The benefits of HTML5 are numerous. Hence, it is no surprise that more and more companies, small and large, are opting for it to avoid the hassle of creating mobile applications for different   operating systems. The latest victim of HTML5 is Bet365. In May, Transport for London (TfL) revealed plans for a website overhaul using HTML5. The motivation to adopt HTML5 was to ensure that those using mobile devices can access its services as normal.

Now, the online gambling company Bet365 has given some insights to V3 on its use of the technology to allow customers to access its site on any device with ease, while reducing the IT complexity and size of the code base required to run the service.

The firm’s head of systems development, Alan Reed, told V3 that the decision to move to HTML5 has been driven by the rapid increase in customers accessing the site across a raft of mobile devices over the past few years.

In a statement, Reed said, “We used to outsource our mobile apps until about 2010, and then we brought them in house and started making apps for devices, but around that time there was not the saturation of smartphones as people were still in contracts for older phones.” However, he added, “Smartphones became the norm and tablets like the iPad meant people were accessing the site over Wi-Fi as well as 3G, to the extent that 50 percent of our customers were coming from a mobile device.”

Consequently, Reed believes that the use of HTML5 has enabled the firm to provide rich content on devices, such as video and audio, but without the need for using technology like Flash. “We’ve tried to raise the base with our mobile site experience now. IT allows us to provide a richness of content and a universal product that isn’t tied to one environment like iOS or Android (News – Alert),” Reed asserted.

In speaking with V3, Reed highlighted the fact that there was a shortage of IT professionals with the relevant HTML5 skills. According to Reed, this market is underserved because there are not enough of them. Hence, the Bet365 executive would like to see more IT graduates acquiring the HTML5 skills as the opportunities are tremendous.