Mobile casinos huge gamble

Other than a purse or wallet, the modern day cell phone is the most common item people carry on their person today.  Portable phones, i.e., cell phones, otherwise referred to as mobile phones are the way we connect with the world and with each other. Whether to browse the internet or to retrieve email or communicate through SMS, more and more people use their cell phones for varying purposes.  From organizing data to scheduling appointments and/or meetings to even allowing gamblers to bet via phone applications, the mobile phone has been revolutionary. 

Gambling by phone is becoming an activity that is proving fast just how lucrative mobile gambling can be.

The money involved in mobile gamblingAnalysts are placing the market space at $20 billion by 2010.  It is an industry that is in its infancy yet is potent with promise claim companies like Juniper, Gartner and Seymour Pierce. 

The mobile operators, brands and media owners are treading carefully, however, due to the uncertain regulations that are yet to go one way or the other.  Juniper Research has said that mobile lotteries will be the largest generators of money with gross revenues in 2009 of $7.9 billion worldwide. 

With reports that more than 90% of the UK and US population have played a traditional paper lottery at one time or another, such trends may speak of what lies ahead.  Followed by mobile sports betting bringing in $6.9 billion and mobile casino-style gaming creating $4.5 billion for the industry, the future of mobile gambling assuredly will involve large sums of money for the people involved from players to business people worldwide.

What are people playing?

Gamblers can call upon all kinds of their favorite gambling games by way of their mobile phones.  Sports betters can bet on football matches and horse races and includes 38% of the market at present.  Other online casino games like slots, roulette, blackjack and craps are taking in 23% of the mobile market while poker players run 22% of it. Skill gaming adds up to 5% of the market with online lotteries expected to grow from 10 to 27% by 2010.  Bingo holds 2% of the pot.

Setting up phone applications to gamble

This can be done easily within a day at most by using one of many applications.  Java-enabled gambling applications are one example.  These gambling services require data connections to operate that are provided by telecom providers.  The cost will be included on player’s monthly phone bill invoices.  Once the application is set up, players can browse games and odds and place bets where money is automatically taken from a player’s account.  3G networking provides a service that rivals traditional gambling methods and is evolving quickly.  Data technology like GPRS, GSM Data, UMTS and I-MODE provide these apps along with those that are available through SMS text messaging. 

Mobile phone gambling demographics

Women are leading the 65% portion of mobile gaming revenues.  The Asia-Pacific is expected to bring the largest portion of total gross revenue taking 39% of the market.  Europe is close behind with 37% of the market share with the US making up the majority of the remainder.

By 2011 it is projected that 5 million North Americans will use mobile sports betting services should the laws pass within the next year allowing iGaming in the USA.With mobile gambling set to become even more profitable than online gambling, analysts are urging the industry to play their cards right. "The market for these services is potentially vast," the report says. "It is now up to the service providers to seize the opportunity."