RTG Rolls out Mobile Games

Leading online gambling software provider RealTime Gaming (RTG) has released a suite of wireless casino games.

Developed through a partnership with Phantom Fiber, the games are Java-based and built for Palm and PocketPC systems. RTG will roll out a Symbian suite in the first quarter of 2005. Twelve games are currently available, with more games, as well as a sports betting platform, to be added later this year. The system will also eventually be made compatible with RIM Blackberry and Microsoft Smartphone platforms.

RTG estimates that by 2008 the global mobile device market will have more than 800 million units, including 250 million smart phones and 540 million feature and voice phones.

It's a bit early to tell what those numbers will mean to the interactive gambling industry, but Remy Hamaoui, who consulted RealTime Gaming during the implementation of its wireless platform, said casino and sports book operators are beginning to realize that wireless is the next major area of growth.

"It still hasn't really caught on in North America," Hamaoui said, "but you can't seem to go anywhere in Asia without seeing people using their PDAs and other handheld devices."

He added that North America isn't too far behind and that wireless applications will eventually be "a pretty big part of everyone's business plan" in that part of the world.

With that in mind, RTG President Michael Staw says the time is right for interactive gambling companies to enter the wireless space.

"As mobile devices expand to become total entertainment devices, today's wireless platform helps meet the demands of tomorrow's customers," Staw explained.

Some operators fear that the introduction of wireless gaming will cannibalize their traditional online businesses, but Hamaoui is confident that this won't be the case.

"In terms of sports betting especially, I think operators need to be wireless," he said. "The ability to have instantaneous lines and odds on an event without having to be at your computer is becoming a must for those in the sports betting world. If a punter has the option to bet with someone while he is actual at the track or an event, and get betting information through his mobile device at the same time, he will probably go with them instead of an operator that doesn't offer those features to him."

But this, Hamaoui says, does not signify the end of online gambling on the "big screen."

"There will always be that demand for the bigger screen and playing the games in the comfort of your own home," he explained. "But wireless opens up a whole new element and allows operators to access players outside of their home or computer terminal location."

A few RTG licensees have already signed on to implement wireless games. Hamaoui said he'd like to see all 75 of RTG casino operators using the wireless system.