Today, an ever-increasing number of modern casino-gaming websites, platforms and applications are making the world smaller by facilitating global accessibility. These platforms are breaking down barriers relating to geography, physical ability, local regulations and language proficiency, making the world of entertainment truly inclusive. Let’s unpack some of the modern realities facilitating this positive trend.

Navigating Legal Landscapes

Regulatory hurdles often limit access to specific content based on location. However, tools like VPNs and location-spoofing technologies are empowering users to get around these restrictions and access a wider range of international entertainment options. While legal and ethical considerations remain, the use of these tools clearly showcase the growing demand for borderless entertainment access.

Many modern apps and platforms have also made their services accessible to global audiences without forcing individuals to make use of VPNs or similar work-arounds. This is perhaps most clear within the world of online casinos, where local restrictions often prohibit operators from running legal online casino operations within specific jurisdictions.

Because fewer laws exist to prohibit residents from playing at offshore casinos, some online casino platforms will open up their digital doors to these players. It can be difficult to find trustworthy offshore operators however, but there are plenty of safe and reputable platforms like those included in a guide for Missouri players where locals can have reliable and accessible means to play casino games with real money. Currently, Missouri’s laws only allow ‘floating’ casinos, and not online ones, so this is a viable alternative for gamblers in the state. As well as this, crypto casinos are also a decent alternative for players in states like Hawaii which don’t allow any casinos at all within their borders.

Demolishing Geographical Boundaries

The days when international entertainment or a visit to a world-renowned casino meant costly flights and cultural isolation are truly over. Today, avid gambling enthusiasts can simply open up an app to access near infinite varieties of casino entertainment and streaming services like Netflix have become global entertainment gateways, offering vast libraries of content from far-flung corners of the world.

With worlds of entertainment at everyone’s fingertips, the sky is the limit. Virtual reality and augmented reality experiences are pushing the boundaries of entertainment further than ever before. Today, gamblers have a wealth of international AR and VR casino options to choose from. These technological innovations are also transporting users to historical landmarks, exotic destinations and fantastical worlds – all from the comfort of their living rooms.

Accessibility for All

The casino entertainment landscape is no longer restricted by physical limitations. Apps and websites are increasingly incorporating features like screen readers, voice controls and fully-adjustable interfaces, ensuring everyone can participate and enjoy casino content as well as other forms of entertainment. Even though a recent report on digital accessibility revealed that digital experiences still alienate around 1.3 billion people with disabilities around the world, many sites are working to make their platforms more accessible.

Language barriers are also less of an issue today. Remember struggling with subtitles or missing the nuances of a foreign film? Advanced translation features are now being built into all kinds of entertainment websites and apps are changing the game. This can be seen at online casino platforms, where real-time translation of text, audio and even live dealer streams allows gamblers to immerse themselves in gaming content regardless of their native language.

These advancements in language accessibility makes web-based platforms more user-friendly, which is a big deal for casino operators who wish to maintain a strong online presence. It also opens up a world of possibilities for users. Today, almost anyone with a reliable connection to the internet, regardless of their mother tongue or ability, can easily participate in the digital entertainment landscape.

The Positive Impact of Accessibility

The impact of accessible websites and mobile apps on global entertainment goes beyond simply providing thrill-based casino enjoyment. It can also encourage more cultural exchange, understanding and empathy. It can empower creators, celebrate diversity and ensure that everyone, regardless of their background or limitations, has the opportunity to be both entertained and inspired.

These innovations are just the beginning of a transformative journey towards a truly inclusive entertainment experience. As technology continues to move forward and artificial intelligence starts to speed up processes, the world can expect even more groundbreaking solutions that further dismantle barriers and connect people across cultures through the shared language of entertainment.

It’s likely that new platforms will mitigate legal limitations further as well by allowing users to access diverse content regardless of their location. Ultimately, accessible websites and apps create a more inclusive and equitable digital landscape. When it’s time to settle down and enjoy a casino gaming session online, take a moment to really sit back and appreciate the fact that accessibility innovations are here to make the world a more interconnected and inclusive space for all.

The post How Apps and Websites Promote Global Accessibility to Casino Entertainment appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.

The patent was filed in February 2010 and was awarded by the US Patent Trademark Office this July.

As people put more trust in the use of mobile phones for payment, mobile wallets are creating new market opportunities. XIUS mobile payments solution is powered by NFC and other technologies. The solution taps into the existing mobile ecosystem and extends banking services to the unbanked and under-banked segments of the population that banks are otherwise challenged to penetrate.

