How to Choose a Sports Betting App Development Company? Tips for Bookmakers Entering Mobile Platforms
Is choosing between countless app development companies a nightmare that keeps you awake at night?
It’s no wonder – there are so many factors to consider that making the right decision can be challenging, especially when you want to build a mobile sports betting app.
They’re usually complex and require a lot of integrations. Plus, you must ensure that everything you do complies with relevant laws and regulations.
To help you out, we’re sharing tips on choosing a partner for your sportsbook app development project. Let’s delve into it.
Key takeaways
- The company should have a proven track record of developing successful sports betting apps, demonstrating expertise in the industry’s specific requirements. It’s recommended to carefully examine their portfolio, assess their proficiency in mobile development (iOS and Android) and API integrations.
- Sports betting is heavily regulated. The company must understand and comply with relevant licensing, legal, and regulatory requirements in your target markets.
- The company should prioritize data protection, secure payment gateway integration, and robust security measures to prevent fraud and protect user information.
- A well-designed, intuitive user interface is essential for user engagement. Evaluate their design capabilities and approach to user experience.
- Inquire about their development methodology, project management approach, and quality assurance processes.
- Clearly define your budget and timeline expectations and discuss them with potential sports betting app developers.
- Check testimonials to gauge the company’s reputation and client satisfaction.
Why are mobile platforms a good idea in the case of sportsbook apps?
According to Grand View Research, the value of the global mobile app market size in 2023 was $252.89 billion. The prognosis says that it will grow in the upcoming years. Data looks even more interesting when you look specifically at online gambling. Statista suggests that by 2028, the number of users of this market may be as high as 243.2 million.
Users prefer online gambling because it’s more accessible. With web and mobile apps, you can play wherever you are. There’s no need to leave the house if you don’t feel like it, which makes the whole experience way more comfortable.
Android and iOS apps make it even better because they provide users with interfaces designed specifically for mobile devices.
From a sports betting business perspective, mobile apps facilitate contact between them and users. They enable sending PUSH notifications, encouraging players to open the app, and informing them about promotions or new events that may interest them. The benefits are, therefore, mutual.
In-house development team or outsourcing services?
Although the answer depends on many factors, the truth is that in the in-house team, it isn’t easy to take care of everything that involves building and releasing sports betting software.
Nevertheless, the final choice should always be considered individually, based on your own goals and capabilities. What should you remember when making a decision?
Pros of the in-house app development
- The team that creates your sports betting app knows your company culture well and shares your goals.
- You can contact the team members directly via messaging tools you use in your company on a daily basis.
- Monitoring the internal team’s work is easier, giving you more control over the app development process.
Cons of the in-house app development
- You need to hire specialists with experience in various domains (e.g., software engineers, a UX/UI designer, QA testers, a project manager, and a UX researcher). This process takes a lot of time and is quite expensive.
- After the product launch, some specialists might not have enough tasks to work full-time.
- You must buy subscriptions to many tools that enable software development, communication, and task management.
Pros of the in-house app development team
- You get easy access to many specialists with experience in sports betting app development.
- You don’t spend time on the hiring process, accelerating time-to-market, so you can start making profits earlier.
- You don’t have to pay the total price for the tools required for the project execution.
- The risk is decreasing because usually you can check the company more thoroughly compared to specialists hired for the in-house team.
Cons of outsourcing app development services
- You may have to learn tools that are different from those you use for communication or task management at your company.
- Depending on the company’s location, you may have to adjust meeting times to different time zones.
Instead of wondering whether it’s best to find a company or create your own team, ask yourself what services you want to outsource and how many specialists you can afford to hire in-house.
After all, you may only need a product owner who understands your business goals well and can work with the app developers. Think of your needs and choose the option that seems the best.
If you decide to join forces with a sports betting software development company, learn how to choose the right partner.
Step 1. Data collection and determining the requirements
The search for a perfect mobile app development company doesn’t start with Google. First, you need to know what you want. Our suggestion? Derive your product vision from research on the market and users.
It should show you where the market is still unsaturated. You can also learn industry standards regarding mobile apps and find novelties that make certain apps unique and successful.
The research will also help you find gaps your software could fill.
How can you collect information?
If you already have a web app, take a look at your analytics reports and determine how many people use it on mobile devices. Check their typical behavior, for example, what sports disciplines they’re interested in or how often they wager bets.
