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The mobile perspective

Comment: 0 July 30th, 2011 by: admin

Beginning as an absurdly clunky mini-machine in the 1970’s, the mobile phone has grabbed the 21st century by the digital horns, integrating every other aspect of productivity and entertainment. From the latter emerged mobile games: a lowly offshoot that exploded into various markets, augmented by advancing mobile phone features like coloured screens, Internet connectivity, and Java-enabled animation.

And as industry numbers currently suggest, mobile gaming is actively seeping into the more discerning market of recreational bettors.

Today, mobile gaming technology has assimilated enough features to simulate key aspects of the betting experience. Integrating high-level graphics and online connectivity, the remaining difference in experience comes down to a semantic argument on tangibility. Everything else – from real-time table activity, to player interaction – has been incorporated into a device that can fit in your pocket (read: Smartphone), or be carried in one arm (read: tablet computer).

CARDS ON THE TABLE

The transition of mobile gaming from a relatively new trend to a significant industry player has produced a reasonable variety of game options, coming even as downloadable mobile phone software. Some include:

• Casino games

  Suddenly the meat and potatoes of the Las Vegas experience (sans the candy girls and semi-nude performers) can be downloaded onto a gadget the size of the human palm. Games like blackjack, roulette and slots have found their home in mobile technology, giving gamers a convenient way to either practice their skills (offline gaming software), or ante up and get into an actual game (via mobile internet).

• Mobile sports betting

  The ability to place an on-the-spot sports wager is an important factor that mobile technology makes possible. Considering that virtually all bet-worthy sports run on limited time, making instant wagers by merely grabbing your phone and punching buttons can determine whether or not you win money.

• Lotteries

  The principles of the lottery are easy enough for even the most inexperienced gamer to grasp. Seen as a potentially lucrative development in mobile gaming, mobile lotteries are expected to easily penetrate the already large market for traditional lottery. This, coupled with the ready availability of mobile phones with 2G/2.5G capability (which added SMS and Internet connectivity via GPRS), prime mobile lottery for a market ready to take advantage.

CASHING IN

Experts and analyst point to mobile gaming as a potential industry giant, presenting revenue projections with near-exponential growth.

Mobile industry analyst firm Juniper Research’s projections saw the mobile gaming industry to skyrocket from 2006 revenue estimates of nearly US$2 billion to US$23 billion by 2011’s end – a staggering 1,050% increase in a 5-year period.

Of this increase, the projections present the Asian and European markets as the biggest movers, projecting growth from US$966M to US$8,818M (812.83%) and from US$950M to US$7940M (735.79%) respectively.

Furthermore, gaming-related government regulatory restrictions notwithstanding, mobile lotteries were pegged as the largest industry influencer, seen to account for 40% of total mobile gaming revenues. Trailing were mobile sports betting (36%) and mobile casinos (24%).

In the subject of a more globalized mobile gaming market, updated predictions see a brighter future. Juniper predicts mobile gaming wagers to exceed US$48B by 2015, due to an upsurge in contributions from emerging nations moving towards liberalisation of existing anti-mobile gaming legislations.

Similar possibilities lie on the Western front, as the US lottery services reach the final stretch towards producing mobile lottery services.

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