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Paddy Power rings up mobile betting

Irish Bookie launches new Java based m-betting

Thursday 24th June 2004

Irish bookmaker Paddy Power has launched the Paddy Power Mobile, a new free Java-based, downloadable application to streamline betting on mobile phones for customers

in both Ireland and the UK.

While mobile betting or m-betting is yet to take off, partly because of the slow speed of a WAP connection on a GSM (2G) phone coupled with users entering copious amounts of data, using only a phone’s tiny keypad, however Paddy Power Mobile is betting on the faster GPRS service, to speed up things for wireless bettors.

The per-bet charge for the mobile service is 0.04 Euros, although mobile operators will also levy small charges for the data usage, depending on the user’s monthly plan. To use the service, customers must register on the bookie’s site and download the free software.

The service will work on any GPRS (2.5G) mobile phone that Java enabled.

Developed by the UK-based mFuse, Paddy Power's Java-based system streamlines the process and gives users access to features such as handset recognition so that users need only to remember a four-digit pin number to sign in. Also included is an 'auto stake entry' feature that allows users to select a standard bet size, eliminating the need to re-enter the data with each wager.

The software also provides includes real-time pricing information, unlike WAP-based betting services where the odds sometimes change during the cumbersome bet-placing process.

‘What we have done is launched a service that is as close as possible to being as easy to use as the Internet service [from Paddy Power]. Almost all of the bets available on our online site are available on Paddy Power Mobile. We are expecting thousands of punters to use the service over the next few years,’ says Paddy Power, the communications director.

The new launch comes close on the heels, when Paddy Power announced that its Dial-a-bet and on-line divisions were performing well ahead of the lucrative horseracing season.




Source: OnlineCasinoNews