Mobile gaming is the future but watch out for the technology pitfalls, warns Compuware Gomez vice president David Flower

As more and more countries have deregulated their gaming industries, Europe has become the biggest online gaming market in the world. Touchstone Research forecasts that by 2014, the mobile gaming industry will be worth a staggering US$11.4bn.

Tim Philips, director of European affairs at Betfair, is pretty bullish about the role of the online gaming industry in the European economy too, describing it as an “unmitigated success story”.

Recent statistics from the UK Gambling Commission suggest that remote gambling is on the increase in the UK due to the overwhelming popularity of smartphones, laptops and tablets. And in 2011, industry analysts HR Gambling Capital estimated that mobile gaming revenues increased from one per cent three or four years ago to a considerable 15 per cent today. This growth path is set to continue.

Mainstream adoption of online gaming is driving the need for ultra-responsive applications with minimal downtime, as well as the ability to understand performance from the end-user’s perspective. To achieve this, online gaming companies are challenged to improve application performance and availability by pinpointing trouble spots, before they impact the customer.

Who’s got it right?

The Best of the Web is Compuware’s annual award for the best performing websites. The awards provide a benchmark for performance and highlight the leaders who provide superior website and mobile site experiences that enhance customer loyalty, reduce costs and increase revenue. The 2011 winners in online gaming were determined by measuring their sites across three key metrics – response time, availability and consistency. The site that had the best performance across two carriers and their top devices determined the i-gaming mobile leader.

Coral Sports Book, Victor Chandler Casino and Betfair Sports Book received gold, silver and bronze awards, respectively. These top performers have worked to ensure that their website performance is a differentiator and drives business. They have made a commitment to continuous improvement as they evolve their sites to meet their customers’ needs and expectations and beat the competition. But what is their secret?

This feature can be read in full in the second edition of iNTERGAMINGi.