NFC technology allows retailers and brands to engage with mobile consumers, improve in-store experiences, enable touch and go payments, generate more sales, and enhance customer loyalty and trust.

XIUS NFC-based payment solution also delivers control of purchase flow to the merchant.

As of this writing, XIUS mobile payments solutions manage over $1 billion worth of payment transactions monthly and the mobile infrastructure solutions process and manage in excess of 350 million calls a day.

The post XIUS Awarded NFC Patent by USPTO appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.

The following is a guest contributed post from Stephen Fontenot, Communications Specialist for Hostway.

These days, a rising number of users are engaging with companies primarily – and sometimes exclusively – via their mobile devices. Due to this shift, brands boost their focus on their mobile presence, and build a website that is specifically optimized for the mobile platform.

But what does this mean exactly? How can designers be sure they are creating the best possible mobile website? By considering the following design tips and strategies, website creators can help guarantee that their mobile initiative is not only successful, but geared especially for mobile users.

First things first

As mobile becomes a more critical aspect of a business’s online presence, a growing sector of the design community is taking a “mobile first” approach to creating websites. According to online marketing and search engine optimization agency Distilled, this strategy involves creating the mobile version of the website first, and then building the desktop version from the mobile template.

“There’s nothing you can put on a mobile page that can’t be loaded on the desktop version,” Distilled pointed out. This approach is especially helpful for responsive and dynamically served sites, where the content on the mobile version of the page should be identical to the content on the desktop page.”

Many experts recommend creating complementary desktop and mobile website versions that integrate similar color schemes and brand messaging. This assures users that they’ve reached the correct brand’s page. This concept is much easier to integrate when the mobile version is created first and the desktop website is built off of it.

Responsive, shiftable grid layouts

Designers should also consider how their website content will be displayed on different devices. Many smartphone models differ in their screen size, not to mention the much larger displays of tablets. Copley Broer, CEO of LandlordStation, a property management software development company, told CIO that to ensure that content is displayed appropriately, designers should leverage responsive frameworks.

“These frameworks are basically simple ways to lay out elements in a grid and then shift that grid based on different screen sizes, so that elements on a large monitor are spaced just as well as they would be on an iPad [or smartphone],” Broer said.

Performance can help a website stand out

As the amount of mobile-based Internet traffic increases, so too does the number of mobile websites and applications available to users. Currently, there are more than 4 million mobile-optimized websites, according to Adobe’s Andrew Henderson. In this way, designers have their work cut out for them when it comes to ensuring that their page stands out.

One way to differentiate a website is through performance. Many users won’t wait for more than a few seconds for a webpage to load before they abandon it in favor of something else. This makes performance critical – not only for the design processes, but for quality assurance as well. Before the mobile website is rolled out, QA teams should be sure to thoroughly test the page for load times and performance under extreme usage levels to be sure it functions as it should in any situation.

Additionally, Henderson recommends balancing design elements in a way that drives optimal performance of the website on the mobile platform.

“Mobile devices are very underpowered compared to traditional computers. so the performance impact of design elements is even more exacerbated on mobile devices,” Henderson point out. “It is important to balance design directions with the realities of what can be executed well on mobile devices.”

Keep it simple

Above all, mobile websites should leverage a simplified design that is clean and streamlined. Because the mobile platform offers capabilities that aren’t possible on desktops, some designers tend to go overboard with graphics, video or other content. A more focused design will ensure that the website loads quickly on mobile devices, and that users are engaged right away. Furthermore, a busy or cluttered page only serves to distract from the brand message.

“Remember that you only have a few seconds to convey who you are as a company,” noted Caxy Interactive founder and CEO Michael LaVista. “This is true for any website design, but is particularly important when you are designing for smaller devices.”

Taking these tips and best practices into consideration can considerably help design teams create a mobile website that stands out from the crowd, and will help further their brand.

The post Tips and Best Practices for Designing Mobile-Optimized Sites appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.

“When it comes to search on mobile devices, users should get the most relevant and timely results, no matter if the information lives on mobile-friendly web pages or apps,” said Google in a recent blog post. “As more people use mobile devices to access the internet, our algorithms have to adapt to these usage patterns.”

And for those who don’t adapt? There could be problems. Big problems, particularly with regard to how Google treats your website in its search engine.

Last week, SEO 1 Medical, a Dallas based search engine optimization company specializing in the healthcare industry, said that now is the time for medical practices to go mobile. Not a bad idea considering that more patients than ever are turning to their mobile devices for healthcare news, information, and assistance.

Consequently, the company has “geared up to address the expected increase in demand for responsive design.”

