At first sight, the app marketplaces run by Google and Apple are similar in nature. They are both collections of free to play or paid-for games and apps, bringing them within the reach of billions of smartphone users all over the world. There is one important thing that sets them apart, namely their view on online gambling. Where Apple is open to developers listing their real money gaming apps in its App Store, the Play Store is off-limits for them. Which leads to all kinds of interesting situations on the iGaming market.
Web apps to the rescue
The App Store is open for real money game developers, but its target device - the iPhone - is dominant on a market that's closed for the operators behind the apps. Which makes the App Store inherently less attractive.
In Europe, where online casinos are free to operate (within legal limits, of course), Android is the dominant smartphone platform, which does not allow them to list their apps. The way out of this quaint situation was found once HTML5 became the new norm, allowing developers to offer their games as web apps. These are not restricted to a single mobile OS - they can be accessed freely from any browser, desktop and mobile alike.
Cross-platform mobile gaming
The All Slots Casino Canada has launched its mobile platform years before the iPhone hit the market. Its games were Java-powered, and - let's face it - looked far from ideal on the small screens of those times. No wonder the All Slots Mobile Casino was underdeveloped - it had trouble providing players with what they wanted. You can (if you are old enough) play at All Slots Canada today and win BIG!
The launch of the iPhone, and later the increasing support for HTML5, allowed the All Slots Casino to offer its players a much better-quality mobile gaming platform. After releasing a handful of mobile games, All Slots players got the taste of on-the-go gaming, and demanded more. Where there's demand, there's offer, too - the mobile platform has started growing like crazy. Today, the All Slots Mobile Casino has more than 100 titles to choose from, all of them running with the same ease on iOS and Android devices alike.
Alternative app marketplaces
Where a door closes, another opens - this is how the old saying goes. People want to play on the go, and many of them prefer native apps to browser games.
To satisfy their need, former Gambling Gaming Head of Industry Relations David Chang founded Betcade, the "first dedicated Android app store for the gaming industry".
Betcade will become the Play Store of iGaming, allowing players to find secure and curated gambling apps to play on their Android phones. The Betcade marketplace has started accepting submissions this May, and plans to go live in the summer of 2016.