Why mobile gambling is becoming more preferred by casino players

Today, if you don’t own some type of mobile phone, then you must have come in from another universe. In 2022, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) reported that there were at least 8.58 billion mobile subscriptions globally with a global population of 7.95 billion. In short, we are just saying that the mobile industry is ruling the world, and thus, many industries are taking advantage of this. One industry that has made good use of this trend is the gambling industry, with players increasingly loving playing through their smartphones.

Take, for example, gambling in Africa. According to a GeoPoll survey in 2025, 91% of the respondents who participated in gambling activities stated that they place their bets using mobile phones. In fact, if you look at the online casinos sa offers, almost all of them have their sites optimized for mobile use as most players are always using their phones.

But why has this trend caught fire? Why are more and more players increasingly opting for mobile gambling? In fact, Market Research Future estimates that between 2025 and 2035, the mobile gambling market might grow at a CAGR of 11.2%.

Convenience and accessibility

One big advantage that mobile phones have over their counterparts in online gambling (computers and tablets) is the convenience factor. When you think about carrying your laptop anywhere, you just get tired. Those gadgets are quite bulky, and you need to carry a whole bag and the laptop’s charger (their battery does not last for so long). All this is just tiresome! Same case for tablets. However, with mobile phones, your pocket is enough of a bag, and you can carry it whenever you feel like.

Recent statistics by Computer in Homes recorded that in 2024, there were at least 4.7 million computers in the US. In comparison, a study by Statista, for the same year, reported that there were at least 310 million smartphones. This just shows that the more convenient the gadget is, the more its adoption. And this is why gambling platforms are taking advantage and capitalizing on this trend.

With mobile gambling, all you need is your smartphone and an internet connection. So, whether you are on a beach somewhere on holiday or on a train when going for your business meeting, you have access to online casinos SA and your favorite casino games. Better still, you can even play when you are in the bathroom, and no one will actually have a problem with it.

Enhanced user experience

Whatever keeps consumers going back to a particular product or service is the user experience. In fact, studies reveal that 80% of people are willing to pay more to get a better user experience. Since user experience is very vital in the gambling industry, companies are spending good resources to make the mobile UX even better as 88% of users are likely to not return to a site after a bad user experience.

But how do programmers make mobile casinos have a good user experience? For one, mobile casinos have an intuitive design and optimized gameplay mechanics that are specifically curated for touchscreen devices. Players can easily tap, swipe and engage with their favorite games whenever they want to without any struggle. The ease of operations increases the gaming immersion, ensuring that players are fully engaged when they are on their sessions.

Another aspect that improves the mobile user experience is the seamless integration with payment methods. If you look at online casinos SA, you’ll realize that you can easily make payments. In Africa, casinos are integrating their platforms with mobile payment methods like M-Pesa for Kenya, MTN for Ghana and Airtel Money to make deposits and withdrawals very easy. You can also integrate digital wallets like PayPal, Apple Pay, Samsung Wallet, Venmo, Google Wallet and others quite easily.

Push notifications

This is another thing that has become quite popular with casino players. These are an effective form of communication for engaging customers. Many online casino SA use these to deliver relevant messages to their customers at the right time to grab their player attention. In fact, push notifications have proceeded to improve the user experience of players. And mark you, we are talking about quality push notification, not many notifications from low quality sites that end up being spam.

Interestingly, push notifications have been playing a significant role in boosting customer retention. According to OptiKPI, the use of push notifications increases the number of unique depositors, decreases the churn rate and increases the gross gaming revenue uplift.

For instance, operators are using these notifications for target marketing and also getting to players who are seldom active. The platform sends out notifications highlighting the newest and top games for the weekend, exclusive offers for both active and inactive players, etc.

When it comes to players, they feel like the operators are mindful of them. This actually heightens the user experience and thus more people are more inclined to mobile gaming.

In conclusion

The rate at which mobile phones, smartphones specifically, are taking over the online gambling world is quite interesting. However, it is not hard to tell why, considering that most people prefer using mobile phones for their day-to-day activities. The convenience and user experience remain unmatched. Many online casinos SA and everywhere else around the world have noted the mobile gambling preference and continue to capitalize on the same.