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COPYRIGHT 2005 Newsday
Byline: Richard J. Dalton Jr.
Jul. 31--Riding on the coattails of the poker craze, online casinos are looking to lure gamblers via the convenience of their cell phones or the comfort of their couches, allowing gamblers to hide behind the anonymity of a wireless device instead of the mirrored glasses their newfound poker celebrities don.
The move to mobile and couch-potato gambling, coming years after gambling hit the Internet, will make betting even more accessible, turning it into a 24-hour, faceless, on-the-go pursuit.
Cell phones with better-quality graphics, larger screens and more reliable connections will make wireless gambling easier than ever, experts said.
Casinos are also grabbing a wider audience by making their services compatible with more and more cell phones. Initially, some mobile casino services were available on just a handful of handsets, but the companies eventually expect most phones to accommodate the computer graphics and speed necessary for wireless gambling.
Even Las Vegas has joined in. Last month, Nevada Gov. Kenny Guinn signed a bill allowing gambling via handheld devices in public areas of casinos, allowing visitors to up their ante while they down drinks poolside.
Gambling addicts used to turn to underground games or legal casinos, and, in the past decade, the Internet, said Rob Bernstein, deputy editor of Sync, a men's magazine.
"Now anyone who has access to a phone can be gambling," he said. "People who just need that fix while riding the subway or off...
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