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World Gaming to launch mobile gambling
Thursday, September 06 2001
by Stan Van Haasteren


American companies World Gaming and Sona Innovations announced a deal on Thursday
that will enable users to gamble on-line with mobile devices. 





The wireless applications for World Gaming's most popular games, such as Black
Jack, Sportsbook Betting and Slot Machines, will be available before the end of
the year.



Under the three-year agreement with secure mobile solutions provider Sona, World
Gaming will deploy three games on Microsoft's Pocket PC and Palm OS built on the
Sona Wireless Platform. Microsoft's Pocket PC and Palm OS devices were chosen
because of their screen sizes, input method, network bandwidth, device memory,
graphics and processor power.



World Gaming's CEO Michael Aymong said on Thursday he was "absolutely
delighted" with the deal. "It provides us with another vehicle for our
applications. We want to distribute our games as widely as possible. People will
be able to gamble, whether they are at home, in the bus or watching a sports
event. I think it will work, because I have seen it work."



Aymong is convinced there is a future for on-line gambling. "The wireless
market is growing exponentially and the growth in mobile gambling is currently
120 percent a year."



But analysts disagree about the future of wireless gambling. "People will use
their mobile devices mostly for things that cannot wait or will save them time,"
said Rebecca Ulph, media analyst at technology research company Forrester. 



Ulph indicated that another problem with mobile gambling could be that it takes
too long to start playing. "Participants first have to register their credit
card number," she explained, and questioned whether mobile gamblers would take
the time for this. "Most participants gamble when they feel a sudden impulse.
Maybe some people that are bored in a bus will start gambling on their mobile
devices." 



Ulph expected there to be a bigger market for gambling with interactive
televisions. 



"People that are watching football matches would be interested if they can for
example bet if a penalty will be scored or not," she said.



For more info: href="http://www.worldgaming.com">http://www.sonainnovations.com