Of course, the mobile web is particularly conducive to sport betting. Players can make and adjust wagers as events unfold no matter where they are. This has helped the mobile gaming sector grow considerably quick in recent years.

Well, now new research shows that mobile gaming is not only going to continue to grow despite economic slowdown, but it will more than double. As Gaming Intelligence reports:

A new report published by Juniper Research is predicting that total wagers on mobile phones will more than double in 2009 to over $3.6 billion, benefiting from the increased availability of mobile betting services. In comparison the report expects user spending on mobile TV and mobile games to be adversely impacted by the current global economic downturn.

Report author Dr Windsor Holden said: “Gambling is essentially a recession-proof industry, as while there may be marginal reductions in level of stakes amongst casual users, the overall appetite for gambling per se will be unaffected. Furthermore, with the growing availability of betting services on portal, the mobile is an increasingly convenient and user-friendly means of placing a bet.”

One element likely fueling this growth is the mobile sector writ large. Mobile services are still a very new market, and this is a time when all the necessary technologies (hardware & software) are hitting a tipping point in pricing. That is, very recently it became very affordable to use all the services offered through mobile devices — such as the internet. Even mobile device management is getting cheaper.

All in all, the odds are in favor of mobile gaming (no pun intended). Consider: a recession proof product combined with a technology on the cusp of critical mass. Any way you look at it, there’s quite a bit of opportunity in the mobile gaming sector.

Just a quick note to let you guys know that you may be seeing us in a few more locals, yes we are going beyond our regular hang-outs and into new territory :).

You may have seen us in familiar hangouts such as:

• GPWA
• CAP
• betweendrinks.com P.S we are having our christmas party tonight so be sure to check out betweendrinks for photos from this great night!

New locals:

• Affiliates4U
• Linkedin

We hope to see you there soon!

Last week, it seemed like the recession represented an opportunity for igaming. This came to light from GameAccount reporting considerable growth. As we speculated then, however, that kind of growth couldn’t all be chalked up to a change in the economy. Some of it had to be due to strategic marketing on GameAccount’s part (disclosure: the GameAccount is an Income Access partner).

Well, in a recession, strategic marketing will often mean not just getting a higher return on your marketing investment, but doing so by focusing on tangible results (as opposed to less tangible objective, such as branding). And in last week’s edition of iGaming News, our very own CEO, Nicky Senyard was discussing just how that can apply to online poker operators. In an article called Recession Marketing Strategies for Online Poker Operators, Nicky discussed the recession opportunity for online poker operators to both ramp up their marketing efforts and consolidate their control over their marketing spend. In the article, Nicky covers how poker operators can leverage affiliate marketing to:

• generate a better return on their marketing spend,
• better target & engage online poker players,
• and convert offline players into online ones.

During a recession, there are just as many players/consumers as before, it’s just that their spending habits have changed. What this means is the the balance of supply & demand has shifted, and operators (or any other business) who are quick to respond to that new balance of supply and demand may not only survive an economic downturn, but prosper through it.

Nicky’s article, then, might be worth a look at for igaming entrepreneurs who want to shit their marketing efforts in a more strategic direction. After all, if there are fewer consumer dollars to capture,every dollar you capture gives you that much more of an edge over the competition.

So there’s a new president elect that’s a poker player, but the Bush administration has pushed through the UIGEA. However, some remain optimistic that online gaming in the US may still become regulated. And the reason is… money!

For starters, Nevada wants more revenues, and secondly, Congress needs more taxes. It’s a little more complex than both Nevada and Congress suddenly realizing that there’s money to be had from online gaming. Rather, new changes to how legislation is introduced makes it necessary for the congressman or senator responsible show how their legislation can be funded. Consequently, getting online gaming regulated starts looking easier because it’s not only tax-revenue positive, but self-sustaining. As the Reno Gazette-Journal reports:

The legalization of Internet gambling will be the hottest federal issue facing Nevada’s gaming industry in the next few years, the president of the American Gaming Association said.
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The need for new tax money could drive its legalization in both houses of Congress, said Frank Fahrenkopf, the AGA president and CEO.

“There have been projections circulated on the Hill that it can raise billions of dollars in new federal revenue,” said Fahrenkopf, a Reno High School graduate. “So we can expect that the whole issue of Internet gambling will be front and center in the next Congress.”

Federal lawmakers see that potential tax revenue from Internet gaming could fuel their legislative agenda, Fahrenkopf said.

“Congress has adopted a pay-as-you-go system,” he said. “So any congressman or senator who introduces a piece of legislation that is going to cost something will also have to show how they are going to pay for it, either by cutting spending in one place or raising taxes in another. So we know under those circumstances, they will be looking around at a place to get additional revenue.”

Of course, the same article also points out that the Nevada industry, itself, is partly divided on the issue. Nonetheless, Fahrenkopf’s perspective of how the new Congressional pay-as-you-go system might effect the future of online gambling in the US is rather interesting.

It looks like the current state of the economy might be giving the igaming industry a competitive edge over its brick & mortar counterparts. Specifically, it looks like consumers are staying home to save money, and that online gaming is one of the places they’re turning to find entertainment. For instance, the GameAccount has seen an increase in money staked. As Gaming Industry Media reports:

The company said it has received £120 million in stakes thus far in 2008, a significant rise against the £10.5 million it reported during the same period last year.

“People are staying at home, not just because it’s getting colder, but to save money, too,” said Dermot Smurfit, GameAccount chief operating officer, in a prepared statement. “As markets all over the world are melting, we’re pleased that more and more people are turning to the Internet and skill gaming for their entertainment.”

Of course, a more than tenfold growth rate can’t be chalked up only to the recession. After all, the GameAccount has pursued a number of marketing strategies, such as an affiliate program (disclosure: the GameAccount is an Income Access partner).

Nevertheless, the positive effects that this economy is having on ecommerce has been seen across the spectrum of industries. For instance, eMarketer is predicting that this will not only be the first year that the internet purchases will surpass brick & mortar ones for holiday shopping, but will do so by more than double. It only makes sense, then, that online entertainment is going to experience relative (if not absolute) growth while its tertiary counterparts feel the effects of a slowdown.

There is a catch in all this, however. Just as a market slowdown can mean new opportunity rather than less opportunity, competition over those opportunities will likely increase. That is, with online operators capturing more of a player’s money staked, they are going to have both the incentive and the resources to step up their marketing efforts.

If the current state of the economy does have positive effects for certain strategic igaming operators, then, those operators are going to have to consider marketing tactics that offer them maximum control over and return on their marketing spend. Should these effects persist, moreover, we may even see a “thinning of the heard.” That is, those operators who are are strategic at this level may very capture a critical shares of the market to the detriment of their competition.