UK Lottery to Go Mobile

MLotto is about to emerge on the I-gaming scene by giving England's 25 million-plus mobile phone users access to a real-time, instant-win interactive lottery.

"The logic is clear: People love playing the lottery, and the nation loves their mobile phones." - Charles Cohen MLotto Ltd.

Licensed by the Gaming Board of Great Britain and operated by MLotto Ltd., the Mobile Lottery has stepped up to become a direct competitor with the U.K. National Lottery operated by Camelot, which has for the first time in five years finally put a stop to waning sales figures.

MLotto, a U.K. limited company backed by private investors, has obtained a mobile-only license from the Gaming Board and plans to launch the system within a few weeks.

Mobile Lottery players need to own a handset that is either WAP- or Java-enabled, and must be at least 16 and able to establish funds with a credit card. Initially players will be able to play three different games--a fruit machine game called "Slotto," a lucky numbers game called "Blingo," and a card game called "Dealite"--each of which costs £1 for a single play.

The Mobile Lottery claims that players will have a one-in-five chance of winning a cash prize each time they play. The maximum cash award will initially be £1,000, but the company plans to launch games offering valuable non-cash prizes as well as jackpots of up to £25,000. Prize money will be added to the accounts of players, who will be able to withdraw money on demand.

Player registration is a one-time-only process conducted by the MLotto's partner, T-Mobile, which will host the lottery on its t-zones portal. To register, users will send a short code text message to 64646 and follow the on-screen instructions. They will play online with WAP technology or download a Java version to their handsets. Players outside the United Kingdom will not be able to play.

Twenty percent of each stake will be distributed equally among 10 charities: Afrikids, the Alzheimers Society, the British Red Cross, Cancer Research UK, the Children's Society, International Care and Relief, Princess Royal Trust for Carers, R.N.I.B., R.S.P.C.A. and Wateraid.

Charles Cohen, the Mobile Lottery's founder and CEO, said the easy access through mobile phones will drive the lottery's success.

"We are launching a 21st-century scratch-card which we're confident will take the U.K. lottery market by storm," he said. "The logic is clear: People love playing the lottery, and the nation loves their mobile phones. With the right business model, experienced management team and a partnership with T-Mobile, the Mobile Lottery, will energize the mobile gaming market, provide fun and entertainment to players and boost charitable giving."

Cohen also founded Beenz, whose Web site allowed consumers to earn e-currency called "beenz" by visiting Web sites, shopping online and/or logging on through a particular ISP. The currency could be spent online with participating Web merchants. The company folded in August and its currency became invalid.