The Global Gaming Expo (G2E) held earlier this month seems to have kicked off a surge of attention to mobile online gaming, by the media and by the companies who create online games.
“The gaming (industry) is being revolutionized by hand-held and mobile technology,” said Gene Johnson, an associate with Spectrum Gaming Group, per the Las Vegas Business Press.
That news came about the same time that Full Tilt Poker announced the launch of a mobile online poker platform via the Google’s Android (platform 2.2), the mobile operating system that’s starting to give Apple a run for its money in market share.
“Full Tilt Poker Rush Mobile must also support Flash 10.1 which is a new idea that is expected to be followed and repeated by other online gambling firms,” according to Online-Casinos.com.
“Newer smartphones from manufacturers such as HTC, Motorola, T-Mobile and others will support the application, while older phones may require a software upgrade,” adds GamblingCity.net.
Similarly, JackpotCity has also launched a new mobile casino on Apple iPad software. Look for this trend to grow as sales for mobile devices continue their almost exponential growth.
A new business deal to develop online gaming in Southeast Asia also specifically includes mobile gaming, per BusinessWorld Online.
Some operators have been in the mobile online casino business for a while now — 32Red, for example, already has an established mobile online gaming site.
“Mobile devices have become a popular avenue for online gamblers in recent years,” writes Tom Jones at CasinoGamblingWeb.com. “When stuck in airports or other places where they may be spending a couple of hours, the gamblers have taken advantage of the apps that allow them to play their favorite casino games online.”
And, of course, as the amount of mobile Internet users grows in the next few years, casino industry experts expect many more online casinos to go mobile. Regulatory issues will continue to be a source of concern in the United States, but that’s nothing new — and it hasn’t yet stopped sites like Full Tilt Poker from offering online poker services to U.S. citizens.