Entiain (ODR Apps)

High Level Overview

Apple’s App Store Review Guidelines caused a stir in the world of gambling, and I was brought in to Entain (formerly GVC) to lead the transition.

Strategy

We had to understand exactly what the changes to the App Store Review Guidelines meant for the industry, and create a dynamic plan which would be rolled out strategically in 2020 – 2021.

Over 60 Apps & 15 Brands

These changes impacted the majority of Entain’s apps, including apps belonging to Ladbrokes, Bwin, BetMGM, PartyPoker, Gala Bingo, Sportingbet, Coral, Foxy Bingo and Eurobet.

Product Rediseign

Every one of Entain’s casino apps had to be redesigned in order to be compliant with Apple guidelines. We did this by seeking to understand Apple’s long term UX goals, rather than just box-ticking.

Content Distribution

Considering Apple’s ‘on demand resource’ limitations, we sought to implement a cost-per megabyte model in prioritising game rollout and distribution, optimising limited resources.

Native Design

We updated the app’s core features to native, delivering an improved experience.

Compliant List View

Designed a new list view to be compliant with new Casino Industry Apple Guidelines.

Categorisation

Advanced filters and categories were designed to facilitate discoverability.

Three Year Strategy

Created a long term strategy aimed at delivering optimal UX and ongoing compliance.

Data-Driven Analysis

Data led game distribution, feature rollout, native conversion & cross-sell.

Increased Engagement

The new apps saw a double figure increase in engagement and session times.

Some more information…

The new apps were a necessity which despite setting back design trends,  led to increased engagement and session times.

Background How it was Built My Scope

How do we ensure our apps are compliant with Apple’s new guidelines?

In 2019 Apple updated their App Store Review Guidelines, which meant that any code that was considered the “main purpose of the app”, would have to be embedded in the binary. Owing to the flexibility of web, the vast majority of casino apps were wrapped. This presented a huge challenge for the world’s biggest online casinos.

Entain hired me to plan and oversee the transition from web apps to mostly native ones. We started by seeking to understand Apple’s guideline updates, then identified what we considered to be the “main purpose” of the apps, and prioritised native features accordingly. We also had to ensure we did not present these as a “store or store-like interface”, which meant more of a focus had to be on categorisation (which was also limited according to new guidelines) and filtration.

How do we go about aligning a large shift to native within internal teams? 

The development work was all done in-house by our developers based in India. My team and I travelled to the Hyderabad offices to work with the engineering team in ensuring our visions were aligned.

The strategy was created in collaboration with tech teams, PMO, product marketing, testers, design and heads and directors of departments including casino, sports, poker, bingo and the US market. We focused on developing the white-label template with considerations for regional compliance requirements for countries such as Italy, Germany and the US. I implemented a test driven development approach to the work with requirements being converted to test cases before being fully developed.

What were my main areas of focus?

Strategic

  • Working with a number of stakeholders in defining the strategy for adapting iOS apps across all brands.
  • Translating Apple guideline updates into a product vision and strategy.
  • Defining & supporting the creation of useful, viable, and sustainable native features that meet the needs of the customer.
  • Defining app release and update strategies and schedules.
  • Building and managed vendor relationships for games across casino and live casino.
  • Creating a long term product vision with a focus on compliance and automation across the board.
  • Assessing and driving opportunities in new markets, such as how the apps could leverage the business’s live presence in regions like the USA and UK.


Product

  • Defining and owning the product roadmap and prioritising features.
  • Defining metrics for the user experience of native apps and establishing clear success definitions.
  • Turning data insights into product features with actionable outcomes to the customer.
  • Supporting the product owners in prioritising and refining the feature backlog for assigned products, balancing the requirements of stakeholders and customers.
  • Working with product owners to translates product roadmap features into well-defined product requirements including features, user stories, and acceptance test criteria.
  • Undertaking competitor research to understand how competitors were addressing Apple’s new guidelines.
  • Working with cross-functional teams and stakeholders including: design, compliance, security, BI, engineering and testing.
  • Managing strategic third-party relationships with suppliers.
  • Working closely with Development Teams to understand challenges on the go, and seeking to resolve these as quickly and efficiently as possible.
  • Bringing Android apps in line with the improved native experiences we were building within iOS. 


Testing

  • Streamlined the testing process such that every iteration came with enhanced release notes, and each stage of the testing process was signed off at SV, QA and UAT levels.


Reporting

  • Reporting on the` progress and feature rollout vs web apps.
  • Presenting feature demos to stakeholders.

Academic

  • Developing a deep understanding of how Apple’s guideline updates impact the business’s iOS apps.
  • Keeping a sharp focus on new markets and potential legislative impacts on my roadmap.