If you’ve ever played roulette online, you probably know how frustrating it can be to have fun with a game that has such unpredictable outcomes. If you’ve ever dreamed of creating a betting app that allows users to wager on the outcomes of various sporting events, you’re in luck because today, I’m going to tell you how to do just that!
Before we begin, a little bit of background on esports and sports betting is worth mentioning. Esports and sports betting have been around for a while but have mainly been available for PC gamers and casino players. Over the last few years, as esports and gaming grew in popularity, so did online betting and mobile betting. Today, it’s not uncommon to find casinos offering esports and betting on mobile devices. However, the way these games are designed and the rules are set up, it’s still not really “online” or “desktop” friendly.
With the advent of HTML5, all of these issues went away and now, with the help of our friends at Lucky Nugget, a premier source for casinos and cryptocurrency-related content, we can build a fully functional, mobile-friendly esports betting app. Let’s get started.
Why Mobile?
As I mentioned above, it’s not uncommon for casinos to offer esports and betting because of the growing popularity of mobile gaming, but it’s not limited to that. Mobile gaming is a perfect fit for esports because it’s fast-paced, frenetic, and user-friendly.
Users can easily get sucked into the action as the game automatically provides frequent rewards through the use of loot boxes which contain randomized gifts. Mobile gaming also provides us with an audience that’s more receptive to trying something new and different because they’re constantly searching for ways to improve their experience. It’s the perfect market for an esports betting app!
What Is Needed To Build A Mobile-Friendly Esports App?
To build a mobile-friendly esports app, you’ll need a combination of the following:
- A web server to provide a static website (this will be your gateway to the internet)
- A MySql database to store your user’s data (this will provide users with a familiar, user-friendly experience when logging in)
- A payment processor to handle all the financial transactions (this provides a safe and secure way to make sure funds are being transmitted and recorded correctly)
- A microphone to allow users to communicate with each other while playing (this allows for real-time chat functionality during matches)
- A Facebook or Twitter account to provide a “social” feature allowing users to connect with and follow tournaments, leagues, and teams
- An iOS or Android SDK to build apps for mobile devices (either one will do, it just depends on which one you plan on using to build your app)
- Design software to build your app’s user interface (this provides a fully custom experience that feels more like using an actual app instead of a web browser)
Where Do I Start?
If you’re unfamiliar, the iOS and Android SDKs provide access to all the tools and resources you need to build apps for mobile devices. Both of which are free to download from the official Apple, Google Play stores. Once you have the SDKs downloaded to your computer, you can follow the tutorials to get started building your app. Don’t worry, the entire process from start to finish, including the programming, will be completely free!
Get Inspired
When developing apps for mobile devices, you have the freedom to be as creative as possible and not be constrained by the size of your computer’s screen. So, take some time to think of ideas for different games and competitions within the esports and sports betting world that you can develop an app around. Just remember, to build an app for mobile, you’ll need to use HTML5 and CSS for styling, and JavaScript & SQL for programming. Once you have an idea of what you want the app to look like, you can begin researching which tournaments, leagues, and matches are upcoming and which ones have already taken place. Doing some research beforehand will take some of the stress out of finding out what happened in real-time during a game. If possible, try to attend some of these events live to get a better feel for what’s going on.
Put It Together
Once you have an idea of what you want the app to look like and how you want it to work, it’s time to put your vision into reality. Start by creating a static website in HTML5 using a content management system (CMS) like WordPress or Joomla. Once you have the basic structure of your website created, it’s time to add content. You can start by adding a few pages with useful information about the different esports games, how to play them, and tips on winning. After you have a few pages with content, it’s time to add some design elements, create a logo, and add a little bit more information about the company that you’ll be building the app for. When creating a website, the most important thing to keep in mind is to make sure that everything is mobile-friendly. If you’re not sure how to do this, you can get help from a professional web designer or you can learn how to do this yourself through free training resources like Google’s web design academy. Once you have everything taken care of, it’s time to test out your new site by viewing it on a mobile device or a large monitor.
What Next?
Once you have a working website, it’s time to move on to the next step. You’re going to need a MySQL database to store user data so that when they log in, they can easily access their account and transaction information. You can also store additional information about the different tournaments, leagues, and games in your database. Storing this data is very easy to do and only requires a few lines of code. Just remember to backup your database before making any major changes. Once you have your database set up and populated with some sample data, it’s time to move on to the final step.
Final Takeaway
Ultimately, we hope that you found this tutorial informative. Now that you know the basics about building a mobile-friendly esports betting app, you can begin brainstorming different ways to utilize this new platform. For more information on the topic, check out the following resources: