Just weeks after US Off-Track became the first American-based firm to offer wireless application platform (WAP) betting, two more Net betting firms have announced plans of venturing into the WAP arena. IGN detailed a venture by Poker.com yesterday, and today our attention is turned to Intertops.com.
Based and licensed in Antigua, Intertops.com has proven once again to be on the cutting edge of technology nearly five years after it become one of the first sites to ever accept a wager over the Internet.
The company has now developed what it is hailing as the world's first PDA wirelessly enabled betting service. In conjunction with the new service, the company has also introduced WAP-based gaming services in both English and German.
As one of the pioneers of Internet wagering, Intertops.com was able to leverage nearly 500,000 subscribers from 183 countries--a customer base the company hopes can make the wireless platform a revenue maker.
"We see an enormous potential in the wireless gaming industry," said Intertops.com spokesperson Kyle Fratini. "As new technologies are developed and wireless transmission rates are increased, Intertops.com will be poised to offer new wireless applications including a host of casino games with enhanced graphics and multiplayer games."
The rollout of the full wireless betting service is the end result of a yearlong-plus process. In May of 2000 the company released a WAP-based betting service for German speaking customers. With the testing of the German system complete, the company is expanding the service to an English platform.
Simon Noble, a co-founder of Intertops.com, feels the wireless market is the next step for the online gaming industry.
"When we accepted the first bet over the Internet in 1996, we never imagined that the industry would be one of the fastest growing forms of consumer entertainment on the Internet," he said in a statement. "With the wireless evolution upon us, it is clear that future growth in the gaming industry lies with mobile device users."
The wireless sector could change the face of interactive gambling, according to Noble.
"Whether they are waiting for a plane, riding a bus or even watching a game in a stadium, our customers can now place a wager by using their mobile device," he said.
Existing Intertops.com customers can access both the PDA and WAP systems through the current website. To ensure ease of use on mobile devices, Intertops.com has created a simplified version of its Web-based service that still offers a complete range of odds on all major international sporting events and unique pop culture happenings.