Online sports betting has become hugely popular in Kenya, with the country ranked amongst the top three gambling nations in Africa, along with South Africa and Nigeria.
Sports betting in Kenya has evolved drastically over the last decade. Back in the day, betting enthusiasts used to flood into physical shops scattered all over Nairobi and Mombasa to place their wagers, but that is no longer the case.
Most bettors now place their bets on mobile devices from the convenience of their living rooms. According to a 2019 report from GeoPoll, 88% of gamblers in Kenya have used their mobile phones to place bets at some point during their online betting adventure.
Recognizing the importance of mobile betting, many betting sites in Kenya now have mobile apps, or at least mobile sites to cater for the needs of their customers. However, not all of these apps are great for sports betting.
Some are slow to load and difficult to navigate, some are boring and unattractive, while others lack key functionality.
So what makes a great betting app and which betting sites have the best apps?
One of the most important qualities of a great betting app is the time it takes to load and power up.
Some betting apps take an excruciatingly long time to start up, which can be quite dispiriting and frustrating, especially when you want to place a quick live bet!
Ideally, when you launch a betting app on your mobile phone, it should be ready to use within seconds. If the load time gets anywhere close to a minute, ditch that app and find a better one!
Apart from having quick load time, a good betting app should also be smooth and easy to use. You should be able to move between pages and functions without any difficulty.
Some betting apps drag and hang so bad that users often have to restart their mobile devices if they want to continue using the device!
Arguably, the most important quality in a betting app is the functionality of the app. What is the point of having a mobile app if you cannot carry out all your betting operations as you would do on a desktop or a laptop?
Whether you want to register or make a deposit, place a bet or withdraw funds, you should be able to do everything on your mobile app.
Great betting sites like betway have apps that allow users to perform all of these basic operations, along with other functions like account verification, live betting, live streaming, cash out and many more.
A growing trend among betting sites is to have apps-related bonuses and promotions. On these sites, you get rewarded for betting on the mobile app of the site. This really cool feature is still pretty new in Kenya, but it will surely catch on in the coming years.
We also like our betting app to have a visually pleasing appearance and captivating graphics. While this may not be as significant as the earlier-listed factors, aesthetics does add to the quality of the gaming experience.
In these days of advancing technology, it isn’t too much to ask our betting sites to put in extra effort into the design of their apps and create a visually-engaging product.
Mobile betting is definitely here to stay in Kenya, and betting apps will only get better as the years go by.
For now, apps like Betway are setting the pace in the Kenyan market, but others are catching up very quickly.
