UI/UX Design Challenges in Sports Betting Apps

The emerging society is setting trends for all industries. Sports betting is no exception. According to the data, the income from sports betting in 2021 reached $2.5 billion, and by 2025 it’s projected that this amount will grow to $8 billion.

The growth of online sports betting has been influenced by its legalization in many US states. This has given ground to their active development, and more and more bookmakers and casinos have started to appear digitally.

But what challenges can be encountered when launching a mobile sports betting app? Let’s discuss it right now.

Betting on sports is gambling, where players put specific amounts of money on events that are likely to happen. Despite the coronavirus pandemic, the industry continues to grow. Because of the closure of many public places, sports betting has been digitized even faster. And, by 2023, expected that the global online gambling market to be over $92.9 billion.

Wynn Resorts is the largest gambling company, with revenues of $3.81 billion. In second place is Genting, with revenues of $3.48 billion.

As in any other field, designing sports betting mobile apps has its nuances. Let’s look at the challenges you may encounter when designing such apps.

Audience research

A UI/UX designer will first face when providing a mobile sports betting app design service is to research the target audience and establish contact with them. This is necessary to understand how users interact with the product and what design elements need to be added to improve the interface. As a result, your app can cover the users’ needs, which means it’ll be user-friendly in use. And attract clients to use apps in the long run.

To better understand the needs and identify user’s pain points, the designer can conduct the following tests:

Quantitative research:

• Users testing or usability testing;
• User intent — why users visiting your app;
• Conduct surveys to get feedback from users.

Qualitative research:

• Testing click behavior;
• App scrolling behavior map;
• User satisfaction survey.

So, we know that our target audience is primarily men 18-55 years old who bet weekly on sports. And then, we’ll find out what they want to improve in the app, in which interface places there are difficulties.

Read more about how to conduct user experience research in our blog.

iOS and Android compliance

Before designing a sports betting app, put up the market rules each operating system requires launching a product. Otherwise, you will lose the money spent on development if the app doesn’t meet the market standards.

For example, Play Market made the following claims:

• the application must be legalized and not violate the requirements of the countries in which it will be distributed;
• the app is only available to adults;
• the app can be downloaded for free;
• and other requirements.

Apple Store requests that the app conform to the standards of the operating system interface and provides several documents that the launched product must comply with, including the document with iOS UI Kits.

Read more about What Is a UI Kit in our blog.

Obtaining a license

Before launching an application, it’s imperative to obtain a license for online gambling. It allows you to smoothly promote your app in the market and attract new users. In this case, you can appeal to a lawyer because each country has its laws, and on your own, it can be challenging to understand all the details and nuances.

For example, the use of some online gambling applications are allowed in Europe. But at the same time, in Germany, absolutely all kinds of gambling on the Internet are forbidden, and in Italy, it’s possible to get a license and launch them on the market without any hindrance.

App structure

The sports betting app consists of many screens and boxes responsible for specific actions. But, they are also very multifunctional, as there are many users with different functionality possibilities and access levels. So, you have to build the interface to be straightforward with high functionality.

A clearly structured site architecture could look like this: Sport> Country> Competition> Match> Bet

It would help if you also made visible calls to action because they are responsible for the interaction between the users and the product and the app is designed for.

Balanced design

It would help if you did not overload the interface of sports betting apps with unnecessary elements. The design should be universal to combine many directions and, accordingly, styles. And, of course, simple, so users don’t get confused in the multi-layered app. Also, it would help if you did not make it in bright, flashy tons. It’s better to find a line between brightness, aesthetics, and usefulness.

Cybersecurity

Almost everyone who deals with the digital world encounters this problem. Especially if we’re talking about servers containing a lot of data before launching, and while a product is on the market, you must watch its accuracy, protection from intruders, and various administrative errors. The company’s reputation and data security depend on it.

In online gambling apps, fraud is a common issue. Identity can be stolen or forged, resulting in the loss of large sums of money. According to statistics, one in 20 accounts created is fake.

Maintain device performance

Maintaining device performance is a challenge for both the developer and the mobile app designer. As a designer, you should keep interface errors to a minimum, and every animation should be meaningful and appropriate. This allows the app to run smoothly and drain the device’s battery-less in offline mode.

Developing a mobile app is always a painstaking process, especially when it comes to an app containing a lot of information and many screens. You will have to work with each problem that arises separately to get the perfect product at the end. The field of online gambling apps is very lucrative and competitive. It requires a well-coordinated team to work on a product that knows the nuances and peculiarities of developing such applications. Gapsy Studio will make an excellent product out of your idea, as it has successful experience in the market. Contact us, and we’ll discuss your project. Check out the finished projects on Behance and Dribbble. And also take a look at the services we provide.