How to Create a Stellar Digital Customer Experience for Online Gambling

Online sportsbook and casino operators have a lot to consider around the end-to-end user experience and customer journey in this fast-paced industry. Everything in an app can work as designed, but what if the design misses the mark from the customer’s perspective? After all, product development and testing efforts are really about the end user. Though it often falls lower on the priority list — long after testing core functionality — a focus on the online gambling customer experience is critical to growing your online sportsbook, daily fantasy, horse racing or casino business. My customers benefit from having Applause testers — experienced bettors — in state, finding real-world issues and giving feedback from a manual-, payments-, user-experience and cross-state testing perspective.

First, test app functionality for the foundation of the best online gambling customer experience

As for any product, simply put, it has to work well if you want to keep and attract customers. Quality matters. The most reliable way to ensure a top-notch digital gambling experience is to know - conclusively - that your online sportsbook and casino apps work with actual users under real-world settings. This can’t be reproduced in a lab environment and you’re probably aware how time consuming and costly it can be to stand up a holistic testing approach around the world. As a sportsbook operator, can you do the following?

• Test multi-factor authentication

• Ensure compliance to geo-fencing requirements, meaning, the app works where it is intended to and not in other areas

• Easily convert users from one product/platform to another

• Enable in-game or live betting

• Test across a wide range of device, OS, and payment configurations

There’s only one way to do this well, and using real bettors at different times of day and under varying degrees of network stress - such as during major sporting events - is your winning bet.

Next, test the online gambling experience with real people

Once your sportsbook or online gambling app has its basic features and flows covered, test the customer journey. For example, in-app buttons should be designed and placed so they not only work properly, but enrich the experience, provide excitement, and draw the user further in. This, in turn, can help to easily convert a user from one game to another — say from betting on an NFL game to a casino game like poker.

One of our current sportsbook and casino customers asked Applause to evaluate the entire customer journey to improve conversion/retention rates and expand internationally. We validated the end-to-end customer journey, including registration, deposits, bet placement and withdrawals. In addition, we ensured the company met location-specific criteria, such as using national ID for registration in a European country. We leveraged net-new testers with each product update to properly mirror the flow for new registrants. Based on tester feedback, our customer was able to confidently launch in state, and on time.

Your checklist for ensuring the best online gambling customer experience

Online sportsbook and casino operators must test for all areas across the digital gambling experience.

Registration

• Assess physical and digital registration and compliance with local regulations

• Test multi-factor authentication

• Capture correct documentation

• Verify in-casino registration

• Validate account and deposit limits

• Ensure customers can redeem bonus offers

UX testing

• Ensure seamless navigation and consistent experience across platforms and devices

• Get real-time feedback for in-game betting

• Understand performance on high-traffic days

• Validate personalization

• Test bet delays

Day-of-event testing

• Test in the evening, on weekends, and during major sporting events

Customer Journey

• Validate account transfer

• Increase conversion rate (sportsbook to casino)

• Evaluate end-to-end journey

Accessibility

• Check closed captioning

• Ensure proper color contrast

• Understand the user experience for people with disabilities

Payment testing

• Verify deposits

• Ensure proper withdrawal functionality

• Include both physical and digital payment methods

• Evaluate transaction speed

The table stakes for winning the online gambling experience game

Each type of gambling has unique requirements. Applause has you covered for the common and uncommon testing requirements needed to build the best online sportsbook and casino experience. From my experience working with some of the world’s biggest operators in this space, here is a short list of must-haves to grow your online gambling business (see our ebook for the full list):

Can players…

• Easily register/onboard and bet only within regulated geographic regions?

• Register online and/or in-person?

• Deposit/withdraw funds with all payment methods and financial institutions?

• Deposit and withdraw funds quickly?

• Easily place in-game bets?

As operators…

• Can you easily validate a user with proper documentation (passport, national ID, drivers license)?

• Does your app perform on high-traffic days (World Cup, Super Bowl)?

• Is the interface user-friendly so players can set lineups and compete easily?

• Can you convert players from other offerings into the online casino?

• Are you able to innovate and bring new games to market?

“Applause values proactive compliance. We actively work with state regulators to obtain a vendor license or confirm we are exempt in states where online gaming is live or pending. Because we anticipate the industry roadmap as well as our customers’ needs, Applause has the ability to ramp up in-state testing quickly and efficiently.”

Ensuring the online gambling customer experience is the best it can be

The global landscape for online gambling is rapidly changing. Applause is currently working with sportsbook and casino operators to meet their evolving needs. Whether you need help with feature testing or games validation, market expansion and advertising testing, or launch preparedness and customer onboarding, we’ve got years of experience to quickly and accurately get your business where you want it.

Check out our new ebook “3 Keys to Growing Your Online Sportsbook and Casino Business.”