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The market for mobile games in the UK is significant, worth an estimated ú12 million - ú16m a year just 18 months after the first commercial services launched. But most of these games lack the competitive or commercial edge that adults are looking for. Meanwhile, gambling is only just arriving on mobiles, duplicating existing successful formats of betting, casinos and arcades. These services appeal to existing gamblers who understand the gameplay, but they can be a turn-off for those who aren't natural gamblers.

The inevitable question is: can we improve the situation for customers using the benefits of mobile's immediacy, security and interactivity? The answer is yes. The convergence of internet and mobile offers the opportunity to combine the engagement and familiarity of games with the adult 'kick' of gambling. While we are mindful of the need not to stimulate excessive play among people with addictive tendencies, this combination of internet and mobile creates a potential bigger 'gamebling' market, where new games can become a means of competitive social interaction.

To capitalise on this opportunity, new entrants need to adopt the same criteria as any successful mobile data service: use existing technology and offer user-friendly, highly engaging, value-for-money services. We need to offer high content affinity with the communities we address and high accountability.

Million-2-1 is setting the standard. Its 'How Lo' gamebling format is attracting interest across networks from football league teams like Arsenal. The game has launched with 02 to push the service to its customers with special 02 'prizes'. It's a 'reverse-auction' where users can bid for a valuable item via a premium-rate text. The winner with the lowest bid in pence can buy the item. In the first auction, a user bought a new 42" flat plasma screen TV for ú1.55. The service has proven a great success with tens of thousands of players. This is not betting as the stake is fixed and the prize known. Like all good ideas, it's simple and the attraction is obvious. It looks like gamebling will be a success. And with MMS and Java technology, we can enable higher levels of both engagement and loyalty.