txtNation sponsored the highly successful mGAMING event in London last week and showcased our mobile billing options for Gambling companies who have a web and mobile presence.

It was attended by a who’s-who of prominent players in mobile gambling and billing.

txtNation is involved in the mobile gaming space through enabling ‘pay by mobile’ billing options on the mobile device.

Making registration and depositing as easy and seamless as possible on a mobile device means operators can increase their success of acquiring new players.

It was evident from the discussions we had during the event, that most game operators recognise that mobilising their services is now a key strategy for continued growth.

Whilst some operators (a growing number) are moving from desktop to mobile, there are also those that are purely mobile focused and are operating this model as their primary and only channel to serve players.

Operators confirmed that they now find many players repeatedly return and play for lengthened periods of time on-deck – i.e. on their mobile devices and the statistics are starting to show a huge growth in mobile players, whilst traditional desktop gambling is falling.

This means that players now expect more from the mobile experience and want to play, socially interact and top-up game credit on their handsets, without needing to revert to their desktop account to manage these elements. Incorporating a payment strategy that complements that ‘purely mobile’ experience is vital to keep the whole thing seamless and enjoyable. This is even more fundamental a consideration when looking at new acquisition where new members should be offered a quick easy route through to their first play without needing to endure a multiple clicks signup and depositing process which risks diluting interest and loses impulsive appeal.

The biggest objection to payments through the mobile network operators is that you still incur a larger transaction fee compared to credit card.

This is now changing and the mobile network operators are working those transaction fees down. At the same time, it still converts better on the mobile compared to any other type of payment mechanism and whilst we wait for the operators to reduce their transaction fees to the point operators can consider it for repeat billing; it definitely has a place in encouraging that first deposit.

“We consider the slightly higher transaction fee on mobile payments as a marketing cost” said one prominent operator attending the event.

They went on to explain, “We are very happy to accept that cost in acquiring the new user and securing that first deposit. Once we have them playing then we have good retention strategies for keeping our players engaged and repeat depositing for further play via alternative means”.

With the emergence of direct billing. Payforit4 for the UK specifically, then the potential for mobile payments to increase revenues through better acquisition, means it should not be ignored.

A single click payment process to deposit cash to play is a far cry from the old-hat and undeniably unsuitable 21-click credit card flow which only serves to annoy new customers and kill conversions.

Some photos from the event below: