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UK Dog Tracks to Introduce Mobile Betting Tablets

Using 50 Hitachi HPW-600EUT Windows CE-driven color tablet PCs, Data Tote can now supply a mobile betting facility for the restaurant or corporate areas of dog tracks across the UK. The betting systems firm is also taking delivery of an additional 100 units later this summer.

Data Tote, a specialist gambling services firm, is perhaps best-known in Europe for its involvement in the 1999 rollout of Russia's Premier Telesport betting service.

The GE Americom satellite-fed service relays around 20,000 horse and greyhound races from the UK into Russia, where ordinary Russians can bet on totalizer pools, with bets starting from 100 roubles and up.

Data Tote's terminals are now located at hundreds of bars, restaurants, cafes, railway stations and shops across Russia. Now a similar, but highly mobile, service is about to be rolled out at dog tracks across the UK.

John Kemp, A2000 Distribution's managing director, said that the Hitachi units are now being used with Data Tote's Freedom Courier system.

"By using hand-held technology in this way, Data Tote is able to offer an unprecedented level of service in restaurant and corporate areas, reduce errors caused by customer-marked betting slips, and eliminate the problem of missed tickets before the traps are released," he said.

A spokesperson for Data Tote told Newsbytes that the firm's Freedom I-Bet terminal is designed for the regular high bet or corporate dog track customer.

The customer, after depositing funds with the track, can use the terminal to place their own bets, call up their accounts and bet history, and either add funds to or "cash in" the I-Bet terminal at any time. All bets, the firm says, are stored both on the Tote system and within the terminal.

Each mobile terminal is equipped with a battery operated thermal printer as well as a built-in local area radio modem which provides wireless connection back to the central system, up to 100 meters (350 feet) range in typical stadium layouts.

All bets, including Jackpots, Lucky Selectors, and full Intertrack service are available from the terminal.

Nicola Curtis, Data Tote's operations manager, said that one of the goals with the Freedom range of terminals is to provide a system that is expandable and allows users to do more.

"The systems are being installed at a couple of tracks, and we expected the I-Net terminals to be installed later this year," she said, adding that the mobile betting system can be installed at any dog track in the UK that has a Data Tote IT system in place.

A2000's Web site is www.a2000d.com. The Tote's Web site is www.tote.co.uk.

Reported by Newsbytes.com, www.newsbytes.com.

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