Put content first, navigation second

With screen real estate at a premium, navigational options should be usable, but minimal. 

For the best mobile user experience,  the journey-to-task completion should be as short as possible. In the case of mobile casinos, if users can quickly find and play games that appeal to them, this means more playing time. 

For mobile sessions, where time is often a factor, this is very important. 

In the examples below, from Sky Vegas and Betfred Games, 20% or less of the screen is assigned to navigation and more than 50% is assigned to game content. 

Large icons increase engagement

Large icons enable users to engage easily with the content on the screen. 

The mobile casinos shown below display fewer games above the fold than other providers, but their game logos are clearer and tap areas larger, allowing users to make a more informed decision.

Effective navigation and labelling reduces frustration in customers, with less time searching and more time playing.

According to IGT’s Chris Costello:

Operators should really look to sell the game when choosing the icon. You can’t just use the desktop icon and shrink it down.

Use personalisation to improve findability

Personalisation can be a useful addition to the mobile casino.

It’s wise to start simply, like these personalised game lists. They reduce the number of clicks required to open a game. 

Design for user behaviour

Understanding the behaviours of mobile users can help determine how casino experiences can be structured to meet their users’ needs.

In 2007, Google defined three groups of behaviours that mobile users belong to:

  • Urgent now: I want to get something done now and I don’t want to wait for it. 
  • Bored now: I have some time to kill and just want a few idle time distractions. 
  • Repetitive now: Something important to me keeps changing or updating and I want to stay on top of it. 

These groups continue to be an accurate breakdown for mobile users today and can be knitted into user personas during mobile casino redesigns.

An example of how these behaviours identify with mobile casino users could be as follows:

For more detail on mobile casinos and user experience, as well as marketing and technology, see our Improving Mobile Casino Performance report.