Mobile casino gaming is shaping up to be one of the most influential forces to ever hit the igaming world and much of its success is being driven by state-of-the-art geolocation technology.
Geolocation allow apps and websites to easy pinpoint their end-users’ location and tailor content and offers accordingly.
In the United States, geolocation software is being used to keep online gambling contained in New Jersey, Nevada and Delaware (and whatever other states wind up legalizing). Despite a few geolocation headaches in New Jersey, the technology has been working pretty well and companies like Locaid are gearing up for major growth.
For mobile casino operators, and app-minded affiliates, geolocation is an incredibly useful tool that creates a deeper connection with players. Unfortunately, lots of affiliates aren’t quite sure what role geolocation software can play in their businesses.
If you’ve been curious about incorporating geolocation technology into your sites, here are a few tips to help cover the basics.
How Gelocation Works
Geolocation technology is built into practically every mobile device made through integrated Global Positioning System (GPS) chips. These chips ping GPS satellites to establish the exact location of the phone or tablet.
Companies like Locaid simply ping any mobile device that’s trying to access a mobile gaming site to quickly establish the user’s location. It’s a complicated system that actually runs on just a few, simple steps.
Overall, geolocation tech works with relatively few problems overall. Sometimes there can be trouble establishing an exact location on cloudy days and some systems don’t work all that well on cloudy days.
When the state of New Jersey launched legal online casino gambling in November, some players who lived near the state line were incorrectly tagged as living out of state. This wasn’t a problem when wide-open Nevada launched their regulated product, and it’s something that’s Locaid is working on correcting.
There’s little doubt that geolocation software will continue improving as more businesses, of all kinds, come to rely on its benefits.
GPS & API
Thanks to a plethora of Application Programming Interfaces (APIs), integrating geolocation technology into mobile apps and social networks is relatively easy. This opens the door for developers to get about as creative as they’d like with mobile apps.
For gambling operators and affiliates, the ability to easily embed geolocation functionality in their apps. This is especially good news given the fact that geolocation functionality isn’t going to be optional in the U.S.
Privacy Issues
Though geolocation technology offers plenty of benefits for end-users and operators alike, they don’t come without a price.
Privacy advocates are at all thrilled about having to give up their physical whereabouts in order to use an app.
There are also concerns that all this aggregated personal information could fall into the wrong hands if not properly secured. (And even if it well-secured on your end, that’s no guarantee that your friendly local government won’t be able to access it anyways.)
Anyone who is planning on implementing geolocation software in an app needs to clearly state exactly what kind of information they’re collecting and how/if it’s going to be shared. Most end-users are fine sharing some information with app producers, but most of them aren’t wild about app producers who sell their personal data on the open market.
Finally
Mobile gambling is opening up a whole world of opportunities for operators and geolocation technology is making a lot of that magic happen.
Casino affiliates who are able to integrate this technology into their apps, while protecting their customer’s private data, will be well suited to get maximum mileage from this trend.