Google, The leading search engine, recently announced a planned algorithm change that could impact websites everywhere, including healthcare websites for medical professionals and Medical practices.  The change in algorithm was announced on February 26, 2015, and it will be implemented on April 21, 2015.

“The continuing growth of mobile marketing and the growing ubiquitous use of mobile devices paired with the unique delivery of the news by the search engine giant, is a strong indication that mobile responsiveness is not only going to affect ranking results on mobiles but also will affect desktop results,” the Dallas-based firm recently said publicly.

Rodney Brooke with SEO 1 Medical believes that “once more this will definitely change the search engine landscape and will be a major upset for those websites who have not incorporated responsive design to their code.”

The post What Google’s Algorithm Change Means for Holdouts on Mobile Responsive Websites appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.

Web browsing on mobile devices is, when compared to the speed achieved on laptops and desktops, notoriously slow, and that means that consumers are more likely to backtrack and look for another website than remain on yours.

The 2014 State of the Union: Mobile Ecommerce Performance report found that users want their webpages to load in less than three seconds. How fast does an iPhone load the page? Almost five seconds. Devices older (of any manufacturer), take upwards of seven seconds. In today’s hyper technologized environment, with attention deficit consumers, that’s plenty of time for the individual to decide he’d rather find a website that didn’t so long to load.

This holiday season is going to see more and more individuals shopping via mobile devices. Newly introduced apps and tools on all operating systems make it easier than ever to make a purchase over a mobile connection. Last year’s Black Friday saw upwards of 20% mobile sales.

What does this mean for your business? It means that if your mobile site doesn’t have a great load speed, you’re going to lose the holiday shoppers that are turning to their mobile devices to make purchases.

The post The Need for Speed: Fast Mobile Sites are a Holiday Must appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.

According to the survey results:

• U.S. SMBs predict that mobile-optimized sales revenues will grow by 630% in the next year
• Even so, only 9% of U.S. SMBs have mobile-optimized websites, and just 3% have websites that can handle mobile transactions
• And of SMBs without mobile-optimized websites, only 12% plan to get one in the next 12-18 months.

To help put the data in perspective, hibu published the following infographic highlighting why mobile has never been a more important resource for small businesses in the United States than it is today.

The post Infographic: The Cost of Missing Out on Mobile for SMBs appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.

“True it’s not rocket science,” Ramsey says, “but getting what you need from your mobile website is not as easy as shrinking down your desktop content and moving it around.   Not if you want to drive real outcomes, not if you want your mobile site to shine.”

Here are Ramsey’s six steps to getting your mobile site on the road to greatness:

1.     Pick an outcome

Figure out what it is you want your visitor to do, the task they must perform to create what you need.  These vary greatly but every nuance falls into five general categories – revenue, data, brand engagement, promotion, or drive traffic.  Figure yours out, and stick to it (maybe two).

·       Revenue/Commerce

If your company has items or services for sale directly, then your primary goal on-line is to convince the visitor to purchase your goods.

·       Data Collection

If your primary goal is to gather information, build a data base of emails, or collect data for direct sales initiatives, then innovative solutions are needed to convince a data collection weary world to give you their information or participate in your survey.

·       Enhanced Engagement

If your company wants to immerse visitors in your brand, then a digital experience that encourages interaction and increased time on site is necessary.

·       Drive Traffic

If you want to create foot traffic into your brick and mortar location or sort the traffic digitally directing it to other properties, then a compelling digital pathway in impetrative.

·       Promotion

If you are championing an idea, product, movement, or philanthropy, then creating engaging ways to inform and garner support and sharing is your digital mission.

2.     Build a path

Once you understand your objective, the outcome you want from your visitors, build a path and they will follow.  Create a clear and direct digital linear pathway for your visitors to follow and put what you want them to do at the end.  When your path is built with your visitor in mind you will be astounded by the compliance rates.  However, if your mobile path way(s) look more like twisty country roads with infinite possibilities, your visitors will get lost in the Tulgey Wood and never find their way to the Queen.

3.     Know your audience

Look back, you may have missed a very important point that actually deserves an entire article itself – “with your visitor in mind”.  It is of the utmost importance to understand your audience.  Just as you must choose one outcome to be effective, it is imperative that you speak to someone in particular.  Not everyone, not even most people, speak to a very specific audience.  You’ve heard the saying, “When you speak to everyone, you speak to no one.”  Nowhere is this more true than mobile.

4.     Less is more

What’s true for salt, make-up and feng shui furniture placement is also true for mobile design, less is more.  Don’t fall into the trap of trying to fit everything which is on your desktop onto your mobile site.  It makes for a cluttered look and lots of scrolling for your visitors – if they don’t bounce first.  Choose only content that makes sense with your chosen outcome and cut down on your copy.

