Football Betting Comes to a Cellphone

When the 2002 Football World Cup gets underway in Japan and Korea, it will be possible for the first time to place soccer bets over a mobile phone. Fans will be able to use their mobiles to place bets on the outcome of a World Cup match from any location and at any time right up to the final whistle. This is thanks to dynamic odds that are continually updated based on punters' betting behavior. This service was developed by scaraboo, a start-up enterprise sponsored by Siemens Mobile Acceleration. The soccer betting services will be offered by MSN, Microsoft's online service, and the GSM network, O2 Germany.

Using a credit of 100 virtual coins per day of play, soccer fans can place as many SMS bets as they wish up to their credit limit. Mobile phone users first have to register as a player by sending an SMS with a dial-in number. Punters will each receive an SMS message on the outcome of the match and their bet. Participants will be shown in a ranked list, those best placed being awarded attractive prizes every day.

This soccer betting will initially be offered in Germany. Any mobile phone owner can take part. Scaraboo will shortly be offering cash betting in conjunction with license holders in Germany, the UK, and Austria.'"

Posted to the site on 29th May 2002