Happy
day for gamblers who own a smartphone in Jamaica!
SVL
(Supreme Ventures Limited)
President and CEO Brian George has announced that
they're planning to launch an App that will allow gamblers to make bets via the
Internet by October 2015 as reported in the article “Mobile
Lottery Platform To Roll Out By October”, Published Wednesday June 3, 2015,
The Jamaica Gleaner.
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For
most gamblers with SVL toting a smartphone, it's already common knowledge that
SVL has Apps for their Lottery games on both Apple iTunes Store and the Google Play Store. But these Apps
only tell you the results of each draw; they are not e-commerce enabled to
allow you to place bets and receive your prizes from the comfort of your own
phone.
Testing
will begin in August 2015. So look out for SVL announcing the availability of
their App in the Apple iTunes Store
and the Google Play Store.
The
purpose of this testing is to sort out all the bugs, such as how to spot
teenagers to quote SVL President and CEO Brian George: “......go through its
iterations and integrity processes to ensure that ... things such as under age
gambling”.
But
more excitingly, it will also herald the coming of Mobile Money, a service
similar in nature to Snapchat's SnapCash or even Facebook's Cash Transfers as
explained in my blog
article entitled “@Facebook's
Cash Transfers in Messenger – How sending cash using Facebook’s Messenger is
playing Catchup with @Snapchat”.
Once
fully rolled out in October 2015, you'll be able to play all of the SVL's
Lottery games via the internet. It may see the first true wide scale launch and
Application of Mobile Money Platform.
So
how exactly will this work?
SVL's Gambling App
coming October 2016 - How to launch Mobile Money with a popular Gambling
Product
This
idea is a long time coming, having been suggested by SVL as far back as 2013
and given the blessing of the BGLC (Betting, Gaming and Lotteries Commission)
as noted in my blog
article entitled “BGLC
to introduce i-Gaming via smartphones - i-Gaming heralds Supreme Ventures
Mobile Money Cashless Society dipping directly in Church Tithes”.
However,
development of the software to be foolproof in terms of handling all bets
transactions and ensuring customers are alerted via the App when they win is a
complex affair to quote SVL President and CEO Brian George: “The most important
aspect of it is the software development”.
The
developement of the App is drawing upon the technical expertise in three (3)
different countries:
1.
India
2.
Greece
3.
Jamaica
But
what has me interested is the SVL’s Mobile Money Platform to accept payments
for bets and possibly to pay out prizes, again quoting SVL President and CEO
Brian George: “The mobile platform has to be connected to an electronic wallet,
which is funded by the player. That is why mobile money, as Approved by the BOJ
[Bank of Jamaica], was a critical component of being able to implement mobile
wagering”.
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It
also eliminates Credit Cards or Prepaid Debit Cards such as Scotia VISA Debit Card or CIBC VISA Debit
Card,
as not everyone may have access to these transaction instruments, albeit having
a Mobile Money Wallet will require joining a Bank or Credit Union.
Customer
will be able to use SVL Mobile Money Platform not only for gambling but also
for regular Mobile Money Transactions such as purchasing items in stores as
well as sending money to relatives across the island 24/7/365 without ever
having to visit a bank.
Already
the main Mobile Money Platform in Jamaica, CONEC Mobile
Wallet, the brain child of the JCCUL (Jamaica Co-operative
Credit Union League) and Mozido Jamaica Limited, has partnered with Paymaster
to process transactions as noted in my blog article
entitled “JCUES
now CONEC Mobile Wallet - Why CONEC Mobile Wallet still inconvenient despite
Paymaster and Remittances in the JCCUL-Mozido Jamaica mix”.
Others
are coming into the Mobile Money market, mainly to make money from Remittances,
which represents possibly 80% of Jamaican with limited access to banking
Facilities as noted in my blog article
entitled “Min.
of Finance, Dr. Peter Phillips to implement ATM Withdrawal Tax - Jamaica's
Unbanked means Cashless Society coming with Digicel Mobile Money”.
SVL Mobile Money
Competitors – NCB, Grace Kennedy and Digicel interested in Mobile Money
Remittance Pie
Other
competitors have already entered the fold.
Alliance
Financial Services Limited's ePay Prepaid Card is once such service, having
been in operation since 2010 before CONEC Mobile
Wallet as noted in my blog article
entitled “Alliance
Financial Services Limited's ePay Prepaid Card – Barbarian at ScotiaVisa and
NCB's Gates as Mobile Money will spark Cashless Society”.
NCB
(National Commercial Bank) and GraceKennedy, two (2) of the largest Remittance
companies in Jamaica, have plans to enter the Mobile Money Space as noted in my
blog article
entitled “NCB
Under Pressure cuts ties with Remittance Agent MoneyGram - NCB using innovation
Edge to plan Mobile Money, Remittance and E-Commerce Triple Play Services by
September 2014”.
Finally
and not surprisingly, Telecom Provider Digicel will most likely announced their
version of Haiti's Tcho Tcho Mobile for Jamaica later in the Fourth Quarter of
2015 as predicted in my blog article
entitled “Digicel
to roll out Mobile Money Service in 2014 - Haiti Tcho Tcho Mobile Love is
Bringing the Boom with ScotiaBank heralds Cashless Society by 2015”.
SVL
may not be the first to enter the Mobile Money Space. But combined with their
popular Gambling Products, theirs is most likely to be the most commonly used
one by the time their competitors launch their Mobile Money Platforms.
Here’s
the link:
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