By Natalie Hanman, The Guardian Revenue from mobile phone gambling is set to exceed all other forms, according to a new report.
Jim Evans places bets on football matches and horse races through his mobile phone, spending about £50 a month. Because of his hectic lifestyle, he spurned the betting shop and logged off internet gambling.
Evans, 32, who works in the mobile phone industry, switched to mobile gambling from internet gambling as soon as it became available. "I find it more convenient to gamble on the phone because I travel a lot and can take it everywhere," he says.
Once he had registered and set up an online account - which can take a day - Evans could download his preferred Java-enabled gambling application on to his Orange mobile, browse games and the odds, and place bets. The money is immediately debited from his account.
So forget the hype about super casinos proposed in the new gambling bill - mobile phone gambling looks set to trump them all, providing an addition to many consumers' mobile entertainment package.
A new report by Juniper estimates that by 2009, mobile gambling services will generate revenues of more than $19.3bn, nearly one-third of all mobile entertainment revenues. And that's a conservative estimate. "Given the ubiquity of mobile handsets, and the desire of many [gambling] providers to exploit this, then potentially the resulting sales could be substantially higher," the report says.
Java-enabled graphics, colour-filled screens, technology that invoices on the monthly phone bill, and 3G networking combine to provide a service that rivals traditional gambling methods.
The report says: "More than 90% of the population in the UK and US have at some time played a lottery in its traditional paper form. Coupling this huge market with the immediacy and penetration of the mobile phone is a logical and lucrative proposition."
Sports betting, already popular, is set to surge on the mobile platform. "It may offer the opportunity not only to allow players to place a bet about the outcome of a particular event, but also to dynamically bet through their handset as to the outcome of particular events within the game."
Its success depends on the availability of GPRS or 3G for most mobile users, but at the rate this technology is advancing, this seems likely, the report says.
However, as only 14% of UK adults partake in casino gaming (including slot machines), this area of the market is likely to remain niche. While complex graphics will allow consumers to play games such as poker, roulette, craps and black jack, either for fun or for money, "regulatory proscriptions are likely to hinder or prevent the launch of casino-style services in many countries".
The gambling bill, which moves to the House of Lords at the end of the month, has divided industry experts. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) says reform is essential: "Almost all relevant British gambling legislation predates the internet. Nobody had such a powerful communications system in mind when that legislation was being enacted."
Most of the bill, the government says, regulates remote gambling - on mobile telephones, the internet and interactive television - which specialists suggest 800,000 adults per month participate in.
"Our controls on commercial gambling are being undermined by technology," a DCMS spokesperson says. Once the bill is made law, the Gambling Commission will award remote service providers with licences only after certain conditions are met.
These will include secure billing, and credit and age checks. "For the first time it will be a criminal offence to allow a child to play [remote gambling]," says the spokesperson.
But others are not convinced it will be enough to prevent this and other forms of corruption. A Gamblers Anonymous (GA) press officer says he has been to many legislation meetings over the years: "Every word of warning ... has been ignored."
While GA doesn't distinguish between types of gamblers, the organisation has not seen many mobile phone gambling addicts. Yet.
"Our membership reflects what is happening in society ... and there's normally a gestation period before they arrive at GA. In a couple of years time, the make-up of our membership will reflect the number of people gambling on their mobile phones. A few years ago, the number of internet gamblers was few and far between; now it is very different."
The charity GamCare tells a similar story. "We haven't had many calls to our helpline about it as it is relatively new," says a spokesperson, but they expect this to change as the service grows in popularity. Their concern lies in the availability of the service, which makes it attractive to impulse-driven gambling: "Everybody - including children - has mobile phones."
They are in the process of drawing up guidelines for operators, and have been in talks about how to prevent under-age gambling. They are suggesting number blocks, and are advising parents to keep an eye on phone bills.
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."
