A few years ago, mobile applications were considered a mere fad; now they are completely dominating the mobile world.

From dating, fitness and banking to mobile strip games, software developers have thought of everything. Mobile applications have completely taken over the world of smartphones and tablets, while browsing the Internet has becoming far less interesting.

This is the main conclusion of a recent study conducted by Flurry Analytics, which proves that mobile gaming – including mobile slots and other casino games – is one of the world’s fastest growing industries at present. An increasing number of tablet and smartphone owners are using mobile apps on a daily basis, whether it’s for shopping, paying their bills or gambling.

How apps rule our lives

The study was conducted this year between January and March and it reveals that Americans spend on average 2 hours and 42 minutes on their smartphones or tablets, every day. The interesting thing is that only 31 minutes – representing only 14% – are used to browse the web.

Time spent on the mobile web continued to decline and averaged just 14% of the US mobile consumer’s time, or 22 minutes per day. The data tells a clear story that apps, which were considered a mere fad a few years ago, are completely dominating mobile, and the browser has become a single application swimming in a sea of apps.

It looks like mobile device users focus their attention mainly on applications. As far as gaming companies and mobile casino operators are concerned, all this is excellent news. With so many potential customers, more and more software companies are focusing on developing Android and iOS applications.

The gaming industry – the big winner

It’s not just the number of app developers that keeps growing; it’s also the categories of apps made available via Google and Apple stores. In addition to games, smartphone users can now download and install apps like Poo log, Toothbrush fitness, Amazing girlfriend manager, Gym shamer, Cry translator or Drunk dial no!

Obviously, these apps are not the most profitable and we can see why. But with gaming and entertainment apps, it’s a whole different story. Statistics show mobile users spend 32% of their time playing games and another 28% messaging or interacting with their friends on social sites. Entertainment and utility apps are on 3rd place, with 8%.

Shopping is also a big part of a mobile user’s everyday life. According to eMarketer, consumers spent close to $37 billion on retail purchases made from their mobile devices in 2013. By 2016, that figure is expected to go up to $87 billion.

Optimization is the key

Despite the huge success of the mobile gaming industry, there is still a lot of work to be done, experts say. The study recommends that online casino operators make efforts to optimize their mobile applications or portals, in order to make content shorter and more comprehensive.

When it comes to gambling on their mobiles, users expect the conversion processes to be as simple as possible. This requires an easy-to-use interface. A study conducted last year shows that 35% of businesses are heavily investing into new mobile strategies, as mobile purchases account for as much as 40% of their sales.

“There is an old saying in the world of advertising: ‘time-spent is the timeless currency’,” Flurry wrote. “It means that advertising revenue distribution follows time-spent distributions. As an example, if an app commands 17% of time spent, it should command 17% of the ad revenues for that channel.”

Compared to last year, the average US consumer now spends 4 minutes more on his mobile device every day. This means a 2.5% year-on-year growth, a significant increase which shows that the time has come to take mobile apps more seriously.