Mike Short: Globally, Mobiles are the most inclusive communications tool today. With growing display / access capabilities, Mobile Gambling innovation is set to multiply. The liberalisation of gambling laws, opportunity for cross network promotions and key partnering opportunities will all contribute to the wider promotion of Mobile Gambling in 2006. The UK offers a great testing ground in this respect.

Charles Palmer: 2006 will be the year we start to see a significant increase in Mobile Gambling. This will be caused by users becoming more familiar and aware of mobile 'data' services, such as downloadable applications and WAP sites. Handset navigation is improving and becoming increasingly standardised across different makes, this helps the customer become more familiar with what their phone can do, which in turn increases usage of data services.

John Hagan: 2006 will be a year of further development, growth and innovation, but we may have to wait a bit longer for the inevitable "explosion" of Mobile Gambling.

Matti Zinder: I believe that Mobile Gambling will see a shift from the deployment of initial trial launches of wireless gambling operations to the deployment of larger, commercial- standard enterprises. This will results in the need to deal with significant operational issues surrounding the actual gambling platform and the companies that will effectively deal with them will be the ones that generate breakthrough. These issues include: interactive casino management and reporting, financial risk and fraud management, effective support solutions and scalability.

* For even more exclusive predictions join our panellists at the 2nd annual Mobile Gambling Summit. Visit www.mformobile.com/mobilegambling

Mike Short: Navigating through the complexity of different handsets to assure ease of use to the customer.

Charles Palmer: Connectivity is still the biggest issue. Most handsets that are sold are not set up for data services and as a result the customer is faced with the task of configuring network data settings for their specific device. Bookmakers need to put marketing dollars behind Mobile Gambling and use mobile channels for marketing rather than relying on tradition methods.

John Hagan: The UK legislation now reflects modern attitudes to gambling and modern technology for the first time, although we still await news of a modern tax rate. The challenge for the industry is to be ready to take advantage of the implementation of the Gambling Act 2005 in 2007, which will involve addressing, to the satisfaction of the new Commission, social responsibility issues such as underage and problem gambling.

Matti Zinder: I believe that the basic client-server technology for generating games on wireless devices is basically done. There is no doubt in my mind that in order to transform the technology into revenues and profits, there need to be effective solutions to ongoing business and operational issues which will allow this transformation to take place.

* To discover the answers to these challenges join our panellists at the 2nd annual Mobile Gambling Summit - click here for more information: www.mformobile.com/mobilegambling

Mike Short: I can only forecast a rapid rate of growth, given the amount of investment and innovative companies now in this area.

John Hagan: It is an exciting time to be involved in an industry where revenue estimates are measured in billions and predicted player numbers in hundreds of millions. These numbers are of limited relevance in the trenches as operators compete for their share of the market, but obviously important for the industry as a whole. It is worth remembering that it was not so many years ago that similar estimates in respect of online poker were being greeted with incredulity in some quarters.

Matti Zinder: I cannot provide accurate predictions beyond those of my company and our clients, and those are not for public disclosure. I will, nevertheless, predict that revenues of those clients that have deployed systems already and have learned the intricacies of this complex market will grow extremely exponentially towards the second half of 2006.

* Find out how competitive your company will be in 2006. View the program for the 2nd annual Mobile Gambling Summit: www.mformobile.com/mobilegambling/mobile06.pdf

Mike Short: That Mobile Gambling becomes as accepted as online Gambling, offering wider reach and flexibility for customers wherever they are.

Charles Palmer: For Mobile Gambling to converge and become entertainment based, this will lead to mass market appeal. Also by combining high-end graphical games with a gambling format, will lead to mass market appeal. More participation TV gaming, where by the user interacts with a gambling based TV show via their mobile.

John Hagan: There is a natural synergy between mobile telephones and gambling and I have no doubt that Mobile Gambling will ultimately be a success story. My hope and expectation is that the industry will continue to strive to meet customers' expectations, which are only limited by their imaginations, in terms of entertaining products, technical reliability, ease and speed of play.

Matti Zinder: My firm belief (beyond just hopes and dreams) is that Mobile Gambling will grow as fast and as profitably as online gambling did and that it will become a mainstream business faster than the online version did.

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