Blackberry betting approved in Nevada

American Wagering, Inc. (AMI), a US sports wagering service and technology provider, has announced success in its application for Nevada Gaming Control Board approval of a mobile phone-based sports betting app titled Leroy’s App, which was developed with the assistance of Computerized Bookmaking Systems, Inc.

The approval follows the completion of an extensive field trial by the Board.

“American Wagering is pleased that the regulators approved our technology, finding it to be problem free. We did not have a single issue during our trial period. The Leroy App is working great, customers love it, and it has exceeded our expectations,” said AMI chief exec Vic Salerno this week.

Salerno added that sales of smart phones on the Android operating system now account for the fastest growing segment of the smart phone market with an estimated 200,000 units sold per day.

He claimed that American Wagering is the first company to enter the market in the United States with an approved application for sports wagering. The AMI technology is comprised of several layers of security including a patent pending geographic location process and encrypted communications.

This ensures safe and secure wagers from intrastate only users to the company’s centralized and licensed bookmaking facilities in Las Vegas.

“Smart phones and other mobile devices will be key products on our development path for the coming year,” says Salerno.  “The approval of the Leroy’s App is the creation of a new market segment for sports wagering and the Nevada regulators placed significant challenges on American Wagering to provide a means of offering account wagering on a mobile device whereby we could verify that the bettor was in the state.”

John English, American Wagering Senior Vice President of Business Development and Public Affairs, says the mobile product is an effective way to boost the bottom line. It is a low cost, convenient, and efficient way of communicating with the customer and taking wagers,” he said. “There is no equipment to purchase or maintain. The relationship is simply between the sportsbook and the bettor through his or her smart phone.”

AMI has now abandoned its plans to develop a mobile product that would work only on a licensed land casino property, noting that this is too geographically limiting on the bettor to be considered “mobile” and it was not considered to be a financially viable project as compared to a true mobile application for sports wagering.

American Wagering, Inc. is a publicly-traded company that primarily operates through wholly-owned subsidiaries including Leroy’s Horse & Sports Place, Inc., Computerized Bookmaking Systems, Inc., AWI Manufacturing, Inc., and AWI Gaming, Inc.