5.     Use mobile design elements

Elements which are fantastic on desktop do not always translate to mobile.  Create new or redesign elements specifically for your mobile site, to work well with mobile sized screens.  Three quick examples, of which there are many, would be:

·       Simplify and flatten – The nuances of intricately detailed logos, icons, and design features are lost on mobile and can look wonky (yes it’s a real word and perfect for this purpose).

·       Symbols not words – To keep your site from looking cluttered, use conventional mobile symbols rather than words for taps to call, connect socially or find the menu.

·       Customization creates space – Customized social icons can help create a cohesive look and gives the site a less cluttered look.

6.     Freshen up often

Just as horses can smell fear and your mother knew you had not cleaned your room just by looking at your face, mobile visitors can spot an old site within seconds.  Freshen up your content often and plan on a redesign at least once a year to stay current.

The post 6 Steps to Make Your Mobile Website Shine appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.

And young Americans are driving that growth.

As MMW reported in September, the findings presented in this year’s xAd/Telmetrics Mobile Path to Purchase Study showed that banking and finance mobile users are heavily ruled by Millennials.
xAd discovered that nearly half of all mobile bankers were under the age of 35 and one-third indicated that smartphones were the most important device for their banking needs.

But with so many people turning to digital and mobile platforms for their banking, which institutions have done their part to give customers a quality mobile and online banking platform?

Well, it’s Bank of America that tops a new Forrester ranking of US bank websites, based on user experience, research content, and application functionality.

“Over the last few years, digital banking teams have worked hard on redesigning their sites to improve the online sales process, despite a heavy burden on regulatory compliance,” says Principal Analyst Tiffani Montez in the report.

Although Bank of America took the top spot, Citibank, U.S. Bank, and Wells Fargo were hot on its heels. Both U.S. Bank’s and Wells Fargo’s sites scored two points less than Bank of America, with Citibank just one point further behind.

“The best sites make it easy for prospects to achieve their goals — to find an account that meets their needs, apply in the channel of their choice, and have immediate access to their account. Over the last few years, US banks have chiseled away at the digital sales basics, steadily optimizing their customer journey — but they still have room to improve,” writes Montez.

The post Forrester Ranks Top U.S. Online and Mobile Banking Platforms appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.

On Tuesday, darkness descended on LivingSocial. And by Wednesday afternoon, the darkness remained.

Although the company didn’t collapse, the lights certainly went out. And the massive website outage is still garnering plenty of attention today.

Boyan Josic, a thought leadership expert for digital media, content creation and local commerce, was among the first to report the outage, which has perplexed the digital world for more than 24 hours now.

“As you probably know by now, our website and mobile app went down on Tuesday afternoon,” LivingSocial said in a statement. “Throughout the night, our teams have been working nonstop to address the issue and attempt to ensure that it never happens again. We have isolated the technical issue and are pushing forward to have the site up and running again as soon as possible.”

Without citing specifics, LivingSocial confirms that the outage comes a result of an internal issue, “and there is nothing to indicate that this was the result of any external factors.”

For those concerned with user data and privacy issues, Josic says, it is not believed at this time that consumer or merchant data, or their financial information were compromised.

“In the meantime we have delayed email distribution and new feature promotions until the site has returned to service and we have revised promotion schedules to accommodate merchants for the disruption,” LivingSocial reports, adding an apology to consumers and merchants for any inconvenience.

As of this writing, LivingSocial is still down.

The post Mobile Users Locked Out of LivingSocial appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.

Per the announced details this morning, non-profit organizations within the United States are now eligible for a free Premium mobile website for life.

Organizations can submit their 501(c)(3) status verification to apply for the program, the company says.

The goal of the DudaMobile Non-Profit Program is to help non-profits expand their reach with a mobile-friendly website and focus on their work for the common good.

“We’re inspired by non-profit organizations and the great causes that they support,” says Itai Sadan, co-founder and CEO of DudaMobile. “The DudaMobile Non-Profit Program allows us to lend a helping hand and give back to our community, providing a free mobile-optimized website to dramatically increase exposure and further their good work.”

DudaMobile says its Premium mobile sites are equipped with tools to maximize visitor engagement, for example: buttons for Click-to-Call and Mobile Maps, and features for accepting donations directly through the mobile site.

Qualified non-profit organizations can convert their existing desktop websites using Duda’s conversion platform, or build a mobile-optimized website from scratch.

The post Mobile Website Builder Launches Non-Profit Program appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.