Mobile Gaming and the Rise of Sportsbooks

Increasing access to high-speed internet and improvements in mobile technology have led to a sharp increase in the adoption of mobile gaming across the United States. In addition, changing regulations have widened access to online sportsbooks, many of them with platforms designed for mobile use.

As more Americans turn to digital entertainment as their main source of leisure, mobile gaming and sportsbooks are two of the most popular and attractive options for many. Mobile gaming is becoming ever more sophisticated, with many AA and AAA titles available on mobile, with no need for a console or PC. These games often include all the trappings of the most popular trends in gaming, such as deep and engaging multiplayer gaming and community-driven design.

At the same time, changing regulatory environments across many states have opened up digital sportsbooks for Americans to engage with. Many of these sportsbooks have websites and apps that are designed with a mobile-first design philosophy, meaning that Americans only need a mobile device in order to access two of the strongest contenders for digital entertainment options.

Let’s take a closer look at how popular mobile gaming and digital sportsbooks are across the US, and why mobile entertainment platforms are winning so hard.

Table of Contents

Exactly How Popular is Mobile Gaming?

It may surprise some of the die-hard gamers reading this, but mobile gaming is the most preferred gaming choice for Americans, and it isn’t even close. As of 2024, upwards of 70% of gamers in the US preferred to play on their smartphones as opposed to PC or console. In 2024, the estimated revenue from mobile gaming in the US is somewhere in the order of $92.6 billion, fully $40 billion more than console gaming, and almost more than console and PC gaming combined.

When looking at the amount of time players spend playing mobile games, and the frequency of the sessions, the data also supports mobile gaming firmly taking supremacy from the older and more established console and PC markets. The US is not alone in seeing a mobile revolution; similar stats can be found all over the world and globally, with the greatest slice of app store expenditure being in the gaming niche.

Techniques pioneered in the mobile gaming space, such as freemium gaming and free-to-play games, have even seen adoption in other gaming spaces and in other industries. While these techniques explain some of the success, the sheer convenience of mobile gaming, coupled with increasingly powerful and viable mobile technology, must be considered the linchpins of mobile gaming’s success.

Sports Betting Goes Mobile

Sports betting has waxed and waned as a popular activity, often depending on its current legal status. In 2018, the US Supreme Court ruled that it would be up to individual states to determine the legality of digital wagering, which has led to a fragmented, but in many cases explosive, market. The sports betting revenue for legal sportsbooks in 2024 was $13.7 billion, an increase of more than $2 billion from the previous year. As more states legalize online betting platforms, these numbers are expected to continue to rise at prodigious rates, with many markets in the US still mostly untapped.

With the online sportsbook market in the US becoming heavily saturated with new operators, players are finding that they need to visit SBO.net and other affiliate and comparison platforms in order to find the best platforms. Data shows that many of the most popular sportsbooks are often accessed from mobile devices, providing convenience to their customers alongside betting services.

While a large industry with the potential for hugely explosive growth, the online sportsbook industry has different goals and paths to success than the mobile gaming market. It is clear for many online sportsbooks that mobile-first design is one of the keys to success, but the complexity of the fragmented US market means that localization and regulatory compliance are also necessities.

Market Penetration and Growth Possibilities

The market penetration for both industries is not yet as deep as it could be, but they face different challenges in increasing that penetration.

For mobile gaming, there is approximately 60% of adults in the US who play games weekly, with about 78% of those being mobile gamers. With smartphone ownership itself at close to total, with 91% of the population, it suggests that growth is likely to be slow. Many have suggested that all the people who are interested in mobile gaming are already engaged in it, but as new generations reach their majority, it seems likely that both smartphone ownership and gaming rates will rise. For the mobile gaming industry, greater market penetration is likely to come as a result of simply biding its time.

