With an ever-increasing number of users and money being invested in sports betting and gambling, iGaming continues to show an impressive growth rate in 2025. According to Statista, the global market could exceed $107bn by the end of the year. With a projected annual growth rate of over 5.4%, the industry will reach $130 billion or even higher by 2029.
Players visiting online casinos and sportsbooks are commonly split between desktop and mobile platforms. While many still prefer to play right in their living room on a laptop or desktop PC, the category of mobile gamblers/betters has grown rapidly in recent years. Although both options deserve the attention of marketers and affiliates promoting iGaming businesses, comparative web traffic statistic shows that the future lies in mobile gambling.
While some iGaming operators are stuck in time and offer only desktop-focused sites, others have optimised their platforms and launched mobile apps to expand their audience reach with those who like to gamble on the go. Today, the choice between desktop and mobile is driven mainly by technological innovations such as 5G and AI, as well as changes in user behaviour as Gen Z has grown up and actively participates in online betting.
In the mid-1990s, when iGaming was in its infancy, desktop platforms were the main driver. With larger screens, more powerful hardware and stable internet connections, desktop PCs were the only option to get into the virtual gaming space. However, a lot has changed thanks to a few factors below:
· Mobile devices are becoming increasingly popular for surfing the internet, interacting comfortably with various services and content of different types including gaming. According to Business ABC, in 2024, over 60% of online gamblers made bets using smartphones and tablets, and the gap between mobile vs desktop usage continues to widen.
· Mobile technology is becoming increasingly advanced and user-friendly. With powerful processors and graphics cores, today's smartphones and tablets can easily handle games with quality graphics. In addition, thanks to the development of 5G networks, mobile gameplay - including games with live dealers - is becoming more and more comfortable.
· Player behaviour and preferences are constantly changing. Today, many gamblers and bettors - especially millennials and Gen Z - prefer mobile devices because of their flexibility, compactness, high autonomy and good performance.
· Web versions of iGaming platforms and mobile apps are developing vigorously. Today, in the battle of mobile app vs desktop app, the former wins the race by a significant margin, which explains why mobile iGaming is on the rise lately.
After studying the statistics of mobile vs desktop usage, you will find that desktops are still an important part of the iGaming ecosystem. However, ignoring mobile devices in your promotional strategies today can put you behind the competition.
So, thanks to user-friendly interfaces, a plethora of mobile payment solutions, and increased performance, players can enjoy gambling right on the go. It's time to find out how mobile devices are transforming the industry.
In the early 2000s, when content on web pages was static, players only had access to downloadable casino clients, i.e., desktop applications. While the latter are still in play, they are far inferior to their mobile counterparts, which provide faster access to features, full functionality and the ability to receive push notifications of promotions and new game launches. Moreover, desktop users have recently preferred to play online directly on the site, even if a downloadable PC solution is still available.
When it comes to mobile and desktop web versions of online casinos and sportsbooks, they compete for audiences almost on par, even though performance and usability are clearly different. Although iGaming platforms can work on any device thanks to their adaptive design, AMP is the preferred option today.
When players require a smoother and more stable gaming experience - especially when it comes to multiplayer gambling - desktop web versions remain out of the competition. Although mobile browser usage is on the rise, most players prefer to play online on desktop devices as they offer better performance and a stable connection.
Mobile iGaming is about entertainment where players bet with real money. Therefore, the availability of convenient and secure payment solutions plays a key role here. The development of mobile payment solutions is at the heart of the success of gambling on the go - and here are a few reasons why:
· Convenience of payment and fast transactions. Using popular solutions such as Apple Pay, Google Pay, Neteller and others, players make deposits and withdraw winnings literally in a couple of clicks. What is important is that all operations - both financial and gaming transactions - take place on a single device, i.e., right on your smartphone.
· Enhanced security. Unlike most desktop devices (even many modern laptops), smartphones and tablets support biometric authentication providing a fundamentally new level of protection of sensitive information.
· Support for cryptocurrencies. Many mobile-friendly iGaming platforms have already joined the crypto-trend allowing betting using BTC, ETH, USDT and other popular tokens.
Operators who have equipped their platforms with the ability to not only play but also perform financial transactions on a mobile device have a higher chance of attracting and retaining their target audience.
iGaming operators need to understand how users interact with gaming content on different devices. Using this information, marketers can build and adapt their strategies to maximise reach and engagement.
Despite the ongoing trend towards legalisation, online gambling and betting remain sensitive verticals. When promoting iGaming products for different platforms, marketers face various risks and challenges. While conversions are the primary goal of any affiliate or marketer, this measure of success is different for iGaming products aimed at mobile and desktop users.
As mentioned above, understanding user behaviour is key and it differs on mobile and desktop platforms. While mobile players are more prone to impulsive actions due to less time spent on web pages, they are more likely to interrupt the registration process on iGaming platforms.
The data shows that desktop users are more thoughtful and unhurried. Therefore, the desktop is still the best option for complex products with many features, such as sports betting platforms with their rich lineups and multiple betting options. Therefore, desktop platforms show a higher conversion rate. However, investments in mobile UX help iGaming operators to reduce this gap.
One of the reasons for the rapid growth of iGaming is that the industry is rapidly adopting technological innovations. As mobile devices are connected to the internet wirelessly, the development of mobile networks is one of the strongest drivers for the industry today.
While 4G and LTE provide quite fast mobile data transfer speeds, 5G technology takes a big step forward in this regard. In addition to faster speeds, 5G also provides minimal latency, which is important for modern iGaming platforms exchanging a lot of data with user devices.
Thanks to 5G, live dealer games work even better on smartphones and tablets. Moreover, the new technology makes mobile devices even more suitable for AR/VR casinos, which have been developing slowly due to the high cost of helmets and insufficient data transfer speeds in 4G/LTE networks. Some experts predict that the spread of 5G in most countries of the world will lead to a significant growth of mobile players.
Although mobile traffic already dominates over desktop traffic, the battle between mobile and desktop iGaming platforms is ongoing. However, thanks to the introduction of mobile payment solutions, improved mobile UX, ever-increasing smartphone performance and the proliferation of 5G networks, it is clear that the industry will increasingly focus on mobile players in the future. Timely adaptation to current trends and innovations is the only way for operators and marketers to remain competitive in such an oversaturated market.
.png)
.png)
.png)
.jpg)
.png)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.png)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.png)
.jpg)
.png)
.jpg)
.png)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.jpg)
.png)
.jpg)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.jpg)
.png)
