I understand there are people and companies out there who are devoted to doing preliminary research on economic figures and the like. And although Statistics 101 was not one of my passing classes (actually, none of my classes were passing), that’s not the point, because I can do math, and right now I do not understand how these statisticians are forecasting the mobile gaming industry to be worth US$16 billion by the year 2008 – That’s less than three years! Considering the industry was non-existent in 2003, and is just now starting to become available to bettors, it needs to do some quick growing to bring in those figures.

Part of what is causing all this hype is that people think just because billions of people already have a cell phone, they are going to gamble at an online casino in Starbucks. Now, I am sure plenty of things go down in Starbucks, but to say that everyone is going to start betting from their cell phones just because the technology is now available is ludicrous. Next thing you know, Starbucks will be a haven to addicted bettors gambling behind the book shelves or playing craps in the little boys room. I just want my coffee black okay! Maybe a little cream. No pointspread on my bagel!

Now, that being said (or shouted in my head) I do believe there is a future in mobile betting online. However, I think its future will be in sports betting, not in online casino games, which all the platform manufactures are trying to sell. Take Chimera Technology for instance, who is ninety days out of fully implementing their mobile gaming platform, which contains games like blackjack, baccarat, video poker and a few others – Or Goldn’Palace (home of the fried brain entrée) who is now offering online casino gambling through their partnered gaming platform.

How many people are so desperate they cannot wait to get to their computer to have their betting fix? Okay, there are some, which is why I also don’t understand why Gamblers Anonymous did not speak up more. But to say that computer access is hard these days is ridiculous. I just don’t think the number of people with cell phones far exceeds the number of people with computers. Even if they do, if people are going to spend that much money on mobile betting collectively, most of them are going to have a computer. It just seems so anticlimactic to me. Unless we are talking about half the world population either gambling online from a computer or a cell phone at any given time, the mobile betting industry will not get that big. And until the graphics and playing screen get as big and good as a PC, most players are going to opt for the privacy and security of a computer.

I beckon the guidance of Nostradamus now…let me take another swig. Ahhhh. The future of mobile gambling is in online sports betting. Who is going to be the smart one and start to develop these mobile platforms with the capacity to deliver spread sheets with player stats, point spreads and game odds? Okay I know it already is being done…so why not promote that, rather than online casino games. Real-time odds is why online sports betting is slowly phasing out bookmakers anyways. They are simply more timely and accurate. Think how valuable those odds would be to a sports bettor, who needed to put in a last-minute bet. More valuable than toilet paper and a case of the runs on a hot, sticky day in the middle of the Outback. Seriously, I really hope these mobile gaming platform developers get the picture and start putting focus where it needs to be put. Otherwise, investors will give up on it, and the full potential of the technology will not be realized.