As an emerging market in many sectors, Vietnam has become a key point of interest among well-established industries seeking significant growth forecasts. Naturally, there’s a place for home-grown and localized products in such sectors, but as we’ve seen in several other developing nations, those with international reach can quickly make waves in countries like Vietnam.
One piece of technology that has seemingly swept through Vietnam’s adult population is the smartphone. In recent years, smartphone usage and mobile subscriptions have surged, creating a new Vietnam mobile market for industries to explore. This has been most stark with the iGaming industry, with smartphone adoption now shaping how the industry approaches Vietnam and the region.
Smartphone domination in Vietnam
In a 2012 report, it was found there were roughly 19 million mobile internet users, amounting to a bit over 21 percent of Vietnam’s population. Fast-forward a decade, and now 73.5 percent of the country’s adult population are using smartphones, per OpenGOV. It doesn’t end there, though, as the country has grand ambitions to rocket that number up to 85 percent over the next six months.
It’s impossible to deny both the popularity and importance of the smartphone, particularly in emerging markets like Vietnam. They offer accessible, cost-effective, ad convenient access to the internet for business, research, entertainment, and socializing. By comparison to the Asia-Pacific region, however, Vietnam is somewhat of a trailblazer.
The GSMA reported that, by the end of 2020, there were 1.6 billion people in the region with mobile service subscriptions. This only accounted for 60 percent of the region’s population, though, with the figure tipped to reach 1.8 billion, or 62 percent, by 2025. Vietnam is already well ahead of the regional average for population percentage on mobile networks and still wants to grow significantly throughout 2022.
Vietnam isn’t just a smartphone-using nation, either. The country is a key part of the global smartphone production ecosystem and only saw its role increase when the US slapped tariffs on China, shifting more late stages of production to Vietnam to avoid said tariffs. Samsung devices are often assembled in Vietnam, and in 2021, the IDC says that smartphone shipments grew by 12 percent, with 25 percent growth expected in 2022.
Visible evolutions in iGaming to respond to mobile madness
In a 2012 report, it was found there were roughly 19 million mobile internet users, amounting to a bit over 21 percent of Vietnam’s population. Fast-forward a decade, and now 73.5 percent of the country’s adult population are using smartphones, per OpenGOV. It doesn’t end there, though, as the country has grand ambitions to rocket that number up to 85 percent over the next six months.
It’s impossible to deny both the popularity and importance of the smartphone, particularly in emerging markets like Vietnam. They offer accessible, cost-effective, ad convenient access to the internet for business, research, entertainment, and socializing. By comparison to the Asia-Pacific region, however, Vietnam is somewhat of a trailblazer.
The GSMA reported that, by the end of 2020, there were 1.6 billion people in the region with mobile service subscriptions. This only accounted for 60 percent of the region’s population, though, with the figure tipped to reach 1.8 billion, or 62 percent, by 2025. Vietnam is already well ahead of the regional average for population percentage on mobile networks and still wants to grow significantly throughout 2022.
Vietnam isn’t just a smartphone-using nation, either. The country is a key part of the global smartphone production ecosystem and only saw its role increase when the US slapped tariffs on China, shifting more late stages of production to Vietnam to avoid said tariffs. Samsung devices are often assembled in Vietnam, and in 2021, the IDC says that smartphone shipments grew by 12 percent, with 25 percent growth expected in 2022.
Visible evolutions in iGaming to respond to mobile madness
Source: unsplash
Online casino gaming and sports betting originated on web browsers, as you’d imagine, with the platform being expansive enough for brands to pile in thousands of markets and games. Mobile complicated things, with its small screen, touch interface, and downgrade in power. Still, in emerging markets, smartphones look to be the primary point of access to the internet, which has shaped how iGaming sites operate.
Now, 188BET emphasizes its place as a mobile application to download as well as a mobile browser-based platform. It has fully adapted its offering so that any betting market or casino game that’s on its website is compatible and enjoyable on smartphone devices. If anything, this move has enhanced the service, with easy-to-scroll menus, quick-tap betting, and convenient access at any time via a browser or installed app.
In the years to come, more and more internet-based entertainment platforms will have to do the same to get a footing in Vietnam. This isn’t to say that other internet-connected devices aren’t popular; it’s just that smartphone connectivity is too big to ignore for any company. Live sports streaming and video content platforms will have to keep improving their product with a mobile-first mentality in Vietnam, as iGaming has.
Smartphones have changed everyday life in Vietnam and, as a result, are bending industries like iGaming to the will of the people, with services needing to be streamlined for mobile and accessible on the go.
Feature image source: pexels
