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Gambling Fever Spreads to Cell Phones22 March 2001LAS VEGAS, Nevada –March 22, 2001 –As reported by the CNet: "Cell phones are slowly being turned into one-armed bandits, a panel at the Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association (CTIA) industry trade show here was told. "…Gambling on the Internet is nothing new. "…It was only a matter of time before the wireless Web caught gambling fever as well. These wireless gambling sites have appeared relatively unnoticed amid the chaos of a young industry distracted by its own growth. "Alan Reiter of consulting firm Wireless Internet & Mobile Computing said the wireless industry has yet to really face the issues surrounding gambling. There are questions about what controls should be put in place, if any. "There are also the murky legal waters of whether a company in the United States, where gambling is for the most part illegal, can even offer such a service. The panel at the CTIA annual convention is likely the first to try and address such issues about adult entertainment. "…One of the panelists was Richard Ekstrand of Rural Cellular, a provider with 600,000 customers in 14 states. His company generated about $356 million in revenue last year. "Rural Cellular is among the group of smaller providers that is feeling the pinch of dropping cell phone rates and hoping to make up for it with new services. The pressure to find new revenue sources, Ekstrand said, is very real. Entertainment and even gambling are viable alternatives, he said…" |