The Recent Surge of Brands Bringing Gaming and iGaming to Women – Perhaps more emphasised by the stigma, but all forms of gaming, be they video or casino gaming, have been seen as predominantly male entertainment mediums. With stereotyped female characters in video games and Hollywood movies lauding mostly male casino players’ attention, it’s easy to see why people would think they’re aimed solely at a male audience.
However, the still-steady rise of the smartphone appears to be changing that a great deal. Admittedly, the stigma remains ongoing, with the majority of gaming and iGaming products being seen as made for males. However, the numbers now suggest that mobiles are exactly what was needed to bring women into gaming.
Mobile entertainment makes up the largest segment of the global games market right now, according to New Zoo, constituting 45 percent of revenues to PC’s 23 percent and console’s 32 percent. The same has been seen in iGaming, with the mobile player segment continuing to encroach on the computer-based player segment.
While males also enjoy mobile gaming, the stark rise in prominence of the platform can easily be accredited to developers and brands who are attempting to actively appeal to women.
Mobile is bringing women into gaming
It’s very possible that women all over the world would have made up a large portion of traditional gaming circles, if social stigmas weren’t in the way, as the rise of mobile gaming has proven that there is a huge female gaming audience out there. As shown by Google’s Change The Game report, mobile is democratising gaming, with the uptake of women playing mobile games simultaneously benefitting from the rise in smartphone penetration – resulting in the global mobile gaming audience now being 49 percent female.
Furthermore, the report details that 64 percent of women prefer mobile gaming over other gaming platforms, and that 43 percent of women – to 38 percent of men – play mobile games five times per week or more. The Game Analytics analysis of consumers of mobile gaming, adds that women tend to play whenever they have a minute or two to take a break, with mobile games being ideally created and, indeed, very convenient for quick doses of entertainment.
The wide selection of games tailored to the female audience, and games being mostly free-entry, have all contributed to the growing audience of women in gaming. Developers for the Play Store and App Store aren’t the only ones to notice the growing female audience either, with big-name iGaming brands also introducing mobile and free-to-play gaming.
iGaming adjusting the service for female gamers
One of the oldest forms of entertainment, casino gaming, has been a notorious boys club for centuries. However, that perception has changed a great deal in recent years, with gambling’s move to the online space allowing brands to create gaming platforms that are tailored to female gaming trends.
Once gambling became iGaming for the online audience, pioneering brands quickly identified the rise in mobile adoption as well as the large female audience therein. As such, the brands quickly created expansive mobile offerings for quick and convenient entertainment options, as well as offering a way for people to play, to some extent, for free – a core component behind mobile game adoption, particularly with women in gaming.
People enjoy free gaming, and so, Paddy Power Casino Promotions, as one example, were introduced to give players the chance to play some titles for free, including leading titles like Berry Berry Bonanza and Da Vinci’s Vault. The promotions page introduces ways for players to try select games, slots, and even the live casino game offerings.
Allowing for a way to enjoy games with bonuses, while also having a mobile app, makes iGaming much more accessible. Given the rate at which the industry is growing, particularly in the mobile sector, it’s safe to say that these efforts, which mirror other mobile gaming sectors, are proving to be appealing to all gamers.
Almost everyone has a smartphone these days so, as such, mobile gaming is very convenient in and of itself, especially as most games are free and, if not, platforms give ways to play games via bonuses. The accessibility of mobile gaming and iGaming has allowed women to discover their love for the sector, now accounting for marginally under half of the audience.
Poppy Watt