A well-thought-out QA strategy for launching gambling software across the globe
With the proliferation of smartphones and mobile apps, the online gambling industry has become a multi-billion-dollar field that continues to grow rapidly. The experts at Research and Markets state that the global gambling market, encompassing both traditional casinos and online platforms will reach $224.1 billion by 2030. According to Statista, the worldwide count of online gambling users is expected to increase to 291.4 million by 2029.
Source: Casinos – Global Strategic Business Report
But what makes a game truly stand out? Is it breathtaking graphics or satisfying mechanics? While these features elevate the software, they mean little if crashes occur. Additionally, the gambling industry is one of the most dynamic and heavily regulated sectors in the world, meaning that successful expansion into new markets depends largely on complying with regional regulations.
Therefore, a region-specific approach to quality control can ensure that new gambling software works flawlessly and meets strict legal and technical requirements.
This article provides an overview of the role of QA in game development and an optimal strategy for rolling out resilient solutions for diverse markets.
QA as an essential addition for any game development project
The iGaming industry has witnessed a variety of different solutions — video slots, table games, poker, sports betting platforms, bingo, live dealer services, just to name a few. In such a competitive environment, a single error can cause end user dissatisfaction, resulting in poor reviews, user churn, and even lost profit.
A comprehensive quality assurance approach applied early in the SDLC can help organizations turn the tide and derive numerous business perks, the most vital of which are:
- Compliance with legal demands
Regulatory authorities in the EU, USA, Singapore, Macau, and other jurisdictions enforce distinct official standards to ensure fair play, transparency, and the protection of players, which all gambling software developers must comply with. Consistent and recurrent software testing helps adhere to these norms and avoid financial penalties, legal repercussions, or license suspension despite the evolution of regulations.
- Strengthened software reliability
Thorough quality control serves to detect issues of differing severity and helps prevent any downtime or lost revenue, especially during traffic spikes. For instance, by relying on comprehensive performance testing, a developer of an online casino game integrated with Facebook, managed to handle 10,000 concurrent users while keeping the response time below 0.2 seconds.
- Improved cost-efficiency
If testers initiate QA activities early in the development phase, software engineers can mitigate them easier and quicker before they escalate into full-fledged problems. Such a proactive approach reduces financial concerns surrounding late fixing of post-launch failures and prevents unwelcome interruptions.
- Accelerated time to market
When automated testing reinforced with AI is introduced, organizations can not only attain high-quality software but significantly expedite its deployment. For instance, with a1qa’s test automation support, another developer of online mobile “social games”, managed to reduce development time of an automated test by 28%, which in a nine-month span the QA team saved 788 hours.
- Enriched brand perception
When gambling software is highly intuitive and operates without a hitch across diverse devices and OSs, it has more chances to retain end users, make them trust the brand, and recommend solutions to other players.
Bespoke QA strategy for navigating diverse regulatory landscapes
Let’s have a look at a region-specific evaluation process that can help organizations address unique demands of each market and launch a gambling product both enjoyable for users and complying with stringent regulations.
- Compliance testing
This is a mandatory move for any organization that wants to guarantee the software is legally and ethically sound across all targeted geographical areas.
For instance, in the UK, licensing is overseen by the Gambling Commission, while in Malta, companies must comply with the Malta Gaming Authority, each with its own set of regulations. The taxation system in each country also differs, meaning that financial reports must correspond with local demands. Additionally, it’s essential for gambling software to meet internationally accepted standards and certifications, such as eCOGRA that prioritizes game fairness.
QA engineers delve into targeted regulatory guidelines, check for regulatory changes, create a test plan that addresses critical areas, and run compliance tests to ensure that no legal pitfalls will arise after software launch and save money for additional attempts to pass certification.
- Localization testing
Before releasing gambling software in any geographical region, it’s vital to conduct localization testing to make sure that it adheres to regional laws or cultural practices.
QA engineers check that the application accommodates regional currencies, symbols, and date and time formatting. They also verify that text adjusts seamlessly to buttons, menus, and UI components, avoiding truncation or alignment issues. Additionally, they confirm that licensing and certification data is accurate and regionally valid as well as review compliance with area-specific gambling laws, such as age limitations.
Through this a1qa’s encompassing localization quality control approach, the developer of online social games managed to successfully adapt the software for international markets, including the EU, the USA, Canada, Australia, and parts of Asia.
- Security testing
A cyberattack in November 2024 targeted a leading gambling technology provider, disrupting its internal IT systems and applications. Upon discovering the intrusion, the company took immediate action by taking certain systems offline. Although the extent of disruption is unknown, such an incident is bound to affect the company’s reputation.
Therefore, security testing is a pivotal aspect for any gambling operator striving to enter new markets with minimized business risks. Detailed testing enables companies not only release software resilient to DDoS and bot attacks, account takeovers, ransomware threats, or other fraudulent activities but ensure the IT products adheres to the technical and legal requirements within GDPR, PCI DSS, CCPA, ISO 27001, and other regional standards.
By executing penetration testing, vulnerability scanning, pre-certification security audits, QA engineers identify weak spots and confirm the gambling software and user data are fortified against known problems.
- Performance testing
For online gambling platforms, ensuring fast, scalable, and responsive performance is crucial. Setbacks in its operation can directly affect user contentment and lead to severe financial consequences, legal complications, and a tarnished reputation.
Companies may supplement their QA strategies with performance testing to ensure that millions of players from multiple geographical locations can seamlessly leverage such platforms for their entertainment and successful financial transactions fulfilled in the real time.
By conducting server- and client-side verifications, QA engineers subject applications to conditions beyond their limits, evaluate how they function under pressure, and detect imperfections.
- Functional testing
Whether we’re talking about a slot machine, roulette wheel, card game, or any other gambling software type, players must be assured that all its crucial features work as intended and deliver robust user experiences.
Therefore, QA specialists can apply diverse functional testing types to verify the entire application flow (registration, placing bets, calculations, live streaming, withdrawal, etc.) and evaluate operational, graphical, and integrity aspects of the game to pinpoint any problems before the release when they are easier and cheaper to resolve.
- Mobile app testing
The gambling industry has experienced a major shift in recent years, as mobile devices have become the go-to platform for many players. This transformation is driven by a variety of factors, such as round-the-clock accessibility, faster payments, biometric authentication, and others.
Testing these mobile apps is vital, as it helps create a dependable environment that users can trust, mitigating potential risks, increasing player satisfaction, and strengthening the app’s market superiority.
Therefore, QA engineers leverage real mobile devices specific to each geographical region and verify application life cycle, performance, security, reaction to various interruptions, network connectivity, and many other aspects.
Summing up
Launching gambling IT products across various markets demands a comprehensive, carefully crafted validation framework that ensures compliance, regulatory alignment, and region-specific testing. A structured quality assurance approach helps mitigate risks, build user trust, and drive long-term success in the competitive gambling industry.
Are you planning to launch new gambling products? Contact a1qa’s experts to get professional QA consultation and support.
