Issue 164
November 3 - 9, 2003
Volume 3
page 2
 

Gambling games launched on mobile phones

Mobile phone users will this week be able to play lottery and gambling games anywhere they can receive a signal as T-Mobile, Deutsche Telekom's mobile phone arm, launches the UK's first lottery games on mobile phones. The mobile operator has joined forces with MLotto, the creator of the Mobile Lottery, allowing users to play one of three games for £1 with the chance of winning up to £1,000.

The service comes just months ahead of an expected launch by Camelot, operator of the National Lottery, which plans to introduce a range of lottery games for mobile phones in an attempt to combat falling ticket sales. Camelot is in discussions with all the big mobile operators and hopes to launch a range of lottery games for mobile phones next year, probably in the summer.

With about three-quarters of the UK population possessing a mobile phone, mobile operators and gambling groups believe phone users will be attracted by a range of games, lured by the prospect of receiving a cheque sent to their home address. Charles Cohen, founder and chief executive of the Mobile Lottery, said the aim was to capture about 5 per cent of the lucrative scratch cards market in the UK, estimated to be worth about £700m annually. "If you can distribute tickets through phones you can potentially have a terminal in the hands of 70 per cent of the population 24 hours a day," he said.

The Mobile Lottery service is being launched with T-Mobile but phone users on other networks will be able to access the company's full range of games. It offers users three choices including a fruit machine game and a bingo-style game with 20p from each £1 spent donated to one of 10 charities.

Players need to own a WAP-enabled handset and must hold a credit card as proof that they are over 18. Games are paid for by credit card and winnings are sent to the credit card holder's home address. In future users will also be able to opt for winnings to be credited to their bank account or mobile phone bill. Other big mobile operators plan to launch similar own-branded gambling initiatives but have held back as they introduce controls and safeguards to prevent services being accessed by under-age users. Mr Cohen said he was satisfied sufficient safeguards were in place for the Mobile Lottery. "It is more secure than the paper and pen lottery because we've got all sorts of checks and an audit trail," he said.



 

 

 


Las Vegas: Flu knocks singer down, not out
Forced to cancel a show for the first time in 14 years, flu-stricken Celine Dion is chipper again, cheered up by one of the world's youngest Elvis impersonators.

Dion was bedridden on doctor's orders Thursday suffering from gastroenteritis and dehydration, but she returned to The Colosseum at Caesars Palace on Friday.

Dion started feeling under the weather on Wednesday and wore a mask on the 25-minute drive to work when Las Vegas was enveloped in smoke from the California wildfires. Ever the trooper, she went ahead and did the show, but afterward "she had breathing problems, a high fever and was very weak," Angelil said.

Dion made a quick recovery from only her second cancellation in 20 years. The last time she had to cancel was in 1989, Angelil said, when a voice crisis nearly led to surgery.

The international singing star is eight months into a three-year deal with Caesars Palace.

Bingo halls want NYS to "butt" out
Local bingo halls said the New York State smoking ban that began in July has cost them tens of thousands of dollars that previously went to local schools and charities. Workers say profits are down 50 percent this month. On a Tuesday night in September 2002 about 143 people played at Bingo World in Greece. Only 79 showed up on the same night this year.

Bingo World has made some changes to help keep smokers. Now there's a ten minute intermission for the smokers to come outside. But workers fear that once the cold weather hits, the smokers would rather stay home than come out in the cold. The bingo hall has added a 10-minute intermission for smokers, but some players say that once the cold weather comes, they'll go elsewhere rather than standing outside.

Dozens of smokers have already stopped playing. They can't win a lot of money because the pot isn't big anymore.

Until the ban went into effect, Wyona Valcom has played bingo and smoked at Bingo World almost every day for 20 years. "I won't be here. I will go up to the casinos where the Indians let you smoke. I will go to Canada where they let you smoke. I will go to a country that doesn't infringe on my rights," she said.

The Monroe County Health Department said it has fined one out of the five bingo halls in the area for breaking the rules. The five bingo halls in the area have asked the health department to waive the ban for them. Officials there said that smoking can only start up in bingo halls again if the law is changed.



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For more information please call: (702) 866-1400
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