You can ask users to participate in a survey and tell you what they like and dislike about your web app. You can also add questions about other sports betting apps they use and why. Ask your team members to write down what information would help them create an entertaining mobile sportsbook app and then formulate survey questions.
When you get a satisfying number of answers, take some time to analyze all the insights. They will help you to create key user personas and help you better understand players’ challenges, motivations, and needs.
Market research is another excellent source of data. Prepare a competitor analysis for a start. Choose several companies you’ll compete with on a mobile platform. Then, analyze their sports betting apps focusing on critical factors, such as features, referring programs, betting types, or sports events they enable to choose from.
Additionally, you can read their app store reviews. Although users more often share what they find annoying rather than nice, such opinions tell you what you should watch out for to avoid making the same mistakes.
The next step is reading industry reports. They should tell you the biggest challenges, important novelties, and market changes your company must consider when planning your software project.
Results of this phase
- You know your project goals.
- You can tell who your target users are and why they should enjoy your app.
- You know what features you need to have in your mobile app.
Step 2. Gathering basic info about the app development company
Now that you know exactly what you want, you can search for the right company that will make your plans real. What should you check before contacting your potential partners?
Experience in creating sports betting software and beyond
See how many years the companies have been on the market. It’s best also to check what clients they worked for. They should have a sports betting app in their portfolio, but it’s not enough.
When the app development company has experience building various types of apps for different industries, its team is more up-to-date with trends in the mobile software market. It’s especially important for designing UX and UI that engages users.
Broad experience also tells you what implementations unrelated to the sports betting industry the company can add to your product.
Technology stack
Find out what technologies these companies know. Experience in Flutter, a popular cross-platform technology, is a must, as is knowledge of native technologies for iOS and Android: Swift and Kotlin. You can also check if they know KMP, a promising alternative to Flutter.
Read more about popular technologies in mobile app development:
Client reviews
Check platforms with reviews like Clutch and read clients’ testimonials. Pay attention to what they find the most important when describing their cooperation with a given company. Find out what they enjoyed and what annoyed them. You can also check how many stars the company’s profile has.
Awards
Get to know if the app development company has received any awards. It’s even better if they’re related to the sports betting industry. For example, Holdapp has been given a Legal Bookmakers Award for developing forBET.
We suggest making a spreadsheet with all the companies you consider. In each column, put a factor you want to analyze—for example, Unique features, Types of bets, Content highlighted on the main screen, etc.
Results of this phase
- You have a list of potential partners that are likely to fit your ideal sports betting app development company profile.
- You get a clear overview of the essential information about several app development companies and can quickly check what info is missing.
Step 3. In-depth research: asking for details
Some elementary information you find on companies’ websites. For others, you should ask directly, for example, via a contact form or at an online meeting. Many aspects related to app development are individual and depend on your goals, possibilities, budget capacity, etc. It’s best to contact the most promising companies from your spreadsheets and discuss such matters.
What kind of questions can you ask sports betting app developers?
Think of every stage of the app development process and ask about matters that will have the most significant impact on the project execution.
Examples of questions
- What integrations have you already been implementing in sports betting apps?
- What technology do you recommend for my project: a Flutter app or native apps for Android and iOS?
- Can you recommend any solutions to improve UX/UI?
- How do you protect data in sports betting apps?
- How do you ensure the app project is user-friendly?
- What is your standard team composition in projects for the sports betting industry?
- How do you cooperate with clients? What is your approach to project management?
- What is your approach to the post-launch phase of the project?
- What billing method do you prefer? A fixed price or Time and Material?
- How can you help me adjust the app to laws, regulations, and app stores’ requirements?
You can also ask different questions, for example, related to the company’s location. For instance, if you’re from the US and want to cooperate with a team from Eastern Europe, you should ensure they can work in different time zones.
Remember that a detailed cost estimation is only possible when your product concept is buttoned up. This means that you know what integrations, tools, and technologies you want to use, what screen you need in the app, etc.
Choosing a team to develop a custom sports betting app
Sports betting software development is a complex process requiring experience building mobile apps and knowledge about the industry. If carefully planned, your app can engage users and significantly accelerate the company’s growth.
Many depend on the company responsible for developing your sports betting applications. We suggest taking your time and conducting thorough research before deciding which team you want to cooperate with.
If you’re looking for software developers who know how to launch projects on different markets and can suggest solutions that will give you a competitive edge, check out Holdapp. Ask us any questions regarding our pricing, approach to conducting projects, or experience. We’ll be happy to provide you with the necessary information.
