Siemens
Mobile has added the option of "live betting" to its portfolio
for mobile data services. M.traction Gambling enables mobile phone carriers
to offer platforms for mobile betting all over the world. In practice,
this means you can use mobile
devices such as PDAs and cellphones to place bets electronically with
the teller wherever you are and whenever you want. Traditionally, and
this includes the internet,
bets could only be placed up to just before the actual event started;
now, thanks to m.traction Gambling, a new form of betting is possible,
based on "dynamic odds" and allowing wagers to be laid while
the match or race is still in progress. The Siemens solution is based
on an application from scaraboo, a start-up company sponsored by Siemens
Mobile Acceleration GmbH.
The
new betting service came through its baptism of fire with flying colors
during the recent football World Cup. Soccer fans could use their mobiles
to put their money on the outcome of any of the matches, even after
kick-off and right up to the final whistle. This was possible thanks
to dynamic odds, which were constantly brought up to date
during the game in accordance with the changing fancies of the punters.
"Mobile
betting is fast becoming a nice little earner for network operators,"
comments Volker Ziegler, head of the Solutions Division at IC Mobile.
"The important thing is
that payment transactions, in both directions, are systematically organized:
the wagers are lodged with the provider, the winnings go the users.
Another consideration
when money is involved is that it must be ensured that the punters are
of legal age. This can be done by having their date of birth specified
on the card contract."
