follow. These guidelines provide a
smoother, more intuitive user interface and
a better user experience when a customer
makes a payment on their mobile device.
Make it good
Today, any gaming provider or affiliate with a
mobile app, game or service needs to bear in
mind the unique nature of the mobile phone
as a channel for engaging and interacting
with customers. People have an intimate and
deeply personal relationship with their mobile
phone; it’s with them wherever they go, and
they use it and check it constantly.
Mobile is also the medium that is the
most unforgiving and commands the least
patience from the consumer. Therefore, any
app, game or service launched on mobile
needs to be both enjoyable and also easy to
play on a small screen: if it isn’t, the user
will rapidly lose interest in it and spend
their time (and money) elsewhere.
Universal appeal
Delivering a positive user experience
extends to what type of payment system an
affiliate or gaming provider puts in place
for its customers to place bets or top up
their gaming account with. It’s here that
payment solutions which use the mobile
network operator’s existing customer
billing system really prove their value.
Premium SMS and Direct Operator Billing
(DOB) are universal payment mechanisms.
They’re secure, available to anybody with a
mobile phone, and there’s no need to input
a password or credit card number using a
fiddly miniature touch screen. In contrast,
mobile wallet services such as those offered
by Google or credit card companies like
MasterCard are not nearly as widespread, and
also require time and effort by the consumer
to register and set up.
As a mobile payment mechanism,
both premium SMS or DOB are intuitive,
quick and easy for the consumer to use.
This frictionless user experience is hugely
important in broadening the appeal of