According to the latest Pew Research data on the U.S. mobile market, upwards of 58% of all Americans own a smartphone (some 42% of Americans own a tablet computer) and gaming is the hottest vector in the space, so hot in fact that adult women now make up 48% of the gaming market, largely on the strength of smartphone proliferation. Market research by NewZoo and AppLift have pegged the mobile gaming market phenomenology quite well with a $24B projection by 2016. A forecast that tracks well with the Gartner data, which also has the mobile gaming space doubling over a short period of time, with a revenue prediction suggesting the market will expand from the roughly $13.2B seen last year, to around $22B in 2015.
Either way, it seems clear that mobile gaming is an extremely hot market, with growth in Brazil, China, and India dominating the upward trend. Perhaps Morgan Stanley read the tea leaves best in describing Microsoft’s (NASDAQ:MSFT) $2.5B acquisition last week of Swedish indie developer Mojang AB, who made the smash hit Minecraft, as a smart move for the company’s Xbox business. But look at the fact that Minecraft is also the top paid app on both Android and iOS, where 40% of the game’s downloads occur, and you will realize the move is about much more than the console or PC markets, MSFT is moving to gain a sizeable foothold in mobile gaming here and industry analysts are starting to take note. Such games have an immediate appeal that cuts across language barriers (beside which, in-game multilanguage technology has come a long ways, making it easy to publish once for multiple languages irrespective of game engine in most cases) and the mega-hot Chinese mobile gaming market, set to grow a whopping 93% this year alone (projected 37.6% CAGR through 2018) according to market intelligence firm, Niko Partners, is a juicy target, especially considering AppLift/NewZoo’s data pegging China as 12% of the global market last year.
This portrait of the mobile gaming market brings players like Consorteum Holdings (CSRH) under a bright light indeed and the diligent work executed by CSRH in particular over the last few years, seamlessly tying together a network of key relationship and licensing agreements, is a compelling subject for the savvy investor to study. CSRH is a mobile solutions provider with the kind of rich transaction experience needed to move the ball down the field revenue-wise and acts as a support player/publishing and distribution enabler. Moreover, the company’s UMI (Universal Mobile Interface) solution is a verticals-spanning powerhouse technology that supercharges CSRH’s mastery of mobile payment/transaction solutions and content delivery.
Naturally, the transaction management and mobile solutions prowess of CSRH lends itself directly to the gambling end of the gaming spectrum and the company has wasted little time enmeshing themselves therein, utilizing a bold marketing and technology strategy that is designed to revolutionize the space. CSRH’s wholly-owned ThreeFiftyNine Inc. subsidiary (359) for instance is the only 3rd party developer cleared by the Nevada Gaming Commission (NGC). 359’s client-server application has been vetted successfully by the NGC and thanks to the company’s proprietary UMI platform, complete Geo-fencing and Geo-location compliance has been satisfied.
Of course, in this market, security is always a top watchword and the in-depth security capabilities of the company’s hybrid client-server app makes it very appealing for a pipeline solution to get gaming content onto mobile user’s devices. 359 uses a thin-client application to integrate a gaming provider’s backend with the company’s own client-server framework, pumping the content out for delivery and display, eliminating the cost and complexity for gaming providers related to updating device applications due to new code or new devices. The implications are staggering for anyone who understands the casino gaming space and gambling market in general. From mobile lottery and offerings like the Stations Casino’s Sportsbook application for sports and horse betting, to keno and casino games like video blackjack, the UMI approach to getting content to customers is lightweight but powerful.
A striking example of how agile CSRH can be came in May this year with the completion of development work on a mobile results app for live Keno with partner XpertX, Inc., which is seen as one of the industry leaders in Keno gaming today. The partners pulled off a comprehensive architecture from game server and feature integration, to publishing and distribution, including various support services like database management and hosting, in short time, leading XpertX founder and President, Eric Thomassian, to be extremely optimistic about live Keno being brought to mobile gaming in a jurisdiction-tuned fashion. Consorteum Holdings’ recent mobile app development contract signed between their 359 subsidiary and BetButler parent company, Bet Clearer Ltd., likely could’ve saved BetButler. Whose sizeable customer database is now up for grabs, with plans to settle with customers via a new company with “no conditions on withdrawal,” according to a Bet Clearer spokesman.
For more information, visit www.consorteum.com
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