96.6% of Real Money Players in the Region Use Mobile
Online casino platform Casino Days has released a research paper containing proprietary data on device shares used by their players from the region of South Asia, showing a massive dominance of smartphones with a share of 96.6% over computers (2.9%) and tablets (0.50%).
The days of computers’ exclusivity over online casino content are long gone and users have moved on to portable devices, the authors of the study comment.
Among the main factors that have contributed to this major shift towards mobile, according to the researchers, are the growing affordability of smartphones and of mobile data plans in most of the region, coupled with certain technical advantages offered by smaller devices.
Global Market Leaders Switch Positions in South Asia
Breaking down Casino Days primary data into types and brands of devices, the researchers have come up with some interesting results, showing that the leading smartphone manufacturers on the global scene switch their positions around on the South Asian market.
While Samsung and Apple have been disputing the global mobile vendor leadership for the last couple of years, with the South Korean brand historically being on top for a long time, worldwide stats for April 2023 look like this: 30.44% for Apple, 26.1% for Samsung, and 11.72% for Xiaomi.
In South Asian online casino gaming, however, American iOS devices not only vacate the leading position, but barely hold a share of 2.29%. Samsung, in turn, has to contend with the third position, having facilitated 18.1% of registered real money players.
Positioned globally in third place, Xiaomi enjoys a leadership status in the region commanding a 21.9% share, followed by Vivo with 20.79%. Third and fourth positions are occupied by Realme and Oppo with shares of 11.43% and 11.23% respectively. Apple is in seventh, overhauled by OnePlus with 4.07%.
Reasons for the Android Dominance
Casino Days internal data shows a massive dominance of Android based mobile devices, and a very low share of iOS based phones. The researchers compare their results with publicly available statistics revealing that Android’s global share of 68.79% grows to 79% for the whole of the Asian market, and dive into the reasons behind the observed facts.
The majority of the Android devices that are popular in South Asia are manufactured locally, which further enhances their affordability and enables smartphones to penetrate even the most distant rural areas of the region.
The open-source status of the Android OS (operating system) has led to the creation of a vast ecosystem of developers and an enormous variety of apps available to users of such devices. The high level of integration of Google Pay services in Asia is also incomparably better than the one achieved by Apple Pay.
Consequently, technical reviews and influencer posts often highlight these advantages of Android devices and add more fuel to the ongoing market processes.
Economy and Demographics Shape the Online Gambling Market in India
Another report by SevenJackpots discussing internal online casino data for the Indian market, a vital part of the South Asian region, makes an analysis on how economic and demographic factors shape gambling trends and preferences.
The research paper makes a geographical breakdown of aggregate user data and arrives at the conclusion that nearly two thirds of the whole online gambling traffic in the country originates from the six biggest metros and the states that have them within their borders.
The authors juxtapose their findings with data on GDP per Capita, Human Development Index (HDI), and line of poverty and see that the disposable incomes of middle class Indians act like a chief factor.
“The richest Indian cities stand out in internet gambling because of their middle class, which is reported as nearly 350 million. This influential user group can afford to consume online entertainment and games more and more often than others in the Union,” the SevenJackpots research team concludes.