This is not the case for the online sportsbook industry. With only 30% of adults in the US having placed a bet in 2024, there is still a wide market for the sportsbook industry to penetrate. As discussed earlier, the regulatory environment in the US is such that growth and market penetration for online sportsbooks are often out of their control and at the whim of regulators. When new states legalize and regulate online sportsbooks, market penetration in those areas often jumps to high levels in the 60% and 70% region, similar to levels of mobile gaming. This leaves the online sportsbook industry with lots of room for growth, but less control over when that growth comes.

How Do Mobile Gamers and Sportsbook Bettors Differ?

While there are some similarities, such as preferring to use their smartphones as a source of entertainment, the differences in why they play and what sort of entertainment they seek are interesting.

For the most part, mobile gamers want entertainment that they can easily consume in short bursts and that allows them some form of social interaction. They also enjoy the feeling of progression over time towards objectives or goals. Even with games that offer esports leagues, most mobile gamers are uninterested in financial reward and seek enjoyment and leisure.

Bettors at online sportsbooks are typically motivated by the possibility of monetary rewards, but they also crave entertainment that pits them against others or pits a team they identify with against others. For some bettors, community and shared experience are important, while others take joy in getting insider scoops and being able to show their expertise when complex bets land.

In some cases, mobile gamers and sports bettors can be one and the same person, but the data shows that there are some significant demographic differences between most gamers and bettors. Gamers are more likely to be of younger demographics, even being in their teens, which is obviously not allowable for bettors. Most sports bettors are, obviously, people who follow sports, but are also more comfortable with having disposable income that they spend freely on entertainment, while gamers often prefer free-to-play options.

How do the Revenue Models Differ?

The revenue model for mobile gaming is largely driven by free-to-play freemium techniques such as in-app purchases, advertising and also from subscription models. Many games make little to no revenue on release, but instead are able to generate long-term profits from returning players who consistently spend on their games. This model involves long-term support and seasonal events to help drive game participation and repeat purchases.

The revenue model for sportsbooks is significantly different, coming from the wagers placed and the margin on bets. Sportsbooks need to do very little to change this model as time goes on; new and returning bettors will continue to drive revenue at steady and growing rates. Many sportsbooks have dedicated a significant amount of resources to advertising and models that thrive on promotional content. By offering players incentives to play for the first time or return, these platforms are able to increase the amount and frequency of bets placed.

Why Are Smartphones The Linchpin for Both Industries?

There are a number of reasons that smartphones are so ubiquitously needed by both industries, apart from mobile gaming being directly tied to gaming on mobile. Here are a few of the advantages that smartphones grant both industries:

Engagement: Smartphones offer the potential for sending push notifications and hosting live events. When games get updated or sports matches are going live, sending push notifications to trigger engagement with platforms is a key component of both industry’s success.
Accessibility: Most people take their smartphones with them everywhere; that’s sort of the whole point. Having access to their audiences almost 100% of the time that they are awake is a great driver of success.
Personalization: The data-driven insights that smartphones collect from users allow platforms to offer them tailored deals and advertising.
Simplified payments: Most smartphones contain e-wallet functions that allow payment to be as simple as a biometric lock. Shortening the distance between people being interested and making a purchase is huge for both industries.

Final Thoughts

The real takeaway here is that regardless of what it is that Americans are doing for entertainment, they are likely to be doing it with their mobiles. Both mobile gaming and online sportsbooks have thrived as a direct result of the ease with which smartphones have made accessing them as an entertainment option.

Americans love convenience, and they love convenience in their entertainment. Both industries are likely to continue thriving and growing as long as this remains true.

Lisa Phifer owns Core Competence Inc., a consultancy specializing in safe business use of emerging Internet technologies. In 1994, Lisa received a Bellcore President’s Award for her work on the South Carolina Information Highway. Since joining Core Competence in 1995, she has focused on secure mobility, providing consulting services to hundreds of firms, including mobile network operators, network and wireless equipment manufacturers, EMM, WIPS, VPN, and other security software and service providers, global Internet policy-makers, large enterprises, and small businesses.