diff --git a/static/coffee/spec/modules/video/video_control_spec.coffee b/static/coffee/spec/modules/video/video_control_spec.coffee
index a912abb2d0..0c8615b8f7 100644
--- a/static/coffee/spec/modules/video/video_control_spec.coffee
+++ b/static/coffee/spec/modules/video/video_control_spec.coffee
@@ -1,17 +1,16 @@
 describe 'VideoControl', ->
   beforeEach ->
     @player = jasmine.stubVideoPlayer @
+    $('.video-controls').html ''
 
   describe 'constructor', ->
-    beforeEach ->
-      @control = new VideoControl @player
-
     it 'render the video controls', ->
+      new VideoControl @player
       expect($('.video-controls').html()).toContain '''
         <div class="slider"></div>
         <div>
           <ul class="vcr">
-            <li><a class="video_control play">Play</a></li>
+            <li><a class="video_control play" href="#">Play</a></li>
             <li>
               <div class="vidtime">0:00 / 0:00</div>
             </li>
@@ -23,12 +22,33 @@ describe 'VideoControl', ->
       '''
 
     it 'bind player events', ->
-      expect($(@player)).toHandleWith 'play', @control.onPlay
-      expect($(@player)).toHandleWith 'pause', @control.onPause
-      expect($(@player)).toHandleWith 'ended', @control.onPause
+      control = new VideoControl @player
+      expect($(@player)).toHandleWith 'play', control.onPlay
+      expect($(@player)).toHandleWith 'pause', control.onPause
+      expect($(@player)).toHandleWith 'ended', control.onPause
 
     it 'bind the playback button', ->
-      expect($('.video_control')).toHandleWith 'click', @control.togglePlayback
+      control = new VideoControl @player
+      expect($('.video_control')).toHandleWith 'click', control.togglePlayback
+
+    describe 'when on a touch based device', ->
+      beforeEach ->
+        spyOn(window, 'onTouchBasedDevice').andReturn true
+
+      it 'does not add the play class to video control', ->
+        new VideoControl @player
+        expect($('.video_control')).not.toHaveClass 'play'
+        expect($('.video_control')).not.toHaveHtml 'Play'
+
+
+    describe 'when on a non-touch based device', ->
+      beforeEach ->
+        spyOn(window, 'onTouchBasedDevice').andReturn false
+
+      it 'add the play class to video control', ->
+        new VideoControl @player
+        expect($('.video_control')).toHaveClass 'play'
+        expect($('.video_control')).toHaveHtml 'Play'
 
   describe 'onPlay', ->
     beforeEach ->
@@ -54,20 +74,47 @@ describe 'VideoControl', ->
     beforeEach ->
       @control = new VideoControl @player
 
-    describe 'when the video is playing', ->
+    describe 'when the control does not have play or pause class', ->
       beforeEach ->
-        spyOn(@player, 'isPlaying').andReturn true
-        spyOnEvent @player, 'pause'
-        @control.togglePlayback jQuery.Event('click')
+        $('.video_control').removeClass('play').removeClass('pause')
 
-      it 'trigger the pause event', ->
-        expect('pause').toHaveBeenTriggeredOn @player
+      describe 'when the video is playing', ->
+        beforeEach ->
+          spyOn(@player, 'isPlaying').andReturn true
+          spyOnEvent @player, 'pause'
+          @control.togglePlayback jQuery.Event('click')
 
-    describe 'when the video is paused', ->
-      beforeEach ->
-        spyOn(@player, 'isPlaying').andReturn false
-        spyOnEvent @player, 'play'
-        @control.togglePlayback jQuery.Event('click')
+        it 'does not trigger the pause event', ->
+          expect('pause').not.toHaveBeenTriggeredOn @player
 
-      it 'trigger the play event', ->
-        expect('play').toHaveBeenTriggeredOn @player
+      describe 'when the video is paused', ->
+        beforeEach ->
+          spyOn(@player, 'isPlaying').andReturn false
+          spyOnEvent @player, 'play'
+          @control.togglePlayback jQuery.Event('click')
+
+        it 'does not trigger the play event', ->
+          expect('play').not.toHaveBeenTriggeredOn @player
+
+    for className in ['play', 'pause']
+      describe "when the control has #{className} class", ->
+        beforeEach ->
+          $('.video_control').addClass className
+
+        describe 'when the video is playing', ->
+          beforeEach ->
+            spyOn(@player, 'isPlaying').andReturn true
+            spyOnEvent @player, 'pause'
+            @control.togglePlayback jQuery.Event('click')
+
+          it 'trigger the pause event', ->
+            expect('pause').toHaveBeenTriggeredOn @player
+
+        describe 'when the video is paused', ->
+          beforeEach ->
+            spyOn(@player, 'isPlaying').andReturn false
+            spyOnEvent @player, 'play'
+            @control.togglePlayback jQuery.Event('click')
+
+          it 'trigger the play event', ->
+            expect('play').toHaveBeenTriggeredOn @player
diff --git a/static/coffee/src/modules/video/video_control.coffee b/static/coffee/src/modules/video/video_control.coffee
index c9bbf95c0a..0c303fc4ad 100644
--- a/static/coffee/src/modules/video/video_control.coffee
+++ b/static/coffee/src/modules/video/video_control.coffee
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ class @VideoControl
       <div class="slider"></div>
       <div>
         <ul class="vcr">
-          <li><a class="video_control play">Play</a></li>
+          <li><a class="video_control" href="#"></a></li>
           <li>
             <div class="vidtime">0:00 / 0:00</div>
           </li>
@@ -26,7 +26,10 @@ class @VideoControl
           <a href="#" class="add-fullscreen" title="Fill browser">Fill Browser</a>
         </div>
       </div>
-     """
+      """
+
+    unless onTouchBasedDevice()
+      @$('.video_control').addClass('play').html('Play')
 
   onPlay: =>
     @$('.video_control').removeClass('play').addClass('pause').html('Pause')
@@ -36,7 +39,8 @@ class @VideoControl
 
   togglePlayback: (event) =>
     event.preventDefault()
-    if @player.isPlaying()
-      $(@player).trigger('pause')
-    else
-      $(@player).trigger('play')
+    if $('.video_control').hasClass('play') || $('.video_control').hasClass('pause')
+      if @player.isPlaying()
+        $(@player).trigger('pause')
+      else
+        $(@player).trigger('play')