Mobile gambling provider starts to pay user data charges

I noted with interest and some incredulity a comment made in a recent NMA piece by ITV’s head of mobile Melissa Goodwin, that data costs for mobile internet browsing were not a barrier to consumers using the medium. While I didn’t have any survey data to contradict this, most people I know that don’t use the mobile internet cite cost as the main reason. However, as any statistician will tell you, a survey sample size of one doesn’t count for much.

Mobile gambling is leading the way in lots of fields (mobile affiliate marketing, ad strategy and usability), mainly because there’s a lot of money at stake (tends to drive innovation, doesn’t it). One UK based company, Cecure Gaming, owner of the Aces Royal brand, has started offering zero rated data to users of its service. This is through a deal with operators and is listed as one of the product’s main selling points on their marketing blurb.

I take this as a commercial reaction to a market reality, and something that goes some way to proving that data charges (or at least fear of data charges) really are putting people off the mobile internet. Zero rating is not for everyone, but for those who own big revenue products (mobile gambling Cost Per Acquisition levels that can reach as high as £80 per user) this makes perfect sense.

BTW, mobile affiliate marketing is something I will return to in the near future. It’s kicking off right now, and not just for mobile gambling…..