Progressive Web Apps have become the go-to distribution method for casino operators and affiliates who want to bypass app store restrictions. A well-built PWA offers the full app experience — home screen icon, push notifications, offline access — without the approval process or 30% revenue share of traditional app stores.
What Is a PWA?
A Progressive Web App is a website that uses modern web technologies to deliver an app-like experience. From the user's perspective, a PWA looks and feels like a native mobile app — it has its own icon on the home screen, opens in a standalone window without browser chrome, and can work offline.
Under the hood, a PWA is simply a website with three key additions: a Service Worker (a JavaScript file that handles caching and offline functionality), a Web App Manifest (a JSON file that defines the app's appearance and behavior), and HTTPS (required for Service Workers to function).
Why PWA Is Perfect for Casino
The advantages of PWA for iGaming are significant. App stores actively ban gambling apps in most countries, but PWAs are distributed through the web and aren't subject to app store policies. Installation is instant — no download from a store, no waiting, no storage warnings.
The key benefits for casino affiliates include:
- No app store approval — deploy updates instantly without review delays
- Push notifications — re-engage users with bonus offers, driving repeat deposits
- Instant loading — cached assets mean the app opens in under a second
- Cross-platform — one codebase works on Android, iOS, and desktop
- No revenue share — you keep 100% of commissions, no 30% Apple/Google tax
Technical Requirements
Building a casino PWA requires a solid technical foundation. The base landing page must be lightweight, fast, and built with clean HTML/CSS. Heavy JavaScript frameworks like React or Angular add unnecessary bloat — for a casino landing page, vanilla JS or minimal libraries are sufficient.
The Service Worker is the heart of your PWA. It needs to cache critical assets (HTML, CSS, images) on first visit so subsequent loads are nearly instant. For casino PWAs, implement a "cache-first" strategy for static assets and a "network-first" strategy for dynamic content like bonus offers and game lists.
Your Web App Manifest must include a proper app name, multiple icon sizes (192x192 and 512x512 minimum), theme colors that match your casino branding, and the display: standalone property to remove browser chrome.
"The difference between a mediocre PWA and a great one is loading speed. If your PWA doesn't open faster than the native browser, users won't see the value in installing it."
Push Notifications: Your Retention Engine
Push notifications are the single most valuable feature of casino PWAs. They allow you to re-engage users who haven't visited in days or weeks with targeted bonus offers, new game announcements, and deposit reminders.
Best practices for casino push notifications include sending no more than 2–3 per day to avoid user fatigue, personalizing messages based on user behavior and deposit history, timing notifications for peak gambling hours in the user's timezone, and always including a clear, compelling offer in the notification text.
Retention rates for casino PWAs with well-managed push notifications are 3–5x higher than for standard mobile web traffic. This directly translates to higher lifetime value per player and better RevShare earnings.
Optimizing the Install Flow
The PWA install prompt is a critical conversion point. Users need to understand why they should add your casino to their home screen. The most effective approach is showing a custom install banner after the user has engaged with the page — typically after they've spent 10+ seconds or scrolled past the first screen.
Your install prompt should communicate clear benefits: "Install for instant access, exclusive bonuses, and new game notifications." Avoid generic prompts like "Add to home screen" — tell the user what they gain. After installation, immediately show a welcome screen with a special bonus to reward the action.
Common Pitfalls to Avoid
The most frequent mistakes with casino PWAs are technical. Many affiliates use landing page templates that weren't built for PWA deployment — heavy pages with render-blocking scripts that defeat the purpose of a fast app experience.
Other common pitfalls include not testing on iOS (which has different PWA support than Android), failing to handle the offline state gracefully, requesting notification permission immediately on first visit (this gets blocked by most browsers), and not updating the Service Worker cache when content changes.
Templates from iGaming Builder are specifically optimized for PWA deployment. The clean HTML5/CSS3 architecture, minimal JavaScript footprint, and pre-configured manifest structure mean you can have a production-ready casino PWA in minutes rather than days of development.