As the game of poker grows, the options available for the poker lover to play increase. Stuck in an airport? On a long drive (as the passenger of course - no playing while you drive!)? Now you can play the game you love almost anywhere via your cellular phone. No fewer than a half dozen options are available for the flop junkie in today's cellular world. Just like the internet, you can play in real time, against people from all over the world. Unlike the internet, however, you cannot play for real money…..yet.
Recently, I spoke with two of the leaders in this quickly growing market of mobile gaming to get a sense of where this is all going.
"Three years ago people scoffed at it [the mobile applications market], today it has shown itself to be a real market." Says Isaac Babbs, the VP of Mobile freesports picks Games for Infospace Mobile, which is one of the leaders in mobile application technology. "Its about a $250 million retail revenue market in US, and about the same size in Europe, and Asia."
Whereas cell phones have been commonplace for over a decade now, the fast rise in gaming applications has been a rather recent development. This is mainly due to the advancements in the handsets themselves. "Another important element is the handsets have gone from B&W; voice only, to fully developed color screens." Babbs remarks "Now, around the world 67% of units have color screen, have Java built in, etc.. Also the carrier networks are more fully developed, which helps a lot. The billing mechanisms are built into the handset where you can buy things directly, and it goes directly to your bill, which is a very clean way to do it."
One of the more high profile entries in this mobile poker arena is The Hellmuth Holdem game issued earlier this year by Summus, Inc - a wireless content provider based in Raleigh, NC. Gary Ban, CEO of Summus saw the demand a year ago, and focused his companies efforts on developing a game that could compete in this emerging area. "We looked at doing a multi player poker game back in Aug of 2003, and spent 6 months developing the game. In about March 2004, we had a game developed." Ban says.
How does one get to one of the superstars of our game to pitch him on the idea? "Through one of our board members, we hooked up with a pro poker player who knew Phil, and we basically picked up the phone, and called him" says Ban. So has Phil turned any chairs over in the boardroom, or done any 'redecorating' to any of the Summus offices? How has he been to work with? "Phil has been an exceptional partner to work with, and no matter where he is, or what he is promoting, he always takes time to promote Summus, and the Hellmuth Holdem Game."
The million-dollar question is - what is the future of mobile gaming, and specifically the future of poker applications? Well, the logical first question is - Is the technology there to play for real money right now? "I think so." Babbs says "Technically, you could do it, but it really comes down to a consumer experience issue. By the time it takes to put a credit card in, go through the security measures, etc…its really a pain in the butt."
Given that the technology exists, it seems only a matter of time until (at least in certain parts of the world) mobile poker/gaming for real money is here, and here to stay. "There's no doubt that around the world its going to happen" says Babbs "What's happened with the online sites in the poker world will probably happen in the mobile space""A lot of the guys in the online (poker) world are probably looking at the mobile space right now.""I think it really comes down to a geographic issue as well, as to what the laws are in the individual territory". As with any gaming related issue, it seems the issue of mobile gaming for real money will come down to local laws, and gaming regulations in the individual country the cell carrier is operating in.
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